Unit
The Unit () form object is a predefined label for displaying a unit. When linking to this node from an Input Field, it also acts as a unit check for that field (see Input Field).
Enter the name of the unit object in the Name field.
From the Label list, select an option for how to display the unit: From reference, to display the unit as defined in the referenced source, such as input field form object. You select the source from the tree in the Source for Label section. Alternatively, select Fixed and type a unit expression into the Unit expression field that appears.
By default, the unit display uses Unicode rendering. If the unit display does not look as expected, consider using LaTeX rendering instead by selecting the LaTeX markup check box. Then, the unit display does not rely on the selected font. It can also be a matter of preference. The look and alignment of the unit display changes slightly depending on whether this check box is selected or not.
In addition, the Settings window contains the following sections.
Position and Size
This section contains all of the layout settings for a unit in the grid of the parent form.
In the grid mode, you can control the horizontal and vertical alignment of the unit using the following lists:
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From the Horizontal alignment list, choose Left, Center, Right, or Fill, which automatically expands the form object to fill the cell in the horizontal or vertical direction (where applicable).
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From the Vertical alignment list, choose Middle, Top, Bottom, or Fill, which automatically expands the form object to fill the cell in the horizontal or vertical direction (where applicable).
The need to specify the alignment is most obvious when working in the grid mode, as it controls how the form object is aligned in its grid cell. Aligning the form object can be useful in the sketch mode too, and you can then use the alignment tools on the Arrange menu in the Form toolbar’s Sketch section. When running the application in any client other than the Windows client, the form objects may not be positioned exactly as seen in the Application Builder. This is because the form objects may have a different size in other clients, giving them a slightly different positioning. Specifying the alignment ensures that the form objects are aligned as you want them to be in all clients.
The Width and Height fields are unavailable because the dimensions of the unit label are determined by the software.
Additionally, in the sketch mode, you can specify the absolute position of the unit label using the Position x and Position y fields. In the grid mode, you can position the object in the grid and see the grid position as the Row, Column, Row span, and Column span values.
The form windows update these size and positioning settings through the draw operations performed there, such as resizing and moving the object.
Cell Margin
Under Cell margin (in grid mode only), you can control the margins around the form object. By default, the margins are taken from the parent form. From the Cell margin list, choose:
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None, to use no margin around the form object
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From parent form (the default), to use the margins set for the parent form
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Custom, to specify the margins for the form object in the Horizontal and Vertical text fields
Appearance
In this section, you can control the appearance of the unit label’s text and background.
From the Text color list, select a color to use for the unit label’s text: Inherit (the default; the form object then uses the setting from the Form it is located in), any of the predefined basic colors, or Custom, which makes it possible to select a custom color from a color palette that opens.
From the Background color list, select a color to use as the background in the unit display: Transparent (the default), any of the predefined basic colors, or Custom, which makes it possible to select a custom color from a color palette.
The font and the font size for the text use the font settings from the Forms node by default. Select a font from the Font list: Default font or any of the available fonts. If needed, choose or enter a font size (in points) in the Font size combo box. The default is to use the Default size for the font.
You can also select the Bold check box to use a boldface font and the Italic check box to use italics (an italic font).
Under State, you can control the initial state of the unit when users run the application. By default, the unit is visible and enabled. Clear the Visible or Enabled check box if you want to make the initial state so that the unit is hidden or unavailable. You can then make it visible or enable it using a method. In the Form Editor, the state of the form object is indicated by a change in its appearance. Objects that are hidden become visible when selected in the Form Editor.