Naming controls
When you place a control in a window, PowerBuilder assigns
it a unique name. The name is the concatenation of the default prefix
for the control name and the lowest 1- to 4-digit number that makes
the name unique.
For example, assume the prefix for ListBoxes is lb_ and
you add a ListBox to the window:
- If the names lb_1, lb_2,
and lb_3 are currently used, the default
name is lb_4 - If lb_1 and lb_3 are
currently used but lb_2 is not, the
default name is lb_2
About the default prefixes
Each type of control has a default prefix for its name. Table 11-1 lists the initial default
prefix for each control (note that there is no prefix for a window).
| Control | Prefix |
|---|---|
| check box | cbx_ |
| CommandButton | cb_ |
| DataWindow | dw_ |
| DropDownListBox | ddlb_ |
| DropDownPictureListBox | ddplb_ |
| EditMask | em_ |
| Graph | gr_ |
| GroupBox | gb_ |
| HProgressBar | hpb_ |
| HScrollBar | hsb_ |
| HTrackBar | htb_ |
| Line | ln_ |
| ListBox | lb_ |
| ListView | lv_ |
| MultiLineEdit | mle_ |
| OLE 2.0 | ole_ |
| Oval | ov_ |
| Picture | p_ |
| PictureHyperLink | phl_ |
| PictureButton | pb_ |
| PictureListBox | plb_ |
| RadioButton | rb_ |
| Rectangle | r_ |
| RichTextEdit | rte_ |
| RoundRectangle | rr_ |
| SingleLineEdit | sle_ |
| StaticText | st_ |
| StaticHyperLink | shl_ |
| Tab | tab_ |
| TreeView | tv_ |
| User Object | uo_ |
| VProgressBar | vpb_ |
| VScrollBar | vsb_ |
| VTrackBar | vtb_ |
Changing the default prefixes
You can change the default prefixes for controls in the Window
painter’s Options dialog box. Select Design>Options
from the menu bar to open the Options dialog box. The changes you
make are saved in the PowerBuilder initialization file. For more
about the PowerBuilder initialization file, see “How the PowerBuilder
environment is managed”.
Changing
the name
You should change the default suffix to a suffix that is meaningful
in your application. For example, if you have command buttons that
update and retrieve database information, you might call them cb_update and cb_retrieve. If
you have many controls on a window, using intuitive names makes
it easier for you and others to write and understand scripts for
these controls.
Using application-based names instead of sequential numbers
also minimizes the likelihood that you will have name conflicts
when you use inheritance to create windows.
To change a control’s name:
-
Select the control to display the control’s
properties in the Properties view. -
On the General tab page, select the application-specific
suffix (for example, the 1 in
the cb_1 command
button name) and type a more meaningful one.You can use any valid PowerBuilder identifier with up to 40
characters. For information about PowerBuilder identifiers, see
the PowerScript Reference.