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On-Form Object Access

  • 2 minutes to read

This capability allows users to select a layout control and/or its elements directly on a form, without using the Customization Form.

Click a link below to jump to the corresponding section.

Design-Time Object Selection

Runtime Object Selection

#Design-Time Object Selection

At design time, selecting a layout control or its elements on a form automatically synchronizes the Object TreeView and the Object Inspector to provide access to control and/or element settings.

Design-time object selection can be performed in the following ways:

  • Layout items – click an item’s caption or selector (an item can be selected with the selector if the Customization Form is not open).

  • Linked item controls – click inside a control’s rectangle or click the item selector (the item selector works in this manner only in customization mode, when the Customization Form is open).

  • Layout groups – click a group’s caption or click within a group area that is free from layout elements.

  • Layout control – click the control selector.

  • Multiple layout elements can be selected simultaneously using the above actions, along with the Shift key. For the multiple selected elements, the Object Inspector displays their shared properties and events.

  • A parent of a selected element can be selected in turn, by pressing the Esc key.

#Runtime Object Selection

At runtime, end-users can select a layout control and/or its elements in customization mode only, in order to invoke customization context menus.

Runtime object selection can be performed in the following ways:

  • Layout items – click an item’s caption or linked control. Selecting items within a group locked for customization results in selecting the group rather than the items.

  • Layout groups – click a group’s caption or click within a group area that is free from layout elements. Double-clicking a group caption initiates its editing provided that a layout control’s OptionsItem.AllowRename property is set to True.

  • Multiple layout elements can be selected simultaneously using the actions above along with the Shift and/or Ctrl key. Clicking a selected element while holding down the Ctrl key deselects it.

  • As with the design-time object selection, a parent of a selected element can be selected by pressing the Esc key.

Note

In quick customization mode, end-users can rearrange layout elements using drag and drop without having to select them.

See Also