The Form Editor is where you design the user interface
for your application. End users interact with the application you
design through the use of controls like list boxes, buttons, and
input fields. You can also style your forms with frames, text, lines,
and images. In addition, you can create forms that run reports,
search data sources, and much more.
Here is a brief overview of how you design forms:
- Place controls such
as radio buttons, check boxes, images, and buttons on your form
to communicate information to and collect information from your end
users.
For example, you use edit boxes, list boxes, check boxes,
and radio buttons to request information from end users. You use
text and images to communicate information to them.
For more
information on how to use controls, see Developing and Using Controls.
- Define the properties of
these controls. The properties determine what the controls look
like (for example, colors and fonts) and how they behave (for example, whether
an entry into an edit box displays asterisks for passwords or whether
the end user can make multiple selections in a list box). Some controls
also have properties which can be bound to data, either from a Maintain
variable or coded at development time.
Most properties can be
changed dynamically at run time.
For more information on properties,
see Form and Control Properties Reference.
- Define the events that
end users cause by interacting with the form (such as clicking a
button) and what action occurs when an event takes place
(such as writing data to a data source or opening another form).
For
more information on events, see Defining Events and Event Handlers.
After you place controls on your form, you can easily manipulate
them:
- You can easily
select all the controls on your form and manipulate them as a group.
- You can use
standard Cut, Copy, and Paste commands on your controls. WebFOCUS
Maintain also supplies an extra command for making copies of controls,
the Duplicate command.
- You can use
special commands to resize, align, and space controls.
- You can group
controls together so that they are treated as a unit.
- You can undo
editing mistakes or redo actions.
If you are designing complicated forms, you can place controls
on separate layers.