App Studio - The Ribbon Buttons

The App Studio Ribbon provides access to the main functions of App Studio. The Ribbon has four tabs – Home, Design, View and Publish, each of which includes a number of buttons or options related to the title of the tab, except the Home tab, which gives access to the features we think you're most likely to use and may include buttons or options which are also available on other tabs.

Within each tab, the buttons and options displayed are divided into groups of related features. Groups and individual buttons or options are dimmed if they are not relevant to your current activities within App Studio.

You can move between the tabs by clicking on the tab titles displayed above the buttons and options.

This topic describes the buttons and options available on the Ribbon.

This tab provides access to some of the most commonly used features.

New Form

Displays a menu allowing you to create a new form. If you are working in Mixed mode, the menu allows you to choose which Platform you want to create the form for. In Linked mode, the menu allows you to create a new linked form.

 

New Data Source

Displays a menu allowing you to create a new Data Source. The menu displays a list of the available Data Source types, allowing you to choose which type you want to add to your project.

 

Target Platforms

Display dialog box to configure which Target Platforms and screen sizes are supported in the Project. Also change between Linked and Mixed modes.

 

Publish Project

Publish your Project. This is a split-button.

Click the top half of the button to perform the default action, which is 'Publish To Local System'.

Click on the bottom half of the button to choose between 'Publish To Local System', 'Publish To Server' and 'Publish To Package'.

 

Run Project

Only enabled if a path has been set in the App Studio Settings to point to a Windows Desktop version of the Digitise Apps Client, the Project includes a Windows Platform and the Digitise Apps Client is not already running.

This option allows you to run the current Project for testing purposes directly from App Studio. App Studio will save the project, publish it to your local App Server, run up the Digitise Apps Windows Desktop Client and automatically load the current Project. The location of the Client to be run must have previously been configured in the App Studio Settings.

 

Check Scripts

Check all Scripts in current Project for syntax errors.

 

Paste

This is a split-button.

Click the top half of the button to perform the default action, which is a standard Paste operation for form Controls and Script text.

Click on the bottom half of the button to choose between 'Paste', 'Paste Special' and 'Paste as Clone'.

 

Cut

Cut form Controls and Script text.

 

Copy

Copy form Controls and Script text.

 

Delete

Delete current selection or Script. If you are editing a Script and no text is selected, you will be asked if you want to delete the whole Script.

 

Select All

Select all Controls on a form, or all text in a Script.

Keyboard shortcut = Ctrl+A.

 

Properties

View Properties for current selection.

 

Generally only available when editing/viewing a Script, although the Undo and Redo items are also available when moving and sizing Controls on a form or Template.

Font Face

Select font face used in Script Editor.

 

Font Size

Select font size used in Script Editor.

 

Clear Formatting

Reset font settings.

 

Grow Font

Make font face larger.

 

Shrink Font

Make font face smaller.

 

Undo

Multiple Undo.

 

Redo

Multiple Redo.

 

Find

Display the Find and Replace dialog box allowing you to search for specified text within your Scripts.

 

Replace

Display the Find and Replace dialog box allowing you to search for specified text within your Scripts and replace it with a second specified text string.

 

Increase Indent (Tabify)

Increase text indent.

 

Decrease Indent (unTabify)

Decrease text indent.

 

Make Uppercase

Make selection all uppercase.

 

Make Lowercase

Make selection all lowercase.

 

Find All

Display the Find and Replace dialog box allowing you to search all the Scripts in this Project for a specified text string and, if required, replace it with a second specified text string.

 

Only available when editing a form or Template.

Styles Gallery or Display Styles button

Select style to apply to current selection.

If the App Studio window is sufficiently wide, the available styles will be displayed in a Gallery where each style is illustrated with a small sample. To assign a style to the currently selected object simply select it from the Gallery.

Where the window is not sufficiently wide to display the Gallery, the Display Styles button is displayed instead. Click on the button to display the Gallery.

 

Edit Style

Display options for styles, configure current style (e.g. font face, border, colours) and create, rename, delete and clone styles. For more information see Styles.

 

Only available when editing a form or Template.

Align Controls

This button allows you to select one or more Controls and then automatically move them so that they line up with another Control. The last Control added to your selection is known as the 'dominant' Control and is the one against which the other Controls in the selection will be lined up.

Select the required Controls and then click this button to display a sub-menu with the following options:

Align Lefts

Align left edges of selected Controls with the left edge of the dominant Control.

