@database @node main Chapter46 "SBase Personal - 46. FORM DESIGNER COMMAND REFERENCE" 46 N> FORM DESIGNER COMMAND REFERENCE @{" Project Menu " link 1} @{" Edit Menu " link 2} @{" Page Menu " link 3} @{" Define Menu " link 4} @{" Report Generator Menu (Only in Form Designer Pro in SBase Pro 4) " link 5} @{" Toolbox " link 6} @endnode @node 1 46 N> FORM DESIGNER COMMAND REFERENCE Project Menu New Use this command to clear the work area and start a new form. Open Form Displays a list of all SBV form files in the current directory. Open SB File Allows the opening of a database file definition for selection of fields for use on a form. Open dBase File Allows the opening of a dBase file for selection of fields for use on a form. Save Saves the current form file. Save As Saves the current form file under a new name Remove Deletes a form file from disk. SB File Close Closing files normally releases some system memory, which can be helpful when more than one application is contending for available memory space. Directory List This command lists the contents of the current directory. Status You may examine or print out details of form structures. This is an important part of setting up an application, and you should keep form status reports together with file status reports printed from the database. Printer Setup Allows you to select a printer from those available, then to set page and margin dimensions and select a printer typeface. Print The Print Options requester allows you to choose the types of object to be included in the printout. Check the types you wish to see. About Identifies the version of the Form Designer in use. Quit The Quit command leaves the application and returns either to SBase or to the Workbench, depending on whether the Form Designer was called from the database or the Workbench. @endnode @node 2 Edit Menu Undo The Undo command reverses the previous editing action. Actions that may be undone include Move and Size. Undo also removes the last object placed on a form if your last action was to create it. Cut Removes the selected object and stores a temporary copy. Copy Stores a temporary copy of the selected object. Paste Inserts a copy of the stored object or objects. Clear Removes the selected object from the form. Tools Hides or displays the toolbox. Snap to Grid You may want objects to be automatically aligned to the current grid. When the Edit Snap to Grid command is selected, objects snap to the grid when you create or move them. Ruler/Grid The Rulers and Grid editing aids are available to assist you in aligning objects on the form. Crosshairs When the Crosshairs command is selected, vertical and horizontal lines are shown intersecting at the mouse pointer. The intersection is shown as pixel co-ordinates to the right of the toolbox. Auto Field Names When the Auto Field Names option is selected, the name of any field that you place on the form is positioned next to it. Reduced If your form is larger than the window, you may wish to see it scaled down to check that the parts are correctly arranged. Select the Reduced View command to display a scaled down view of the form. @endnode @node 3 Page Menu New When you want to create a second or subsequent page for your form, use this command. Open Lists all the PG files in the current directory so you can choose one to insert into the current form. Save As Allows you to save the current page of the form as a PG file. Remove Lists the PG files in the current directory so you can select one to delete from disk. Setup The Form Designer allows you to create forms of practically any size supported by your printer. The Setup command lets you adjust the size of the form's work area to that specified for the printer. Hierarchy Allows you to alter the existing hierarchy of objects on a form. Clear If you want to remove all objects from a page, use the Page Clear command. Erase In a multi-page form, you may need to remove a page completely. The Page Erase command deletes the current page. Next Move to the next page of the form that is being designed. Previous Move to the previous page of the form that is being designed. Goto Move to a specified page of the form that is being designed. @endnode @node 4 Define Menu Font Text and field data may be rendered in any font available to the system. SB File Link When you design a form with fields from more than one file on it, you must use the Define SB File Links command to set up the information that SBase will need to process the form correctly. Data Entry Order You can define the sequence to be followed when you enter data into a form. This allows you to follow logical sequences without being tied to an inflexible structure. You may even jump between different pages of a form if you wish. Transaction Lines (Only with Form Designer Pro in SBase Professional) Many applications include one-to-many relationships between records in different files. In a form, you can define a `block' of fields as the `many' part of such a relationship. The term `transaction lines' refers to such a block. Color Palette The Color Palette command allows you to redefine the colors used in the toolbox. Resolution The default number of colors available under Workbench 1.3 is four. More colors are obtainable by changing the resolution using the Define Resolution command. @endnode @node 5 Report Generator Menu (Only in Form Designer Pro in SBase Professional) Heading If you want a heading to print on each page you must define the text in a Heading box. To print a separate title page, use the Global command. Select The fields defined in the Select box will be printed on each line of the body of the report. The Select box represents the `many' part of a one-to-many relationship. The `one' part is represented by a Group box. Footing If you want a footing to print on each page you must define the text in a Footing box. Group When you select the Group command, the Form Designer presents a requester from which you choose a field to group on. In some other programs this is called a `break' or `control break' field. Global If you wish to print grand totals for a report at the end, you need to use a separate box to