Editing Properties with the Keyboard

Once you have learned how to move from pane to pane and from tab to tab within the individual panes, you can quickly learn to edit your form, page, and object properties without taking your hands off the keyboard.

Changing values in a property field

You can easily change the property values in text boxes and list boxes without using your mouse.

To change values in text boxes

1. Use and to move the highlight to the value field.

2. To change the entire value, just start typing. To edit the value, do the following:

  • Press or to remove the highlight.

  • To insert characters, use and to position the insertion point and type your text.

  • To delete characters, use and to position the insertion point. Then use

Key Action
To delete characters to the right of the insertion point.
To delete characters to the left of the insertion point.
To select from list boxes with the keyboard

1. Use and to move the highlight to the value field.

2. Press + to open the list box.

3. Use and to move the highlight to the value you want.

4. Press to place the value in the field.

To select a color with the keyboard

1. Use and to move the highlight to the value field.

2. Press + to open the Color dialog box.

3. Use the , , , and keys to select the color you want.

4. Press the space bar to make your selection. Then press to close the dialog box and place the value in the field.

Note:

You can also select values and colors from list boxes by starting to type the value directly into the field. When a value is recognized, the complete value will appear. When the cor­rect value appears, press to place the value in the field. This feature is especially use­ful for list boxes containing large lists, such as font face names.

Editing form and page properties

To edit form and page properties with the keyboard, you select the form or page name in the FormView tree with the arrow keys, then switch to the property pane and enter the values.

To edit form properties with the keyboard

1. Press + to activate the form tree pane.

2. Press + to display the FormView tab if necessary.

3. Use and to move the highlight to the form name. The Form property page will appear in the property pane.

4. Press + to activate the property pane.

5. Press + to change the tab if necessary.

6. For each property you want to edit, do the following:

  • Use or to highlight the property.

  • Change the property value.

7. When you have finished, press one of the following to change panes and select your next object:

  • + to return to the form tree pane.

  • + to activate the form display pane.

To change page properties with the keyboard

1. Press + to activate the form tree pane.

2. Press + to display the FormView tab if necessary.

3. Use or to highlight the name of the page in the FormView tree. The property pages for the page will appear in the property pane.

4. Press + to activate the property pane.

5. Press + to change tabs if necessary.

6. For each property you want to edit, do the following:

  • Use or to highlight the property.

  • Change theproperty value.

7. When you have finished, press one of the following to change panes and select your next object:

  • + to return to the form tree pane.

  • + to activate the form display pane.

Editing object properties

When you edit object properties with the keyboard, you select the object in the form display pane with the arrow keys and switch to the property pane. If you have an object selected, you can use to switch back and forth instead of + and + .

To edit object properties with the keyboard

1. Press + to activate the form display pane.

2. Use the , , , and keys to select the object you want to edit.

3. Press (or + ) to switch to the property pane.

4. Press + to change tabs if necessary.

5. For each property you want to edit, do the following:

  • Use or to highlight the property.

  • Change theproperty value.

6. When you have finished, press one of the following to change panes and select your next object:

  • (or + ) to return to the form display pane.

  • + to activate the form tree pane.

Hint:

To make selecting objects easier, you may want to use the selection filter. Then your arrow keys will move to active objects only.

Editing data field properties from the tree

You can use the DataView tree to select data fields, placeable bitmap fields, sig­nature fields, barcode fields, and circle fields with the keyboard. You can then continue using the keyboard to edit the object, field, and default properties in the property pane.

To edit properties from the DataView tree

1. Press + to activate the form tree pane.

2. Press + to display the DataView tab if necessary.

3. Use or to highlight the field you want to edit.

4. Press + to activate the property pane.

5. Press + to change the tab if necessary.

6. For each property you want to edit, do the following:

  • Use or to highlight the property.

  • Change theproperty value.

7. When you have finished, press + to return to the DataView tree and select your next object.

Hint:

If you want to make changes to several adjacent data fields in the tree, you can make them all at once. Just hold down while you select the fields with the arrow key.