 

Align Rights

Align right edges of selected Controls with the right edge of the dominant Control.

 

Align Tops

Align top edges of selected Controls with the top edge of the dominant Control.

 

Align Bottoms

Align bottom edges of selected Controls with the bottom edge of the dominant Control.

 

Centre In Form

This button allows you to centre one or more Controls either horizontally across the width of the form or vertically within the height of the form. Centring a Control horizontally won't affect it's vertical position and vice versa.

Select the required Control(s) and then click this button to display a sub-menu with the following options:

Centre Horizontally

Centre selected Control(s) within the form, horizontally.

 

Centre Vertically

Centre selected Control(s) within the form, vertically.

 

In both cases, if you have multiple controls selected, these commands will centre the whole group of Controls within the form and not centre individual Controls within the group.

 

Make Same Size

This button allows you to select one or more Controls and then automatically resize them so that they match the size of another Control. The last Control added to your selection is known as the 'dominant' Control and is the one against which the other Controls in the selection will be resized.

Select the required Control(s) and then click this button to display a sub-menu with the following options:

Make Same Width

Resize the selected Control(s) to have the same width as the dominant Control.

 

Make Same Height

Resize the selected Control(s) to have the same height as the dominant Control.

 

Make Same Size

Resize the selected Control(s) to have the same width and height as the dominant Control.

 

Size To Content

The size of the currently selected Control will be automatically adjusted to fit its content. If you select multiple Controls, each Control will be resized separately from the other Controls in the selection.

 

Grid Settings

Display dialog box to configure grid settings for drawing forms and Controls:

Grid

Display/hide background grid. The grid consists of rows of dots covering the background of a form or Template providing a guide for positioning and sizing Controls on the form or Template. Select Yes to display the grid or No to hide the grid.

When the grid is displayed 'snap to grid' operates when sizing and positioning. Snap to grid, forces Controls to automatically align themselves with the rows and columns of dots making up the grid when you move or resize them. When moving a Control, it's top left-hand corner will automatically line-up with the nearest dot in the grid and as you click and drag the Control to a new position it will automatically jump from one dot to the next as you move it. When resizing a Control the edge or corner being dragged will, again, automatically jump from one dot in the grid to the next in the direction in which you move your mouse pointer. This can make it easier to position, align and size Controls.

 

Spacing

Allows you to specify the spacing between the rows and columns of dots making up the grid. The Width setting specifies the horizontal distance between dots in a row and the Height setting specifies the vertical distance between each row of dots making up the grid.

 

Clipping

Prevent Controls from being moved/drawn beyond the edges of the form.

SelectRestrict controls to form boundary to prevent Controls being drawn, moved or resized outside the form's boundary. Deselect this option to allow Controls to be drawn, moved or resized outside the form's boundary.

Note that Controls may still be positioned outside the form's boundaries where you have multiple Target Platforms in Linked Mode and you add a Control to one Target Platform whose form size is larger than that of another Target Platform's forms. In this case, the Control will be added to the smaller form at the same co-ordinates as on the larger form, which may position it outside the smaller form's boundaries.

If Restrict controls to form boundary is selected, and, for whatever reason, you have a Control which is outside the form's boundaries, if you attempt to move the Control, it will automatically jump to within the form boundaries. If you have a Control which is partially within the form's boundaries and partially outside and you attempt to resize the Control, any parts of the Control outside the form's boundaries will automatically snap back within the form's boundaries. If you have a Control which is completely outside the form's boundaries and you want to resize it, you will need to click and drag the Control within the form's boundaries before you can adjust its size.

 

Lock Controls

Toggle on/off to lock Controls on all forms so that they cannot be moved.

 

Only available when editing/viewing a Data Source schema in the Workspace.

Data Mappings

View options to map/un-map data in a Data Source.

 

Expand All

Expand all Data Source tables.

 

Collapse All

Collapse all Data Source tables.

 

Refresh View

Refresh the information about a Data Source.

 

Update Schema

This option allows you to change the elements which will appear on the Schema diagram for Web Service Data Sources.

For awi and SOAP Web Services it allows you change or update the WSDL definition for the Data Source and for RESTful Web Services it allows you to edit the parameters for the HTTP Post.

This button does not allow you to update schemas for other Data Sources – to do this use the right-click context menu in the Data Sources Pane or the Refresh View button described above.