define the text and functions you wish to see. Options The Options command on the Report Generator menu allows you to specify paging and summarization details. Test Especially with wide reports, it may be desirable to obtain an example of dummy printout before ending the report design. @endnode @node 6 Toolbox Areas An area is a rectangle on a form. It may exceed the window size, and be drawn in any color or pattern available. A bordered area tool type is also available. The border color of a bordered area is set separately from foreground or background colors in the toolbox. Areas may be square or round cornered. Boxes A box is a rectangular area on a form. It may exceed the window size, and be drawn in any color or line thickness available. Boxes may be square or round cornered. Lines Lines are useful for dividing boxes or areas of the screen either horizontally or vertically. Text You may wish to place text on a form for various reasons: to act as a prompt to the operator, to clearly identify the nature of the application, or to mark out groups of fields more clearly. Images You may wish to place images on a form to improve the design or to allow the printing of forms with logos or special lettering. You might wish to use small images such as arrows or symbols to make the form easier to use. Check boxes (Only in Form Designer Pro in SBase Professional) The check box object type provides the user with a way of controlling the values entered into a field or variable. A check box has two possible states: selected or unselected. Each state has a specific value attached, such as `yes' or `no,' 0 or 1. When the user turns the check box on, the value for the selected state is assigned to the field; when the check box is turned off, the value for the unselected state is assigned. Radio buttons (Only in Form Designer Pro in SBase Professional) A radio button is a type of form control. It allows you to attach a specific value to a field or variable, and assign that value by selecting the radio button. If you define several radio buttons for a field, the buttons act as a group, allowing you to create effective multiple choice fields on a form. Move Tool Select the four-way pointer tool in the toolbox. Now you can click an object and drag it to a new position on the form in one movement. Fields (FLD) Placing a field on a form allows you to enter data into database records and retrieve it with the same form. You can select fields from any existing database file, and position them anywhere on a form. Form Calculations (CLC) (Only in Form Designer Pro in SBase Professional) Calculations are formulas that may be added to a form to extend its usefulness. You may use calculations to compute and display results from data entered elsewhere on the form or to transfer form data to fields. Validation (VAL) (Only in Form Designer Pro in SBase Professional) If you are dealing with important information, you need to be confident that stored data is accurate. The only time you can control the quality of your data is when it is first entered. Validation is a way of ensuring that the data entered into a field meets certain criteria. Commands (CMD) (Only in Form Designer Pro in SBase Professional) By placing commands on a form, you can greatly extend its ability to process data as it is entered. A command is one or more DML statements entered as a single line. The command must follow DML syntax as defined in the DML Reference Guide. Report Functions (FNC) (Only in Form Designer Pro in SBase Professional) Report functions provide a means of using statistical features such as MEAN and SUM in both report and ordinary forms. Report functions have a special keyword syntax. Size Tool Objects on forms frequently need to be resized. This tool allows you to vary the size of any type of object except text. Colors The default number of colors available under Workbench 1.3 is four. More colors are obtainable by changing the resolution using the Define Resolution command. Color Selector The Color Selector (to the right of the Move tool) shows the current colors, in which objects and text will be rendered. There are two areas in the Color Selector, a center and a surround. These represent the pen and paper colors respectively. Border Color Selector To the right of the main Color Selector is the Border Color Selector. The color shown here determines the color in which the borders of areas and fields are rendered. Pen and Paper Below the left half of the main Color Selector.) When a text object, a field, a calculation, or a command is created, it has both a pen color, in which the characters are drawn, and a paper color, which is used for the background to the character. Areas which are drawn in a pattern of dots also have a foreground color and a background color. Field and Area Borders This tool (below the right half of the main Color Selector) places a border round each field or a selected area. Rounded Corners By default, boxes and areas are drawn with square corners. When you select this tool, they are drawn with rounded corners. Text Style Text objects and field data may appear in plain, boldface, italic or underlined text styles. Currency Calculation The dollar tool is used to designate form calculations as currency type. When you create a numeric calculation with this tool selected, its results will be shown to two decimal places, right aligned. Read Only You may wish to protect certain fields from being edited by users. This tool allows to designate fields, calculations, and commands as read only, which means that SBase will never allow them to be changed. Field Justification Fields may be justified left, center, or right. Click the selector to show the required position in the Justification Selector. Display Only You can designate any object on the form as display only. This means that it will not be printed when you print forms and data from the database. Area Patterns You can vary the appearance and the color of an area by drawing it in a pattern of dots. The default pattern is solid. Line Patterns Different types of line thickness may be used to differentiate different kinds of box, area, and line. @endnode