Properties of form controls
Form controls are objects such as buttons, list boxes, and radio buttons. Quattro Pro lets you place these controls directly onto your spreadsheet, and they can run a macro, display a custom dialog box, or display spreadsheet data. There are many properties available for use in developing form controls.
Active dialog box properties |  |
The following properties control the behavior of the dialog box:
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Dimension — specifies the exact size and position of the dialog box
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Title — specifies the title of the dialog box, which the user will see
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Position adjust — specifies how the dialog box moves when the Quattro Pro window is resized
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Grid options — shows/hides a grid and sets the number of pixels between gridlines
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Name — used to identify the dialog box in macros, link commands, and formulas
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Disabled — disables all controls in the dialog box
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Value — the current setting of the dialog box (a comma separated list of the current control settings of the dialog box
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Active page property | |
Indicates the name of the active tab in a tab control.
Add down button property | |
Adds a down arrow to the right of a combo box.
Alarm on property | |
Turns the timer alarm on or off. When set to Yes, the time control generates an alarm event at the time specified by the Alarm time property. For information about the Alarm time property, see “Alarm time property.”
Alarm time property | |
Specifies the time of day to generate an alarm event when Alarm on is set to Yes.
Allow point mode property | |
Lets users use the pointer to select cells while a dialog box remains on the screen. The Field type property must be set to a field type other than integer before this property can be enabled.
Attach child property | |
Used to group controls for moving or resizing. The Attach child property is available for many controls. For information about working with child controls, see “Working with child controls in dialog boxes.”
Bitmap property | |
Specifies a .bmp file or an internal Quattro Pro bitmap to appear on a button.
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System bitmaps — displays internal bitmaps used by Quattro Pro. Select one from the list, or type the name of another image.
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Bitmap — sets the name of the bitmap you want to use. Cli
ck the folder button to select a different file. |
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Preview — shows a sample of what the bitmap looks like
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Button type property | |
Specifies the type of button:
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Push button — acts like a push button; you can use link commands to make it perform operations when a user clicks it
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Radio button — acts like a radio button, including a radio button’s behavior in the group box. (A bitmap button appears recessed when a user chooses it.)
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Check box button — acts like a check box button
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Convert text property | |
Controls the format of text in edit fields. If Convert text is set to Yes, all characters preceded by a backslash (\ ) are treated as escape sequences. Important: This property is valid only if a field’s value is set via a macro command or link, and not simply typed into the edit field.
Valid formatting codes for edit field text consist of the following:
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\n — displays following text on a new line.
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\t — inserts a tab (handy for lining up columns of text within the edit field).
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\\ — inserts a backslash (\) into the text. Use \\ when you have to enter \n or \t as normal text into the edit field.
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Current time property | |
Retrieves the current time. Settings cannot be altered.
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Hours — displays the current number of hours on your system clock
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Minutes — displays the current number of minutes on your system clock
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Seconds — displays the current number of seconds on your system clock
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Custom color property | |
Specifies whether the color control should include a button for specifying different colors.
Default property | |
Determines the default value displayed in a spin control or an edit field control (with Field type set to Integer).
Default button property | |
Specifies whether a push button or bitmap button is automatically clicked when the user presses ENTER in a dialog box or toolbar. A button configured this way is called the default button. A button defined as the default button displays in the dialog box with a thick black border. Only one button in the dialog box can have this property set to Yes; by default, it is the OK button. Setting a control’s Default button property to Yes automatically sets the other control’s Default button properties to No.
Depend on property | |
Specifies the areas of Quattro Pro in which the control is enabled when the dialog box displays. If all of the options are enabled, the control is always available. This property is available for many controls.
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Desktop — enables the control when the dialog is displayed from the Quattro Pro desktop
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Notebook — enables the control when the dialog is displayed from a notebook window
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Chart — enables the control when the dialog is displayed from a graphics window
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Dialog — enables the control when the dialog is displayed from another dialog box
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Input line — enables the control when the dialog is displayed from the input line
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Objects page — enables the control when the dialog is displayed from the Objects sheet
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Dialog type property | |
Specifies whether a file control is for saving or opening files.
