Progress
Application Development
Environment — Getting Started


AppBuilder Object Palette

From the Object Palette, you can select basic objects, SmartObjects, and ActiveX (OCX) controls to insert into a design window. You can also create and insert new SmartObjects from the Object Palette.

Object Palette Options

The Object Palette’s menu options allow you to control some characteristics of the Object Palette itself. For example, when you choose Menu Options Show Menu Only, the icons are hidden and only the Menu options appear in the Object Palette. This option is useful when working with a VGA resolution and you do not want to use valuable screen space to display the palette’s icons.

The other two Object Palette options give you control over other aspects of its appearance. If you choose Menu Options Top-Only Window, the Object Palette stays on top of all other windows, including design windows. If you choose Menu Options Save Palette, the AppBuilder saves the options, position, and size of the Object Palette for future sessions in the registry or in the progress.ini file.

You can resize the Object Palette and move it to a more convenient area on your desktop or minimize it until you are ready to begin assembling your applications. To view an icon’s name, place the cursor over the icon to display the ToolTip.

The icons in the bottom rows of the Object Palette represent SmartObjects, as shown in Figure 1–4. With the exception of the Pointer, which represents no object, all other icons on the Object Palette represent basic objects, which are also referred to as widgets.

Figure 1–4: The AppBuilder Object Palette

Table 1–2 lists the icons on the Object Palette and their functions. For more information about the objects in the Object Palette, see the Progress AppBuilder Developer’s Guide , the Progress ADM 2 Guide , and the Progress ADM 2 Reference .

Table 1–2: Object Palette Icons
Icon
ToolTip
Description

Pointer
Selects an object in the design window or frame.

DB-Fields
Adds a database field and a query for that field.

Query
Adds a query and starts the QueryBuilder. The QueryBuilder widget is visible only at design time.

Browse
Adds a browser.

Frame
Adds a frame. Frames are used to visually and functionally group other objects.

Rectangle
Adds a rectangle. Rectangles are used to visually group other objects.

Image
Adds a static image.

Radio-Set
Adds a radio button set. This object creates a three-button radio set with generic text.

Toggle-Box
Adds a single check box with a generic label.

Slider
Adds a slider. You can define sliders as horizontal or vertical.

Button
Adds a pushbutton with a generic label.

Selection-List
Adds a scrollable selection list.

Editor
Adds a multi-line text editor.

Combo-Box
Adds a non-OCX combo box.

Fill-In
Adds a single-line editor.

Text
Adds text to a window. You can specify a font and color for the text.

OCX
Adds an ActiveX control.

CSSpin
Adds a Progress Spin Button control.

CSComboBox
Adds a Progress OCX combo box.

PSTimer
Adds a Progress OCX Timer object.

SmartDataObject
Adds a SmartDataObject (SDO) I/O interface. SmartDataObjects manage the data stream to and from disk, filter records, and respond to requests from other SmartObjects.

SmartObject
Adds a generic ADM Smart template. You use this template to create new types of SmartObjects.

SmartFolder
Adds an ADM tabs widget. Tabs widgets are used in SmartFolders to provide a context in which you can visually and functionally divide an interface.

SmartPanel
Adds one of the predefined ADM button arrays. SmartPanels provide upstream control of other SmartObjects.

SmartDataBrowser
Adds an ADM data browser. SmartDataBrowsers provide a multi-record row/column interface to data.

SmartDataViewer
Adds an ADM data viewer. SmartDataViewers provide a single-record interface to data that you can arrange for a specific design.

SmartDataField
Adds customized capabilities to a SmartDataViewer.

SmartFilter
Adds an ADM Smart Query-By-Form.

SmartToolBar
Adds an ADM menu and toolbar.

SmartContainer
Adds an outer-level container object, such as a SmartWindow, to another container, imposing a parent/child relationship on objects that do not normally inherit from each other.

SmartBuisnessObject
Adds a special ADM SmartContainer that organizes the data streams of several SmartDataObjects.

SmartProducer
Adds an ADM message handler that creates messages to be transmitted by a Progress SonicMQ message service.

SmartConsumer
Adds an ADM message handler that receives messages transmitted by a Progress SonicMQ message service.

SmartRouter
Adds an ADM message handler that routes incoming messages from a SmartConsumer to appropriate SmartB2BObjects.

SmartB2BObject
Adds an ADM transformation object that transforms information to and from XML, based on a protocol shared between the message’s sender and recipient.

SmartSender
Adds a customizable ADM object that transforms information acording to your rules, passing the result to a SmartProducer.

SmartReciever
Adds a customizable ADM object that recieves information from a SmartConsumer and then transforms it acording to your rules.

In addition to choosing an object from the Object Palette, you can choose an object from the Object Palette menu. When you choose an object from the menu, some options include specific properties for the object. For example, if you choose an Editor object from the menu, you have the additional option of choosing a Read-Only Editor object.

You can add OCX icons or submenu options to the Object Palette by choosing Menu Add OCX and then choosing Add as Palette Icon or Add to Palette SubMenu. Specify the appropriate OCX file information. The icon or submenu option appears on the Object Palette.

Customizing the Object Palette

In addition to providing a variety of display options for the Object Palette, the AppBuilder allows you to customize its contents. Choose Menu Use Custom to add to or modify the files that determine the Object Palette’s behavior and appearance.

For example, if you create new SmartObject templates, you can add them to the Object Palette. You can also change certain default settings for the standard SmartObject templates.

NOTE: Creating a new SmartObject template is different from fabricating a SmartObject master from an existing template, as you do in An Overview Of SmartObject Technology."

How the Object Palette Responds To the Mouse

The icons on the Object Palette respond differently to the left and right mouse buttons:


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