New Form Defaults

New form object defaults are set in the Options dialog. They are invoked when you create a new form. You can set them either with or without an open form. You should note, however, that the settings you enter only affect new forms. They do not affect any existing forms or your current form if you have one open.

When you set new form defaults, you should set all properties you standardize to your standards. Set all others to the settings that are most convenient as a starting point.

Default properties in the Options dialog are set on property pages just like the ones in the property pane on your screen. The same instructions apply. All ob­jects with defaults will have a Defaults property page, where the general ob­ject defaults are set. Objects with fonts will have additional property pages for set­ting font defaults.

General object defaults

General object defaults include line and fill properties for graphics and format­ting properties for text and data fields. Field defaults for data fields, placeable bitmaps, signature fields, circle fields, and barcode fields appear on this tab instead of on a separate Field tab like they do in the property pane on your screen. Field properties for inline fields appear on the Text default property page.

To set formatting, line, fill, or field defaults

1. Select Options from the Tools menu to display the Options dialog.

2. Click on the New FormDefaults tab.

3. Click on the button to display the Object Defaults dialog.

4. Click in the Object field and choose the object you want to set de­faults for. Property pages containing the current de­faults for the object will be displayed. The Defaults page will be on top.

5. Make your changes to the existing defaults as needed. Follow the same procedures for setting these properties as you do when you set them for individual objects in the property pane.

6. To save your default properties, click to close the Object Defaults dialog.

7. Click again to close the Options dialog.

Font defaults

Text boxes, data fields, barcode fields, and system text boxes have default font settings. If you use more than one font set, there will be a separate property page for each font set that is avail­able on your system. If you do not have additional font sets on your system, only the TrueType tab will appear. When you select a font set for a page, the defaults for that font set will be loaded as the font defaults for your text and data fields on that page.

To set font defaults

1. Select Options from the Tools menu to display the Options dialog.

2. Click on the New FormDefaults tab.

3. Click on the button to display the Object Defaults dialog.

4. Click in the Object field and choose the object you want to set font de­faults for. Text boxes, data fields, barcode fields, and system text boxes have separate tabs for default font properties. Default fonts for inline fields appear on the text box font tabs.

5. For each font set your company uses, do the following:

  • Select the tab for the font set.

  • Make your changes to the existing defaults as needed. Follow the same procedures for setting these properties that you do when you set them for individual objects in the property pane.

6. To save your font defaults, click to close the Object Defaults dialog.

7. Click again to close the Options dialog.