This table briefly describes the standard user-interface controls appearing on the Standard page of the Component palette. For more details, select the component and click the Question Mark button on the toolbar.

Component

Use to...

Example/Explanation

Text
image\TEXTBUTTON.gif

Display text that cannot be edited by users. The text can be any alphanumeric characters allowed in a character expression.

Use for a field label, heading, instruction, prompt, or any other non-editable display text. Format with the Format menu or Format toolbar.

TextLabel
image\TEXTLABELBUTTON.gif

Display information on a form or report, wherever features such as word-wrap and HTML formatting are not required.

TextLabel is a simple, light-duty object which consumes fewer system resources than the Text component.The TextLabel component does not support in-place editing on design surfaces. The text property of the TextLabel component may contain character string data only.

EntryField
image\ENTRYBUTTON.gif

Let a user enter a single value, text or numbers, into a data-entry field.

Example: Data entry area for entering a value for a particular field of a table. Must be DataLinked to the table field.

PushButton
image\PUSHBUTTON.gif

Let a user perform a task with a single mouse-click.

A control that a user can click to execute code that you attach. (Sometimes called a command button.)

CheckBox
image\CHECKBOXBUTTON.gif

Let a user toggle between two choices of a logical value. Or choose a number of options that are not mutually exclusive.

Check boxes often are arranged in groups to present choices or options a user can turn on or off. Any number of check boxes in a group can be checked at a time.

RadioButton
image\RADIOBUTTON.gif

Let a user select one choice among a group of mutually-exclusive possible values.

Example: A group of buttons labeled Credit, Cash, Check, Visa, and MC to choose among for entering only one of those values in a PAY_METHOD field of a table.

Line
image\LINEBUTTON.gif

Organize elements visually.

The line is a divider that may be extended vertically, horizontally, or diagonally to visually divide a form into sections. Users cannot edit or manipulate it.

Editor
image\EDITORBUTTON.gif

Display the contents of a text file or memo field.

Text exceeding the size of the box causes a scrollbar to appear. You can choose to allow users to edit this text.

ListBox
image\LISTBOXBUTTON.gif

Display values in a fixed-size, scrollable list box, from which a user can select one or more items.

The values in a list can be file names, records, array elements, table names, or field names.

ComboBox
image\COMBOBOXBUTTON.gif

Combine an entry field and a drop-down list box. A user clicks the down-arrow button to display the list.

A combo box accepts a value typed into the entry field or selected from the drop-down list box.

Image
image\IMAGEBUTTON.gif

Display an image.

Display area for a bitmap image stored in a binary field, resource file, or graphic file.

Shape
image\SHAPEBUTTON.gif

Visually divide a form into sections, for example, to place related RadioButtons within a box.

A visual appearance element. By setting the component’s ShapeStyle property you can create rounded rectangles, rectangles, ellipses, circles, rounded squares, and squares. You can also set the line style, weight, and interior color.

Container
image\CONTAINERBUTTON.gif

Create moveable panels that can contain other components on a form.

Example: Moveable toolbars and palettes.

Browse
image\BROWSEBUTTON.gif

Display multiple records in row-and-column format.

The Browse component is maintained for compatibility and is suitable for viewing and editing tables open in work areas. For forms that use Data Access use a Grid object instead.

Grid
image\GRIDBUTTON.gif

Display live table data in row/column format in a programmable component.

The Grid object is a multi-column grid control for displaying the contents of a rowset. The dataLink property is set to the rowset. Columns are automatically created for each field in the rowset.

Rectangle
image\RECTANGLEBUTTON.gif

Organize elements visually into boxes or create custom buttons.

A graphic element for boxing objects. You can set the size, line weight, and fill of the box. It can respond to mouse clicks and other events.

Progress
image\PROGRESSBUTTON.gif

Provide visual feedback to the user about the progress of long operations or background processes.

A rectangular bar that "fills" from left to right, like that shown when you copy files in the Windows Explorer.

Use position to set a default position for the progress bar. At run time, position tracks the exact location as values increment.

Use max and min to set the range of position.

By default, the progress meter advances by a value of one.

PaintBox
image\PAINTBOXBUTTON.gif

Create custom form controls.

The PaintBox provides a window space in which you can call API functions in Windows. Users never interact with it directly. dBASE Plus does not paint the area.

Notebook
image\NOTEBOOKBUTTON.gif

Make a multipage dialog box, with labeled tabs to display sections of information or groups of controls within the same window. See TabBox for full-size tabbed forms.

You might use the Notebook control to create a tabbed dialog box with different groups of controls on each tabbed page. The Desktop Properties dialog box is a good example of this. Use the DataSource Property Builder to name or add tabbed pages to the window. Then drag the components you want to each tabbed page.

TreeView
image\TREEVIEWBUTTON.gif

Display and control a set of objects as an indented outline based on their logical hierarchical relationships. The control includes buttons that allow the outline to be expanded and collapsed.

Use a tree view component to display the relationship between a set of containers or other hierarchical elements. You might use the TreeView as a way to select items from nested lists, much like the hierarchical view in the left pane of the Windows Explorer.

Slider
image\SLIDERBUTTON.gif

Define the extent or range of values. By moving the slider along the trackbar, the user can change the current value for the control.

You can set the trackbar orientation as vertical or horizontal, define the length and height of the slide indicator and the slide bar component, define the increments of the trackbar, and whether to display tick marks for the control. Examples: A volume control to play back sound files, or a color saturation adjuster for an image viewer.

Vertical scroll bar
image\VSCROLLBARBUTTON.gif

Allow users to vertically scroll a grouping of controls, or a large control that has no integrated scroll bars.

Example: A custom dialog box containing an area filled with many file icons.

Horizontal scroll bar
image\HSCROLLBARBUTTON.gif

Allow users to horizontally scroll a grouping of controls, or a large control that has no integrated scroll bars.

Example: A custom dialog box containing an area filled with many file icons.

TabBox
image\TABBOXBUTTON.gif

Group related data items on overlapping pages with labeled tabs.

Use a TabBox to display multiple pages the full size of the form. A user selects a tab to display the items on the TabBox. Similar to Notebook, except for the full form size.

SpinBox
image\SPINBOXBUTTON.gif

Provide up and down arrows to assist changing a numeric value.

You can type a number into the numeric entry field or can increment or decrement the number by clicking the up and down arrows.

OLE
image\OLEBUTTON.gif

Create an object linking and embedding (OLE) client area in a form, in which you can embed, or link to, a document from another application.

Using an OLE control, a document from another application, for example, a sound file from a sound recorder application, can be opened from your dBASE Plus application.

ReportViewer
image\REPORTVIEWERBUTTON.gif

Displays a report in a sizeable frame.

The report is executed when the form is opened.