Viewing your work
While building a window, you can preview it and print its
definition.
Previewing a window
As you develop a window, you can preview its appearance from
the Window painter. By previewing the window, you get a good idea
of how it will look during execution.
Preview button on the PainterBar and the PowerBar You can preview a window from the Window painter using the
Preview button on the PainterBar or by clicking the Preview button
on the PowerBar. When you use the Preview button on the PainterBar,
you do not have to save the window first, but you cannot trigger
events as described below. For information about previewing using
the PowerBar button, see “Running a window”.
To preview a window:
-
Click the Preview button in the PainterBar
(not the PowerBar), or select Design>Preview from the menu
barPowerBuilder minimizes and the window displays with the properties
you have defined, such as title bar, menu, Minimize box, and so
on.
What you can do
While previewing the window, you can get a sense of its look
and feel. You can:
- Move the window
- Resize it (if it is resizable)
- Maximize, minimize, and restore it (if these properties
were enabled) - Tab from control to control
- Select controls
What you cannot do
You cannot:
- Change properties
of the window
Changes you make while previewing the window, such as resizing
it, are not saved. - Trigger events
For example, clicking a CommandButton while previewing a window does
not trigger its Clicked event. - Connect to a database
To return to the Window painter:
-
Do one of the following:
- If
the Window has a control menu, select Close from the control menu or
click the Close button in the upper right corner of the window - If the window is visible, shut down the process
- If the window is not visible, click PowerBuilder on
the task bar and then click the Terminate button
- If
Printing a window’s definition
You can print a window’s definition for documentation
purposes.
To print information about the current window:
-
Select File>Print from the menu
bar.Information about the current window is sent to the printer
specified in Printer Setup. The information sent to the printer
depends on variables specified in the [Library] section
of the PowerBuilder initialization file. Print settings You can view and change the print settings in the Library
painter. Select any PowerBuilder object, then select Entry>Library
Item>Print from the menu bar.