Views in painters that edit objects
Each painter has a View menu that you use for opening views. The
views you can open depend on the painter you are working in. Every
painter has a default arrangement of views. You can rearrange these
views, choose to show or hide views, and save arrangements that suit
your working style. See Using views in
painters.
Many views are shared by some painters, but some views are
specific to a single painter. For example, the Layout, Properties, and
Control List views are shared by the Window, Visual User Object, and
Application painters, but the Design, Column Specifications, Data,
Preview, Export/Import Template for XML, and Export Template for XHTML
views are specific to the DataWindow painter. The WYSIWYG Menu and
Tree Menu views are specific to the Menu painter.
The following sections describe the views you see in many
painters. Views that are specific to a single object type are
described in the chapter for that object.
Layout view
The Layout view shows a representation of the object and its
controls. It is where you place controls on an object and design the
layout and appearance of the object.
If the Properties view is displayed and you select a control in
the Layout view or the Control List view, the properties for that
control display in the Properties view. If you select several controls
in the Layout view or the Control List view, the properties common to
the selected controls display in the Properties view.
Properties view
The Properties view displays properties for the object itself or
for the currently selected controls or nonvisual objects in the
object. You can see and change the values of properties in this
view.
The Properties view dynamically changes when you change selected
objects or controls in the Layout, Control List, and Non-Visual Object
List views.
If you select several controls in the Layout view or the Control
List view, the Properties view says group selected in the title bar
and displays the properties common to the selected controls.
In the Properties view pop-up menu, you can select Labels On Top
or Labels On Left to specify where the labels for the properties
display. For help on properties, select Help from the pop-up
menu.
If the Properties view is displayed and you select a nonvisual
object in the Non-Visual Object List view, the properties for that
nonvisual object display in the Properties view. If you select several
nonvisual objects in the Non-Visual Object List view, the properties
common to the selected nonvisual objects display in the Properties
view.
Script view
The Script view is where you edit the scripts for events and
functions, define and modify user events and functions, declare
variables and external functions, and view the scripts for ancestor
objects.
You can open the default script for an object or control by
double-clicking it in the System Tree or the Layout, Control List, or
Non-Visual Object List views, and you can insert the name of an
object, control, property, or function in a script by dragging it from
the System Tree.
For information about the Script view, see Writing Scripts.
Control List view
The Control List view lists the visual controls on the object.
You can click the Control column to sort the controls by control name
or by hierarchy.
If you select one or more controls in the Control List view, the
controls are also selected in the Layout view. Selecting a control
changes the Properties view and double-clicking a control changes the
Script view.
Event List view
The Event List view displays the full event prototype of both
the default and user-defined events mapped to an object. Icons
identify whether an event has a script, is a descendant event with a
script, or is a descendant event with an ancestor script and a script
of its own.
Non-Visual Object List view
The Non-Visual Object List view is a list of nonvisual objects
that have been inserted in an Application object, window, or user
object of any type. You can sort controls by control name or
ancestor.
Function List view
The Function List view lists the system-defined functions and
the object-level functions you defined for the object. Icons identify
whether a function has a script, is a descendant of a function with a
script, or is a descendant of a function with an ancestor script and
script of its own.
Note that although the half-colored icon identifies the myfunc
user-defined function as having both an ancestor script and a script
of its own, for a function this means that the function is overridden.
This is different from the meaning of a half-colored icon in the Event
List view.
Structure List view
The Structure List view lists the object-level structures
defined for the object.
If you double-click a structure in the Structure List view, the
structure’s definition displays in the Structure view.
Structure view
The Structure view is where you edit the definition of
object-level structures in the Window, Menu, and User Object
painters.