Dimension property | |
Specifies the exact size and position of the control. The Dimension property is available for many controls, and is also available for graphics window objects when running Quattro Pro in Developer mode (/D). For information about using Developer mode, see “Working in Developer mode.” If you start Quattro Pro in Developer mode (with the /D parameter), the Dimension property will also be available for drawn chart objects.
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X Pos — sets the distance in pixels between the left edge of the object and the left side of the window
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Y Pos — sets the distance in pixels between the top edge of the object and the bottom edge of the window’s title bar (or from the top of the chart background in the case of a drawn object)
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Width — sets the width of the object in pixels
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Height — sets the height of the object in pixels
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Disabled property | |
Disables the control in the same manner as the Grayed property, but does not dim the control. The Disabled property is available for all controls.
Draw beveling property | |
This property is associated with the bitmap button. When it is set to Yes, a border around the bitmap gives the button a 3D appearance. When it is set to No, the 3D border does not display.
Draw to right property | |
Sets the position of check box and radio button text. If set to Yes, text is placed to the right of the check box or radio button; if set to No, text is placed to the left. The default is Yes.
Edit disabled property | |
Disables typing in a combo box or file control.
Edit length property | |
Specifies the maximum number of characters allowed in an edit field, combo box, or spin control.
Enabled property | |
Enables controls that have been turned off with the Disabled property or by setting Enabled to No. It is used by link commands and does not appear in the control’s properties. This property is available for all controls.
Field type property | |
Determines the allowable type of input to the edit field. After changing Field type to Integer, properties change to Edit integer.
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String — accepts any text a user enters (including numbers); this is the default edit field type
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Real — accepts any number or formula
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Block — accepts only cell addresses or block coordinates
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Hidden — accepts any text, but displays a pound sign (#) for each character instead of the actual character. This is handy when users are entering passwords.
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56 colors property | |
Specifies whether the color control should display 56 colors or 16 colors.
File type list property | |
Specifies the file types that the browse button can display.
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Edit field — where you enter the name of the types list to use, or select it from the list
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List box — lists the file types you can use (only toolbar files, only database files, and so on)
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Fill color property | |
Specifies the color inside a Rectangle control. Enable the Use system color option if you want to use the system color for the object. For example, these are two default system colors: notebook sheet tabs are white, and rectangles in a dialog boxes are gray with a black frame.
Frame color property | |
Specifies the color of a rectangle frame.
Grayed property | |
Specifies whether the control can be used. When set to Yes, the control appears dimmer to indicate it is unavailable. This property is available for many controls. When you set the Grayed property for a control to Yes, you also have to set its Disabled property to No.
Grid options property | |
Shows or hides a grid in the dialog window, sets the number of pixels between grid lines, and turns Snap to grid on or off. The grid is an aid in laying out controls.
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Grid size — sets the distance in pixels between gridlines
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Show grid — displays the grid to help you position objects in the window
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Snap to grid — snaps the sides of objects to the grid when you move, resize, or align objects
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Group text property | |
Specifies a title for a group box.
Help line property | |
A brief description that appears in a QuickTip when the control is selected by the user. The Help line property is available for many controls. For toolbar controls, this field sets the QuickTip text that appears when you point to a toolbar button.
Hidden property | |
Specifies whether the control is visible in the dialog box. When set to No, the control is hidden to the user but still displays when editing. The Hidden property is available for every control.
History list property | |
Set this to Yes to have a combo box store a history of the values entered in its edit field; this supersedes the settings of the List property. For information about the List property, see “List property.”
Interval in units property | |
Used with the Units in milliseconds property to specify the interval at which the time control generates the timer event. The Interval in units property determines how frequently the timer refresh event will be generated; the Units in milliseconds property determines the number of milliseconds represented by each unit. For information about using the Units in milliseconds property, see “Units in milliseconds property.”
