Reorganizing controls in a DataWindow object
This section describes the activities that help you change
the layout and appearance of the controls in a DataWindow object.
Displaying boundaries for controls in a DataWindow object
When reorganizing controls in the Design view, it is sometimes
helpful to see how large all the controls are. That way you can
easily check for overlapping controls and make sure that the spacing
around controls is what you want.
To display control boundaries in a DataWindow object:
-
Select Design>Options from the
menu bar.The DataWindow Options dialog box displays.
-
Select the Show Edges check box.
PowerBuilder displays the boundaries of each control in the DataWindow object.
Boundaries display only in the Design view The boundaries displayed for controls are for use only in
the Design view. They do not display in a running DataWindow object or
in a printed report.
Using the grid and the ruler in a DataWindow object
The DataWindow painter provides a grid and a ruler to help you align
controls.
To use the grid and the ruler:
-
Select Design>Options from the
menu bar.The DataWindow Options dialog box displays. The Alignment
Grid box contains the alignment grid options. -
Use the options as needed:
Option Meaning Snap to Grid Make controls snap to a grid position
when you place them or move them.Show Grid Show or hide the grid when the workspace
displays.X Specify the size (width) of the grid
cells.Y Specify the size (height) of the grid
cells.Show Ruler Show a ruler. The ruler uses the units
of measurement specified in the Style dialog box. See “Changing the DataWindow object style”.
Your choices for the grid and the ruler are saved and used
the next time you start PowerBuilder.
Deleting controls in a DataWindow object
To delete controls in a DataWindow object:
-
Select the controls you want to delete.
-
Select Edit>Delete from the menu bar or
press the Delete key.
Moving controls in a DataWindow object
In all presentation styles except Grid
In all presentation styles except Grid, you can move all the
controls (such as headings, labels, columns, graphs, and drawing
controls) anywhere you want.
To move controls in a DataWindow object:
-
Select the controls you want to move.
-
Do one of the following:
- Drag the controls with the mouse.
- Press an arrow key to move the controls in one direction.
In grid DataWindow objects
You can reorder columns in a grid DataWindow object at runtime.
See “Working in a grid DataWindow object”.
Copying controls in a DataWindow object
You can copy controls within a DataWindow object and to other DataWindow objects.
All properties of the controls are copied.
To copy a control in a DataWindow object:
-
Select the control.
-
Select Edit>Copy from the menu bar.
The control is copied to a private PowerBuilder clipboard.
-
Copy (paste) the control to the same DataWindow object or
to another one:- To copy the
control within the same DataWindow object, select Edit>Paste from
the menu bar. - To copy the control to another DataWindow object, open
the desired DataWindow object and paste the control.
PowerBuilder pastes the control at the same location as in the
source DataWindow object. If you are pasting into the same DataWindow object, you
should move the pasted control so it does not cover the original control. PowerBuilder displays
a message box if the control you are pasting is not valid in the
destination DataWindow object. - To copy the
Resizing controls in a DataWindow object
You can resize a control using the mouse or the keyboard. You
can also resize multiple controls to the same size using the Layout
drop-down toolbar on PainterBar2.
Using the mouse
To resize a control using the mouse, select it, then grab
an edge and drag it with the mouse.
Using the keyboard
To resize a control using the keyboard, select it and then
do the following:
| To make the control | Press |
|---|---|
| Wider | Shift+Right Arrow |
| Narrower | Shift+Left Arrow |
| Taller | Shift+Down Arrow |
| Shorter | Shift+Up Arrow |
In grid DataWindow objects
You can resize columns in grid DataWindow objects.
To resize a column in a grid DataWindow object:
-
Position the mouse pointer at a column
boundary.The pointer changes to a two-headed arrow.
-
Press and hold the left mouse button and drag
the mouse to move the boundary. -
Release the mouse button when the column is the
correct width.
Aligning controls in a DataWindow object
Often you want to align several controls or make them all
the same size. You can use the grid to align the controls or you
can have PowerBuilder align them for you.
To align controls in a DataWindow object:
-
Select the control whose position you want
to use to align the others.PowerBuilder displays handles around the selected control.
-
Extend the selection by pressing and holding the
Ctrl key and clicking the controls you want to align with the first
one.All the controls have handles on them.
-
Select Format>Align from the menu bar.
-
From the cascading menu, select the dimension
along which you want to align the controls.For example, to align the controls along the left side, select
the first choice on the cascading menu. You can also use the Layout
drop-down toolbar on PainterBar2.PowerBuilder moves all the selected controls to align with the
first one.
Equalizing the space between controls in a DataWindow object
If you have a series of controls and the spacing is fine between
two of them but wrong for the rest, you can easily equalize the
spacing around all the controls.
To equalize the space between controls in a DataWindow object:
-
Select the two controls whose spacing is
correct.To do so, click one control, then press Ctrl and click the
second control. -
Select the other controls whose spacing match
that of the first two controls. To do so, press Ctrl and click each
control. -
Select Format>Space from the menu bar.
-
From the cascading menu, select the dimension
whose spacing you want to equalize.You can also use the Layout drop-down toolbar on PainterBar2.
Equalizing the size of controls in a DataWindow object
Suppose you have several controls in a DataWindow object and want
their sizes to be the same. You can accomplish this manually or
by using the Format menu.
To equalize the size of controls in a DataWindow object:
-
Select the control whose size is correct.
-
Press Ctrl and click to select the other controls
whose size should match that of the first control. -
Select Format>Size from the menu bar.
-
From the cascading menu, select the dimension
whose size you want to equalize.You can also use the Layout drop-down toolbar on PainterBar2.
Sliding controls to remove blank space in a DataWindow object
You can specify that you want to eliminate blank lines or
spaces in a DataWindow object by sliding columns and other controls to
the left or up if there is blank space. You can use this feature
to remove blank lines in mailing labels or to remove extra spaces
between fields (such as first and last name).
Slide is used by default in nested reports PowerBuilder uses slide options automatically when you nest
a report to ensure that the reports are positioned properly.
To use sliding columns or controls in a DataWindow object:
-
Select Properties from the control’s
pop-up menu and then select the Position tab in the Properties view. -
Select the Slide options you want:
Option Description Slide Left Slide the column or control to the left
if there is nothing to the left. Be sure the control does not overlap
the control to the left. Sliding left will not work if the controls
overlap.Slide Up – All Above Slide the column or control up if there
is nothing in the row above. The row above must be completely empty for
the column or control to slide up.Slide Up – Directly Above Slide the column or control up if there
is nothing directly above it in the row above.
These options are also available on PainterBar2.
If you are sliding columns up Even blank columns have height; if you want columns to slide
up, you need to specify as Autosize Height all columns above them
that might be blank and that you want to slide other columns up
through.
Example
In a mailing label that includes first and last names, as
well as address information, you can use sliding to combine the
columns appropriately.
In the following label, emp_lname,
the comma, state, and zip_code are specified
as slide left. Edges are shown to indicate the spacing between the columns.
Notice that there is a small amount of space between controls. This space
is necessary for Slide Left to work properly:
When you preview (run) the DataWindow object, the last name, comma,
state, and zip code slide left to remove the blank space:
