TIPS for Placing and Sizing Objects on a Form

Before you start, plan which objects you will need in your data collection application, what the workflow prompt order will be, how many pages you’ll need. Create a diagram of the various graphics/boxes so you can get an idea of how you want them laid out.

When you are ready, create the app and set the number of pages to be used on the Forms control. Drag-and-drop the desired prompts from Tools into the display area (the page of the form) in the order in which prompts will appear.

You can also double-click on the objects and they will transfer automatically to the display). Note that a data field and its associated Caption (prompt) or label are addressable separately.

The upper left-hand corner of the form/display area is “0,0”. The location (Left, Top) of the prompt is relative to the left-hand corner of the form.  The next line down is 0,1 (Column 0, Row 1), and so forth. In graphical mode the same applies for pixels.

The easiest way to resizing a control is through the values entered under the Size property. You can also move the control via the icon and allow the Snap-to-Grid feature align the control with all the other controls on the from.

Once the control is selected as indicated by the Move icon, you can use the arrow keys or your mouse to move the control to a new location. If working with nested controls, grabbing the outside edge of the control will select the parent and child controls.

To resize a control first select it and grab the edge of the control and drag in a direction. Holding down the Shift key and clicking on the arrow keys will move the prompt one pixel at a time.

Holding down <ctrl> while clicking in multiple prompts will select all of them and make moving several prompts easier. Dragging a square around all the prompts to be selected is another method for quickly selecting multiple prompts.

Notice the double arrows located on the Properties tab.  They may be used to select each prompt in the order that they were placed. Click on the left or right arrow to select a different prompt. The combo box provides the same feature in a list format.

To insert a prompt, add the prompt as usual and then change the order on the Properties tab using the Prompt Number property. Another option is to select an existing prompt on the screen that you want the new prompt to follow. Then double-click the new prompt from the Toolbox and it will be inserted in the prompt sequence. To delete a prompt, right-click on the prompt and click on Cut from the popup menu. The prompt will disappear.

To reorder prompts, change the 'Prompt Number' property on the Properties tab for each prompt.