Label font property | |
Determines dialog label typeface and point size, and whether it is bold, italic, underlined, or strikeout.
Label text property | |
Specifies the text appearing on a button or other control. When a button leads to another dialog box, you should end its text with an ellipsis (…).
List property | |
Specifies a block containing a list to appear in a combo or list box, or selects one of Quattro Pro’s predefined lists. Available predefined lists include Fonts, DriveList, BitmapList, and DBFileType. If you specify a block and the block contents are changed after the List property has been set, the List settings will not be updated until the dialog box is opened again or an EXECUTE link command is used to refresh the list box.
For information about the File type list property, see “File type list property.”
List length property | |
Specifies the maximum number of history list entries in a combo box. For information about using history lists, see “History list property.”
Maximum property | |
Determines the highest number that can be entered in a spin control or
an edit field (when its Field type property is set to Integer).
Minimum property | |
Determines the lowest number that can be entered in a spin control or an edit field (when its Field type property is set to Integer).
Name property | |
Used to identify a control or drawn chart object. It can also be used by macros, link commands, and @functions to select the object, change its property settings, or read its property settings. The Name property is available for many objects. If you start Quattro Pro in Developer mode (with the /D parameter), the Name property will also be available for many graphics window objects. For information about using Developer mode, see “Working in Developer mode.”
Number of columns property | |
Specifies how many columns of items appear in a list box. The default is one column.
Object help property | |
Determines the contents of Object Help for the selected object. Use the Object help property to create help for the objects in custom dialog boxes and toolbars. Note that the combined total of all characters in the three Object help fields cannot exceed 194 characters.
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The Object help title field sets the title of the object’s help dialog.
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Object ID property | |
Assigns an identification number for controls and drawn chart objects. It shows the order in which the controls were created. The Object ID property is available for many objects. You can use the Object ID to identify objects in a macro command, link command, or @function. You cannot change the Object ID of an object. It is a read-only property. If you start Quattro Pro in Developer mode (with the /D parameter), the Object ID property will also be available for drawn chart objects. For information about using Developer mode, see “Working in Developer mode.”
Ordered property | |
Sorts list box and combo box entries alphanumerically in ascending order. Setting it to No does not reset the order of a list that has been sorted.
Page list property | |
This property displays commands for creating, removing, and reordering tabs.
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Sheet name — indicates the tab to add or remove
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Sheet list — lists the tabs already attached to the tab control. You can select an entry in this list to move it or insert new tabs before it.
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Insert — adds the tab indicated in Sheet name before the tab name selected in Sheet list
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Add — adds the tab indicated in Sheet name after the tab name selected in Sheet list
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Delete — removes the selected tab name from the tab control
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Move up or Move down — changes the position of the tab name selected in Sheet list
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Page name text property | |
The Page name text property is a property of a tab that lets you rename a tab in a tab control. You can also rename a tab in the Dialog Designer by double-clicking it and entering a new name.
Parameters property | |
Controls the range of values a scroll bar accepts, and specifies how quickly the user can change the scroll bar’s value.
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Min — sets a horizontal bar’s value when its scroll box is as far left as possible; vertical bars are set to this value when their scroll box is at the top of the scroll bar
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Max — sets a horizontal bar’s value when its scroll box is as far right as possible; vertical bars are set to this value when their scroll box is at the bottom of the scroll bar
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Line — sets the amount the scroll bar’s value changes when a user clicks a scroll arrow
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Page — sets the amount the scroll bar’s value changes when a user clicks above or below the scroll box on a vertical scroll bar, or to the left or right of the scroll box on a horizontal scroll bar
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Position adjust property | |
Specifies how a control moves when its parent control is resized. The Position adjust property is available for every control.
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Depend on parent — locks each edge of the child control in place so that when the parent control is resized, the child control resizes proportionally
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Center horizontally — centers the control between the left and right sides of the parent control whenever the parent control is resized
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Center vertically — centers the control between the top and bottom of the parent control whenever the parent control is resized
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For information about using parent and child controls, see “Working with child controls in dialog boxes.”
