App Studio Forms Pane

The Forms Docking Pane displays a tree view listing all forms and Templates in the current Project, together with all the Controls added to each one. The Build Requests Pane is one of the App Studio main window docking panes.

 

Forms are the basic building blocks of your Project with each form representing a screen or dialog box within the finished app.

Templates, on the other hand, are used to define the appearance of a particular type of list Control, called a ListView, which you can use to display and select data within your app.

 

If your Project is configured to support multiple device Platforms, the forms and Templates for each Platform are listed separately within the Forms Pane. Use the buttons at the bottom of this pane to toggle between the tree views for each Platform.

Within the tree view for a particular Platform, ListView Templates appear in the tree view after your forms. Below each form or Template, you will find sub-branches listing the Controls placed on the form or Template.

 

The order of forms within the list determines the order in which forms will be displayed within your app when using Next/Previous Form navigation. The first form in the list will be the first form displayed when your app loads.

The order of Controls within a form determines the tab order of Controls on a form, irrespective of their position on the actual form.

You can move items up and down within the tree view by selecting an item and using Ctrl+UpArrow and Ctrl+DownArrow, respectively, and you can move items to the top or bottom of the positions relevant to them using Ctrl+Shift+UpArrow and Ctrl+Shift+DownArrow, respectively. Controls can only be positioned within the form to which they relate.

 

To open a form or Template and display it in the Workspace, you can double-click on the form or Template, or on one of its Controls, within the tree view.

Each form is displayed in its own window within the Workspace.

If you have a Linked form, all versions of the form for your different Target Platforms and screen resolutions can be viewed and edited within this window. To change which Platform/Resolution is currently displayed in the window use the drop-down boxes below the window's title bar to select first the required Platform (left-hand drop-down) and then the resolution (right-hand drop-down).

 

Single-clicking on a form, Template or Control in the tree view will display the Properties for the item clicked in the Properties Pane and, if the form or Template is open in the Workspace, bring it to the foreground.

 

You can also open form and Templates, move items and display item Properties from the context menus displayed by right-clicking on an item in the tree view. The content of the menus changes according to the current context. Possible menu items are:

Clicking on Form or Templates section headings:

 

Add Form

Add a new form for this Platform type.

If you have specified multiple Target Platforms for this Project and the Platforms are Linked, a new form will be added for each Target Platform within your Project.

 

Add Template

Add a new Template for this Platform type.

If you have specified multiple Target Platforms for this Project and the Platforms are Linked, a new Template will be added for each Target Platform within your Project.

 

Project Properties

Display the Project Properties in the Properties Pane.

 

Clicking on a form name or a Control name:

Open

Open the form in the Workspace, so you can view and edit it if required. Displays the Properties for the form in the Properties Pane.

 

Open in New Window

Open the form in the Workspace in a new Window, so you can view and edit it if required. Displays the Properties for the form in the Properties Pane.

It allows you to open a form in more than one window, e.g. if you want to view the form at different resolutions or on different Platforms at the same time.

This option is not available if you do not already have the form open in a window or if you have selected the Classic Form Design Mode option under the Advanced tab in the App Studio Settings.

 

Insert Form → Above

Adds a new form and places it above the current form in the tree view.

If you have defined multiple Target Platforms for this Project and the Platforms are Linked this menu item will add a new form for each of your specified Platforms. Under each Platform, the new form will be added to the tree view immediately above the form with the same name as that on which you right-clicked in order to display the context menu. This means the position of the new form within each Platform may vary if you have changed the order of forms within the tree view on different Platforms.

This menu item is only available on the context menu for forms.

 

Insert Form → Below

Adds a new form and places it below the current form in the tree view.

If you have defined multiple Target Platforms for this Project and the Platforms are Linked this menu item will add a new form for each of your specified Platforms. Under each Platform, the new form will be added to the tree view immediately below the form with the same name as that on which you right-clicked in order to display the context menu. This means the position of the new form within each Platform may vary if you have changed the order of forms within the tree view on different Platforms.

This menu item is only available on the context menu for forms.

 

Delete

Deletes the current item.

If you have defined multiple Target Platforms for this Project and the Platforms are Linked the form or Control will be deleted from each of your specified Platforms.

 

Move Up

Move the current item one position up in the tree-view.

 

Move Down

Move the current item one position down in the tree-view.

 

Move to Top

Move the current item to the top of the positions within the tree view relevant to the type of item.

For forms this will be immediately below the Platform name at the top of the tree view and for Controls immediately below the name of the form.

 

Move to Bottom

Move the current item to the bottom of the positions within the tree view relevant to the type of item.

For forms this will be the last form node at the bottom of the tree and for Controls the last Control node below the form name.

 

Properties

Display the relevant Properties for the current item in the Properties Pane.

 

Clicking on any item in the tree view:

Collapse All

Hides all the Controls below each form within the tree view.

 

Automatically Expand for Project Selection

Determines whether a collapsed form node in the tree view will automatically be expanded to show the form's Controls when you select the form or a Control on the form within the Workspace.

The menu item toggles this feature on and off. If the feature is enabled, form nodes will automatically be expanded, if disabled they won't. You can tell the current status of the feature by the presence (feature on) or absence (feature off) of a tick, Picture showing the tick displayed on the context menu when the item is enabled., to the left of the item on the context menu.