Editing and positioning dialog box controls
Quattro Pro lets you customize the position and appearance of dialog box controls.
Dialog box controls are created with a default object name (for example, Dialog 1). Macros, link commands, and formulas use this name when referring to a specific control. You can rename these controls.
You can move dialog box controls in the same way as you move other floating objects. You can also specify the exact position of controls on a dialog box.
Controls can be copied in the same way as you copy other objects. Each instance of a control has a different object name (Button1, Button2, and so on), to avoid confusion when referring to the control in macros, link commands, and spreadsheet functions.
You can edit the controls in a dialog box. As well, you can align, center, and space multiple controls. For example, when you space controls horizontally, the first control you select displays at the left after repositioning, the next control displays to the right of the first, and so on. When you space controls vertically, the first control you select displays at the top, and so on.
You can change the size of a control in the same way as you resize other objects.
By default, when you press TAB, you can cycle through the controls in the order they were added to the dialog box. However, you can change this tabbing order.
To rename a control in a dialog box |  |
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1.
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Click the Quick tab
 button at the bottom of the application window to display the Objects sheet. |
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2.
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Double-click a dialog box.
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3.
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Right-click a control, and click Properties
 Name. |
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4.
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Type a new name in the Enter text box.
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To move a control in a dialog box | |
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Click the Quick tab
button at the bottom of the application window to display the Objects sheet. |
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Double-click a dialog box.
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3.
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Select a control.
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4.
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Drag the control to a new location.
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If you want to use a grid to help you position the control, right-click the dialog box title, click Dialog properties
Grid options, and enable the Show grid check box. |
To specify an exact position for a control in a dialog box | |
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Click the Quick tab
button at the bottom of the application window to display the Objects sheet. |
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Double-click a dialog box.
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3.
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Right-click the control, and click Properties
Dimension. |
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Type a value in the following boxes:
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X pos — lets you specify the distance in pixels between the left edge of the control and the left side of the dialog box
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Y pos — lets you specify the distance in pixels between the top edge of the control and the bottom edge of the dialog box’s title bar
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To copy a control in a dialog box | |
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Click the Quick tab
button at the bottom of the application window to display the Objects sheet. |
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Double-click a dialog box.
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3.
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Select a control.
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Click Edit
Copy. |
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Click where you want to copy the control.
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6.
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Click Edit
Paste. |
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Copying a parent control copies any child controls attached to it as well.
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You can also copy a control by using the Copy
 and Paste  buttons on the toolbar. |
To edit multiple dialog box controls | |
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Click the Quick tab
button at the bottom of the application window to display the Objects sheet. |
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Double-click a dialog box.
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Drag a frame around the controls you want to edit.
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Edit the selected controls.
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You can also select multiple controls by holding down Shift and clicking the controls you want to edit.
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You can edit all controls in a dialog box by clicking a control and clicking Edit
Select all. |
To align multiple dialog box controls | |
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1.
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Click the Quick tab
button at the bottom of the application window to display the Objects sheet. |
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Double-click a dialog box.
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Click a control, hold down Shift, and click additional controls.
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Right-click one of the controls, click Align, and click one of the following:
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Align left — lines up the left sides of the selected controls
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Align right — lines up the right sides of the selected controls
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Align top — lines up the top edges of the selected controls
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Align bottom — lines up the bottom edges of the selected controls
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To center multiple dialog box controls | |
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Click the Quick tab
button at the bottom of the application window to display the Objects sheet. |
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Double-click a dialog box.
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Click a control, hold down Shift, and click additional controls.
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Right-click one of the controls, click Position, and click one of the following:
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Center horizontally — centers controls between the left and right edges of the dialog box
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Center vertically — centers controls between the top and bottom edges of the dialog box
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To space multiple dialog box controls | |
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Click the Quick tab
button at the bottom of the application window to display the Objects sheet. |
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Double-click a dialog box.
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Click a control, hold down Shift, and click additional controls.
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Right-click one of the controls, click Space, and click one of the following:
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Horizontal space
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Vertical space
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Type a number in the Space between objects box.
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This indicates the pixel distance to space the selected controls.
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To resize multiple dialog box controls | 
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Click the control whose size you want to apply to other controls.
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Hold down Shift, and click additional controls.
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3.
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Click Format
Same size. |
To change the tab order for dialog box controls | |
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1.
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Click the Quick tab
button at the bottom of the application window to display the Objects sheet. |
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Double-click a dialog box.
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Hold down Shift, and select each control in the order you want to move through the controls.
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Click Format
Tab order Set new. |
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You can also change the order for settings initial values of a control and the order in which they activate. For more information about changing the initial values and order of controls, see “To change the order for setting initial values in a dialog box.”
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