Process value property | |
Setting this property to Yes lets the macro command {DODIALOG} access the control’s value. The Process value property is available for many objects.
Rectangle style property | |
Determines the type of rectangle:
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Plain — draws the rectangle as a solid box without a frame
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Framed — draws a frame around the rectangle (the default). To set the color of this frame, use the Frame color property.
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Beveled in — displays a slightly recessed rectangle
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Transparent — displays a clear, unfilled rectangle. This is handy for grouping controls together without displaying the rectangle they are attached to.
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Engraved — displays a rectangle with an etched frame
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To change a rectangle’s color, right-click the rectangle and choose the Rectangle Properties command, then click Color.
Select location property | |
This property is associated with File controls. When it is set to Yes, clicking the browse button on the file control activates the Select folder dialog box, which allows users to select a location in the directory tree.
The Select folder dialog box is akin to the one encountered during setup of WordPerfect Office which prompts for a specific destination for installing the applications. If users click the Browse 
button during installation, the Select folder dialog box displays so that users can choose a drive and folder.
Selected property | |
Indicates numerically which radio button in a group box is chosen or which item in a list box is highlighted. Numbers are sequential (such as 0, 1, 2, 3,…9). If the first item is chosen or highlighted, Selected is set to 0. Choosing or highlighting the second item sets Selected to 1, and so on.
Selection text property | |
Returns the text of an item selected in a list box.
Show property | |
The opposite of Hidden. Set it to No to hide the control from the user. It is used by link and macro commands and does not appear in the control’s properties.
Show frame property | |
Displays a box around an edit field or spin control. The default is On.
Show time property | |
If set to Yes, the system time displays on the face of the time control.
Tab stop property | |
Determines whether the control can be activated by Tab. The Tab stop property is available for many controls.
Terminate dialog property | |
If set to Yes, pressing ENTER triggers the default button (usually OK). This property is available for combo boxes, edit fields, file controls, and spin controls. When set to No, keeps the dialog box from activating its default button when the user presses ENTER in an edit field.
Text draw flags property | |
Determines where the text appears in relation to its background (for labels, check boxes, and radio buttons) or in relation to the button itself (for push buttons and bitmap buttons).
You can enter special text characters in a label to change its appearance:
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\n — makes characters to the right of it display on a second line. This only works when the Single line check box (in the Text draw flags property) is disabled.
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\t — inserts a tab into the text (a fixed amount of space that is handy for lining up columns of text).
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\\ — inserts a backslash (\) into the text. You can use this to enter \n or \t into a label as normal text.
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Other options you can select include the following:
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Apply check box — enables the Text draw flags properties you have selected.
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Wrapping text area:
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Single line — specifies that the text appears on one line
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Word break — specifies word-wrapped lines (that is, lines of text that break between words, instead of in the middle of words)
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Vertical position area:
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Top — places text flush against the top edge of the label background
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Center vertically — centers the text between the top and bottom of the background. It does not affect the horizontal position of the text
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Bottom — places text flush against the bottom of the background
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Horizontal position area:
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Left — places text flush against the left side of the label background
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Center horizontally — centers the text between the left and right sides of the label background. It does not affect the vertical position of the text
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Right — places text flush against the right side of the label background
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Timer on property | |
Turns timer on or off. Timer specifies whether the time control generates time events at regular intervals.
Title property | |
Determines the dialog box title or file control title displayed to the user. For file controls, this property assigns a title to the dialog box that opens when the Browse button is clicked.
Units in milliseconds property | |
Controls timer intervals together with the Interval in units property. The Interval in Units property determines how frequently the timer refresh event will be generated; the Units in milliseconds property determines the number of milliseconds represented by each unit. For information about Interval in units, see “Interval in units property.”
Value property | |
The current setting of a control. This varies from control to control. See the control descriptions for a discussion of their values. Value does not appear in the properties; you can access it using macros, link commands, or @functions. Most controls have a Value property.