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.You can also use the drop-down toolbar on PainterBar2 to
slide controls.
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:
