XForms Module Design Surface
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The design surface is automatically loaded with the appropriate widgets for questions listed in the forms pane.
The widgets are automatically bound to their respective questions using the binding property in the widget properties pane
Selecting Widgets
You select a widget by clicking on it. You can select more than on widget at the same time by holding down the Ctrl key and then click on the widgets. You can also do it by dragging a rubber band, with the mouse, around the widgets you want to select.
Selecting All Widgets
You can select all widgets on the selected tab by either right clicking on the design surface and select "Select All" or pressing the Ctrl + A keyboard combination.
Moving Widgets
You can move widgets by just dragging them with the mouse and drop any where you want. You can also move widgets by first of all selecting them and then press the keyboard arrow keys. The Left Arrow key moves the selected widgets to the left, Right Arroy key moves them to the right, Up Arrow key moves then upwards, while the Down Arrow key moves them downwards. Widget movement using arrow keys can be very useful when you want to move widgets by amounts that are too small that the mouse may not easily let you do.
Resizing Widgets
Moving the mouse around the edges of of a widget changes the mouse to a direction in which the widget is ready to be resized when the mouse is dragged. Starting from version 3.7.5 of the xforms module, you can also resize one or more widgets by holding down the Ctrl key while pressing the keyboard arrow keys. The Left Arrow key reduces the width of the selected widgets, the Right Arrow key increases it, the Up Arrow key reduces the height of the selected widgets, while the Down Arrow key increases.
Adding New Widgets
The recommended way to add new widgets is by right clicking on the design surface and select "Refresh". You could also click the tool bar refresh button when the design surface is in focus. This way of adding new widgets does for you the work of automatically linking or binding the widgets to their corresponding questions. The other way of adding widgets is by either right clicking on the design surface add use the "Add Widget" command or just drag the appropriate widget from the palette pane and drop it on the design surface. You will then need to binding it to the appropriate question using the properties pane.
Deleting Widgets
You can delete widgets by selecting them and either right click to select "Delete" or press the keyboard Delete key.
Editing Widget Captions or Labels
You can edit the caption or labels for widgets like buttons and labels by first of all selecting them and either directly start typing the new text or selecting and just press the Enter key. This automatically selects the text ready to be overwritten. If you do not want to overwrite the entire text but just a section of it, move the cursor using the Right or Left Arrow keys. You can always cancel your edits by pressing the Escape key. After editing the text, you can accept or commit your changes by again pressing the Enter key.
You can also do the same by just selecting the widget and change its Text value on the widget properties pane.
Setting Widget Properties
You can always set any widget properties by selecting it and the use the properties pane. It always shows properties for the selected widget.
Copying Widgets
You can copy widgets by selecting them and either right click to select "Copy" or press the keyboard Ctrl + C key combination. For copying more than one widget, and when you want to use the right click option, you need to click anywhere on the design surface rather than on the selected widgets.
Cutting Widgets
You can cut widgets by selecting them and either right click to select "Cut" or press the keyboard Ctrl + X key combination. For cutting more than one widget, and when you want to use the right click option, you need to click anywhere on the design surface rather than on the selected widgets.
Pasting Widgets
You can paste widgets by right clicking where you want to paste them and select "Paste"
Grouping Widgets
You can group widgets into a group box by selecting them, right click any where on the design surface and then select "Group Widgets"
Locking Unlocking Widgets
You can lock or unlock widgets by clicking any where on the design surface and select "Lock" or "UnLock".
Locking widgets can be very useful when you want to set or just check a widget's properties on the widget properties pane but without having the widget move due to unintentional mouse movements.
Changing Dropdown List to Radio Buttons
You can change a drop down list to radio buttons by right clicking on it and select "Change Widget H" to create radio buttons horizontally across or "Change Widget V" to create the vertically across. As from version 3.7.3 of the xforms module, you can unselect a selected radio button by clicking on it.
Adding New Tabs
You can add a new tab by right clicking any where on the design surface and then select "New Tab"
Deleting Tabs
You can delete a tab tab by right clicking any where on the design surface in the tab you want to delete and then select "Delete Tab". Note that a tab can only be deleted after all widgets on it have been deleted.
Editing Tab Labels or Captions
You can edit tab labels or captions by clicking on them and then change their Text value on the widget properties pane.
Setting Design Surface Size
You can set the size of the design surface for the selected tab by clicking any where on the design surface and then set the "Width" and "Height" values on the widget properties pane.