 |
|
|
Moving & Resizing Body Objects
Body objects are made up of groups of field objects. They can be moved and resized in a similar way to simple form objects. For more information on the basics of manipulating form objects consult the topic: Moving & Resizing Objects. Visual Builder also provides additional editing facilities to make the task of working with body objects easier. There are three main styles of body object:
When any object belonging to a particular body is selected, all objects belonging to that body are also selected. This allows you to reposition the entire body easily, without having to arrange the individual elements of that body. If you wish to change the size of a field belonging to a Fixed or Variable style body, first select the body by pointing to it with the mouse and clicking the left mouse button. Handles should appear around the body. Then move the mouse cursor to the border between the columns of fields.
When the mouse cursor is positioned over the
column it will change its shape to that of a resize tool Press the left mouse button and then move the mouse to resize the column. Note that you cannot overlap one field on top of another in this mode. If you need to increase the size of a particular field that is packed tightly between other fields, you will need to reduce the size of the bordering field in order to make room. It is a good policy to decide which field you will reduce in size and then decrease its size first. Then use the mouse to shift the other fields across the body to occupy the newly available space. Resetting the Body You can also restore all the field objects of the body back to their original sizes. Either click on the body and select Edit|Reset Size from the menu, or press CTRL-Z. Two techniques can be used to reorder fields: 1. Select the body object you wish to reorder. 2. Click on the right mouse button. 3. Select Body Properties... from the pop-up menu. 4. Select the field you wish to move from the Body Field List and click on the up or down button to reorder its position. 5. Press OK to accept. Alternatively, you can apply this technique: 1. Select the body object you wish to reorder. 2. Click on the right mouse button. 3. Select Body Properties... from the pop-up menu. 4. Under Style, select Free Form - Label Style. 5. Press OK to accept. 6. Use the mouse to point to the column you wish to arrange. 7. Click on and hold down the left mouse button and drag the column to its new position. 8. Repeat the last two steps in order to arrange other columns. (Do not worry about the exact spacing or alignment of the columns you are arranging. You need only get their appropriate relationships to one another correct. Visual Builder will exactly realign them for you automatically if you carry out the next set of steps.) 9. Make sure the body object you wish to reorder is still selected. 10. Click on the right mouse button. 11. Select Body Properties... from the pop-up menu. 12. Restore the body object back to its original Style and click on OK. 1. Select the body object you wish to reorder. 2. Click on the right mouse button. 3. Select Body Properties... from the pop-up menu. 4. Select the field you wish to delete from the Body Field List and click on the Delete button below the list. 5. Press OK to accept. Positioning Fields When Working With Labels When you have constructed a form using the Label Wizard the fields on all labels are automatically interlinked. This means that if a field is moved to a new position, all equivalent fields on the other labels of the form are moved by the same position as well. If you have made a mistake in specifying the position and dimensions of your labels and must make specific adjustments to the locations of a specific field or set of fields for only certain labels, then you can select Align|Link Label Objects from the editor menu to deactivate automatic field linking. When Link Label Objects is unticked, you will be able to move label fields individually using your mouse or keyboard. If you need to reposition multiple label fields, hold down the Shift key and click on each field you want to reposition. Then use the mouse or keyboard to drag the set of selected fields into their new positions on the form. If you wish to add a new field to a label after the label has been constructed by the Label Wizard, and this field should appear on every label, then selecting an existing label field, and copy and then paste it into its new position. Then edit the field to specify its correct contents. If you wish to create a field that only appears on a specific label on the form, add a new field to the form without copying an existing field. |
