Progress
AppBuilder
Developer’s Guide
Object Tools Palette
For your convenience, the Object Tools Palette makes available all the component objects supplied with AppBuilder. Only the major organizers (Windows, Dialogs, SmartFrame) are not on the Palette. Create them from the list in the File
New dialog box.
Figure 2–5 shows the Object Tools Palette.
Figure 2–5: Object Tools Palette
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Each icon has a Windows Tooltip that identifies it. Or, if you would prefer to work with a pulldown menu of object names instead of the icons, select the Options
Show Menu Only item on the Palette’s menu.
By dragging the edge of the Palette appropriately, you can change the shape of the Palette through a broad range, from one (long) row to two columns. You can also choose where to position the Palette within the MS-Windows display area.
The default set of object tools is:
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Pointer — This tool does not create any object; it is part of AppBuilder itself. Use this tool when selecting, rearranging, or resizing objects in the visual-layout workspace. Also choose this tool if you wish to change your mind after selecting another tool but before placing that object.
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Basic Data Viewer — (DB Fields) Prompts you to connect a database, if necessary, and then to identify first a table and then fields in the table. Creates a query based on your selection, and adds to the workspace one labelled Fill-in per field, arranged in a single column.
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Query — Prompts you to connect a database, if necessary, and then starts the Query Builder dialog box. This widget is visible only at design time.
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Basic Data Browser — Prompts you to connect a database, if necessary, and then starts the Query Builder dialog box. The results of the query are automatically displayed by the widget.
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Frame — Adds a Frame to the workspace. Use a Frame to visually group other objects or, generally only in character mode, to serve as a window (viewport) into a data display.
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Rectangle — Adds a static Rectangle to the workspace. Rectangles have no associated functionality. Use Rectangles to visually group other objects.
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Image — Adds a static, bitmapped Image to the workspace. AppBuilder supports many different image formats under MS-Windows. This object is, of course, meaningless in a character environment.
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Radio Button Set — Adds a set of three Radio Buttons to the workspace, with generic labels. You can change the number of buttons in the set after placement. Radio-button sets represent any small set of discrete values where only one can be valid at a given time.
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Toggle Box — Adds a single Toggle Box (Check Box) to the workspace, with a generic label. Toggle Boxes represent a single LOGICAL (Boolean) value. Generally, you should set up the box so that the unchecked condition represents No, False, Empty, Not set, etc.
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Slider Control — Adds a Slider Control widget to the workspace, with optional readout. You can choose to orient this widget vertically or horizontally. A Slider Control can represent INTEGER values from –32768 to 32767.
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Pushbutton — Adds a Pushbutton to the workspace, with a generic label. You would typically use a Pushbutton for activating some process rather than selecting a static condition. Pushbuttons are represented as momentary-on (nonlatching) devices: when released, they return to the up or inactive state.
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Selection List — Adds a Selection List to the workspace. A Selection List presents a scrollable set of items displayed as character strings.
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Multi-line Editor — Adds a multi-line text Editor widget to the workspace. You can set the size of the edit buffer, as well as the availability of features such as wordwrap.
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Combo Box — Adds to the workspace a Drop-down List, or a Combo Box with your choice of drop-down or visible list element. A true Combo Box allows the user to type a value into the fill–in component or select from the items displayed by the list component.
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Fill–in — Adds a single-line Editor to the workspace. Although a Fill–in presents its data at run-time as a character string, you can specify automatic type conversion such that, for example, the value is actually LOGICAL with the user’s only choice being between some two string literals you define such as “True” and “False.”
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Static Text — Adds a string of static text to the workspace. You control font, color, and size.
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ActiveX (OCX) Control — Opens a list of ActiveX controls for your selection. ActiveX controls can be broadly similar in capability to Progress SmartObjects, but they follow Microsoft’s Component Object Model (COM) standard, not the ADM.
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Spin Buttons (ActiveX) — Adds a Progress ActiveX Spin Button control to the workspace. Spin Buttons allow setting an INTEGER value. They are functionally similar to a hardware thumbwheel device. You can choose the upper and lower bounds of the range and the increment/decrement value.
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Combo Box (ActiveX) — Adds a Progress ActiveX Combo Box to the workspace. See the description of the 4GL Combo Box for general details about this type of object.
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Timer (ActiveX) — Adds a Progress ActiveX Timer object to the workspace. Timers are used as countdown devices that endlessly generate an event at an interval you determine. A timer has no run-time representation or associated data value.
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SmartDataObject — Adds an ADM database interface to the workspace. A SmartDataObject manages a data stream to and from disk, filtering records and responding to requests from other ADM controls residing upstream.
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SmartObject — Adds some SmartObject of your choosing to the workspace.
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SmartFolder — Adds an ADM tabs widget to the workspace. A SmartFolder provides a well-defined context within which you can divide your total interface into functional units.
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SmartPanel — Adds one of the predefined ADM button arrays to the workspace. SmartPanels are dedicated toolbars, providing upstream control of other SmartObjects.
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SmartDataBrowser — Adds an ADM tabular data display to the workspace. SmartDataBrowsers provide a multi-record, row/column interface to the data stream.
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SmartDataViewer — Adds an ADM data display to the workspace. SmartDataViewers provide a single-record interface to the data stream. You can arrange their layout to suit your design.
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SmartDataField — Adds special capabilities of your choosing to a SmartDataViewer on a per-field basis.
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SmartFilter — Adds an ADM Smart Query-By-Form capability to the workspace.
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SmartToolbar — Adds an ADM menu and toolbar to the workspace. The default SmartToolbar offers the same navigation and update functions that are provided by the corresponding SmartPanels.
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SmartContainer — Allows you to add an outer-level container object, such as a SmartWindow, to another container. This creates a child-parent relationship.
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