Text-box control
A text-box control displays a field value as an editable text string. When the field behavior is optional or mandatory, users can modify the field by editing the contents of a text-box control. To display a simple text string that never changes, use a static text-box control.
Text-box controls have several options that affect the appearance of the typed text. You can prevent echoing of typed characters, which is useful for entering passwords or other secure information. You can control the formatting of date and time information. You can enable the user to format the text in the control using multiple lines. You can also add scroll bars to enable automatic or manual scrolling of the text-box contents.
The property sheet for a text-box control has four pages: General, Extended, Date/Time, and Context Menu Hooks.
General page
The following table lists the properties of the General page.
- Property
- Description
- Field Name
- Select the field to associate with the control.
- Label
- Enter a label for the control. By default, the label is name of the selected field.
- X
- The horizontal starting point of the control in pixels.
- Y
- The vertical starting point of the control in pixels.
- Width
- The width of the control in pixels.
- Height
- The height of the control in pixels.
Extended page
The following table lists the properties of the Extended page.
- Property
- Description
- Password/no echo style
- Characters in the text box are replaced with asterisks for security purposes.
- Multi Line
- Text in the text box can span multiple lines. If this option is disabled, all text is on the same line.
- Auto Vert Scroll
- Enables automatic vertical scrolling when the user types beyond the bottom of the text box or selects text beyond the top or bottom edge of the text box.
- Auto Horz Scroll
- Enables automatic horizontal scrolling when the user types beyond the end of the line or selects text beyond the left or right edge of the text box.
- Vert Scroll Bar
- Includes a vertical scroll bar along the right side of the text box.
- Horz Scroll Bar
- Includes a horizontal scroll bar along the bottom of the text box.
Date/Time page
The following table lists the properties of the Date/Time page.
- Property
- Description
- Date
- If selected, this control enables the Date Formats list, so that you can choose an appropriate date format.
- Time
- If checked, this control enables the Time Formats list, so that you can choose an appropriate time format.
- Date Formats
- Contains the list of formats you can use to display date information. Select a format from the list.
- Time Formats
- Contains the list of formats that you can use to display time information. Select a format from the list.
If you enable the Date check box, the Designer adds an additional button to the right of the text-box control. When clicked, this button displays a calendar with which the user can choose a specific date to enter into the field.
Context Menu Hooks page
The Context Menu Hooks page displays the list of available record hooks and the ones that are currently associated with this control. To associate a hook with the control, select the hook in the Available column and click Add. To dissociate a hook, select the hook in the Selected column and click Remove. Hooks associated with this control are displayed in the control pop-up menu. To run one of these hooks, users must right-click the control and select the name of the hook.