For more information see The Data Sources Docking Pane.

 

Data Source Tools

Loads the Data Source Tools allowing you to perform basic investigations into ADO Database and Web Service Data Sources.

 

This tab provides access to features useful when designing your forms.

Paste

This is a split-button.

Click the top half of the button to perform the default action, which is a standard Paste operation for form Controls and Script text.

Click on the bottom half of the button to choose between 'Paste', 'Paste Special' and 'Paste as Clone'.

 

Cut

Cut form Controls and Script text.

 

Copy

Copy form Controls and Script text.

 

Delete

Delete current selection or Script. If you are editing a Script and no text is selected, you will be asked if you want to delete the whole Script.

 

Select All

Select all Controls on a form, or all text in a Script.

Keyboard shortcut = Ctrl+A.

 

Properties

View Properties for current selection.

 

New Template

Create a new ListView Control Template.

 

Auto-Arrange

Only available when creating a ListView Template, this option will position the Template Panel around the current Controls, resizing the Panel so that it fits around all the Controls, and then move the whole group to the top left-hand corner of the Template Workspace.

 

Fit To Control

Only available when editing a form and a ListView Control is selected. Clicking this button will resize the Template Panel assigned to the currently selected ListView Control to fit the width of the ListView Control.

 

Generally only available when editing/viewing a Script, although Undo and Redo are also available when moving and sizing Controls on a form or Template.

Undo

Multiple Undo.

 

Redo

Multiple Redo.

 

Only available when editing a form or Template.

Copy Layout From

Copy the size and position from one or more Controls on the same form under another Platform or screen resolution to the same Control(s) on the current form, for more information see Copy Layouts from One Resolution to Another.

 

Copy Layout To

Copy the size and position of one or more Controls on the current form to the same Control(s) on the same form under another Platform or screen resolution, for more information see Copy Layouts from One Resolution to Another.

 

Align Options

These options allows you to select one or more Controls and then automatically move them so that they line up with another Control. The last Control added to your selection is known as the 'dominant' Control and is the one against which the other Controls in the selection will be lined up.

Select the relevant Control(s) and then choose the required option from the Layout Group:

Align Left

Align left edges of selected Controls with the left edge of the dominant Control.

 

Align Right

Align right edges of selected Controls with the right edge of the dominant Control.

 

Align Top

Align top edges of selected Controls with the top edge of the dominant Control.

 

Align Bottom

Align bottom edges of selected Controls with the bottom edge of the dominant Control.

 

Centre Options

These options allow you to centre one or more Controls either horizontally across the width of the form or vertically within the height of the form. Centring a Control horizontally won't affect it's vertical position and vice versa.

Select the relevant Control(s) and then choose the required option from the Layout Group:

Centre Horizontally

Centre selected Control(s) within the form, horizontally.

 

Centre Vertically

Centre selected Control(s) within the form, vertically.

 

In both cases, if you have multiple controls selected, these commands will centre the whole group of Controls within the form and not centre individual Controls within the group.

 

Make Same Size Options

This button allows you to select one or more Controls and then automatically resize them so that they match the size of another Control. The last Control added to your selection is known as the 'dominant' Control and is the one against which the other Controls in the selection will be resized.

Select the required Control(s) and then click this button to display a sub-menu with the following options:

Make Same Width

Resize the selected Control(s) to have the same width as the dominant Control.

 

Make Same Height

Resize the selected Control(s) to have the same height as the dominant Control.

 

Make Same Size

Resize the selected Control(s) to have the same width and height as the dominant Control.

 

Size To Content

The size of the currently selected Control will be automatically adjusted to fit its content. If you select multiple Controls, each Control will be resized separately from the other Controls in the selection.

 

Grid Settings

Display dialog box to configure grid settings for drawing forms and Controls:

Grid

Display/hide background grid. The grid consists of rows of dots covering the background of a form or Template providing a guide for positioning and sizing Controls on the form or Template. Select Yes to display the grid or No to hide the grid.

When the grid is displayed 'snap to grid' operates when sizing and positioning. Snap to grid, forces Controls to automatically align themselves with the rows and columns of dots making up the grid when you move or resize them. When moving a Control, it's top left-hand corner will automatically line-up with the nearest dot in the grid and as you click and drag the Control to a new position it will automatically jump from one dot to the next as you move it. When resizing a Control the edge or corner being dragged will, again, automatically jump from one dot in the grid to the next in the direction in which you move your mouse pointer. This can make it easier to position, align and size Controls.

