Datasheet

Figure 1-10 shows the Properties window displaying properties for the form called Form1 in a project.
The properties are currently displayed in alphabetical order. This can be changed to logically group
them into properties that deal with the same category; for example, form properties can be grouped into
nine discrete groups, including Appearance (for color, fonts, and text-related properties) and Layout
(which incorporates such properties as size and location settings). To toggle between alphabetical order
and categorized view, use the first two buttons on the Properties window toolbar.
Active settings are highlighted with a colored background (by default orange) and black border. In
Figure 1-10, the Properties window is currently sorted alphabetically as evidenced by the black border
surrounding the second button.
Figure 1-10
The currently selected property (Text in this case) is highlighted and a small description pane at the bot-
tom explains what the setting is. If you are space constrained and know what you’re doing, you can turn
this description pane off by right-clicking anywhere in the Properties window and unchecking the
Description setting.
There are many different types of properties, but each one can be changed by clicking on the actual value
and overtyping the existing information with a new value. Some property types have additional editors to
make it even easier to change the values. For instance, properties relating to fonts can display a font
chooser dialog window similar to the one you might use in Microsoft Word to change the font settings for
a paragraph.
The third and fourth buttons (the icons of a list and lightning bolt) on the toolbar toggle the view
between properties and events. The Events view acts in a similar way to the Properties view, giving you
access to the various events associated with the currently selected element. Again, like properties, events
can be viewed alphabetically or in logical groupings and are only available for elements that have event
processing, so if you choose an item that doesn’t have events (such as a file) the Events button will be
hidden.
The last button on the toolbar displays the property pages associated with the currently selected item. If
the item does not have property pages (such as the form in Figure 1-10), this button will be disabled.
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