 

Spacing

Allows you to specify the spacing between the rows and columns of dots making up the grid. The Width setting specifies the horizontal distance between dots in a row and the Height setting specifies the vertical distance between each row of dots making up the grid.

 

Clipping

Prevent Controls from being moved/drawn beyond the edges of the form.

Select Restrict controls to form boundary to prevent Controls being drawn, moved or resized outside the form's boundary. Deselect this option to allow Controls to be drawn, moved or resized outside the form's boundary.

Note that Controls may still be positioned outside the form's boundaries where you have multiple Target Platforms in Linked Mode and you add a Control to one Target Platform whose form size is larger than that of another Target Platform's forms. In this case, the Control will be added to the smaller form at the same co-ordinates as on the larger form, which may position it outside the smaller form's boundaries.

If Restrict controls to form boundary is selected, and, for whatever reason, you have a Control which is outside the form's boundaries, if you attempt to move the Control, it will automatically jump to within the form boundaries. If you have a Control which is partially within the form's boundaries and partially outside and you attempt to resize the Control, any parts of the Control outside the form's boundaries will automatically snap back within the form's boundaries. If you have a Control which is completely outside the form's boundaries and you want to resize it, you will need to click and drag the Control within the form's boundaries before you can adjust its size.

 

Lock Controls

Toggle on/off to lock Controls on all forms so that they cannot be moved.

 

Tab Order

Specify the Tab Order for Controls on a form.

 

Only available when editing/viewing a form or Template.

Replicate Forms

Copy a form from one Platform to one or more of the other Target Platforms within a Project.

 

This tab provides display-related options such as showing/hiding docking panes within the App Studio window etc.

Show/Hide Forms

Toggle display of the Forms Docking Pane.

 

Show/Hide Data Sources

Toggle display of the Data Sources Docking Pane.

 

Show/Hide Resources

Toggle display of the Resources Docking Pane.

 

Show/Hide Toolbox

Toggle display of the Toolbox Docking Pane.

 

Show/Hide Properties

Toggle display of the Properties Docking Pane.

 

Show/Hide Statusbar

Toggle display of the status bar.

 

Show/Hide Find Results

Toggle display of the Find Results Docking Pane.

 

Script Errors

Toggle display of the Script Errors Docking Pane.

 

Build Requests

Toggle display of the Build Requests Docking Pane.

 

Hide Bitmaps

Hide Bitmap images on your forms.

 

100%

Return form display to 100% size after zooming in or out.

 

Zoom

Zoom in and out when displaying a form. This option allows you to view the current form at 25, 50, 100, 200 or 400 per cent of the standard view.

Note you can also use the + and – keys on the Number Pad to zoom in and out.

 

Cascade Windows

Arrange all the windows displayed in the App Studio Workspace so that they overlap.

 

Tile Windows Horizontally

Arrange all the windows displayed in the App Studio Workspace as non-overlapping tiles, horizontally.

 

Tile Windows Vertically

Arrange all the windows displayed in the App Studio Workspace as non-overlapping tiles, vertically.

 

Close All Windows

Close all windows open in the App Studio Workspace.

 

Reset Layout

Reset the positioning of panes etc. within the App Studio window back to the default layout.

 

Take Snapshot

Copy a picture of the current form to the clipboard.

 

Switch Windows

Click on this button to display a list of forms, Scripts, Data Sources etc. currently open in the App Studio Workspace. Choosing an item from the list will bring the window containing that item to the foreground in the Workspace.

 

Display tip of the day

Display one of the 'Tip of the Day' tips.

Data Source Tools

Loads the Data Source Tools allowing you to perform basic investigations into ADO Database and Web Service Data Sources.

This tab provides options related to publishing apps and requesting Standalone App and pre-configured Client builds.

For more information about these options, see Publishing Using App Studio.

 

Publish to Server

Used to publish your Project directly to an App Server.

 

Publish to Package

Package up your Project into a single compressed file.

 

For more information about these options, see Building a Single App Standalone App, Build a Multi-App Standalone App for the Apple Platform and Build a Pre-Configured Digitise Apps Client.

Package Settings

Configure settings for the Package file created when a Standalone App is built from within App Studio.

 

Request Build

Request a build of a Standalone App or pre-configured Digitise Apps Client.