The Array Input () is a predefined form object with an input table to enter array inputs (vector inputs). The Array Input supports arrays as data sources. You can also add an optional label, symbol, and unit. Enter the name of the array input object in the Name field.

In the Length field, enter the length of the array as a positive integer (default: 3). The maximum length is 1000.

From the Show vector as list, choose Table (the default) to show the array components as a table, or choose Components to show each array component as a separate input field with a label.

In addition, the Settings window contains the following sections.

In this section, you select the source for the array input. The section contains a tree with a filtered view of the tree in the Application Builder window. The nodes either represent some sort of data or have children that do. For an array input, the list contains array variables defined under Declarations, for example. When you select a node that represents data, the Use as Source toolbar button () below the tree becomes enabled. You can click it or, alternatively, press Enter, double-click, or right-click the node and choose Use as Source to add it as the selected source. The initial values from the data source appear in the array input object. You can also click the Create New Declaration and Use It as Source button () or the Create New Form Declaration and Use It as Source button () in the Source section header to create a new global or local (in the form) variable declaration for the card stack and use it as the source. A Create and Use Declaration dialog box opens so that you can select the data type of the source (if applicable), its name, and its initial value (if applicable). The name cannot be in conflict with any existing variable declaration. You can extend the list of available data nodes by clicking the Switch to Model Builder and Activate Data Access button (). Click the Edit Node toolbar button () below the tree to move to the corresponding node. If necessary, the program switches to the Model Builder.

After selecting a node as the source, the node appears as the selected source under Selected source.

From the Initial values list, select From data source (the default) to use the value specified by the selected data source, or select Custom values. Then, in the associated table below, enter the initial values for the components in the array.

Use the Label position list to place a label. The options are Above (the default), Left, and No label. For the two first options, you can enter the desired label in the Label text field.

When the label position is above the table, you can include a symbol to the left of the table by selecting the Include symbol check box. You cannot see this setting when the label position is to the left of the table, as it overlaps with the symbol position. Enter the symbol using LaTeX syntax in the Symbol (LaTeX encoded) field.

As a final option, select the Include unit check box to add a unit symbol to the right of the table. To add a unit, click the Select Quantity button () to open the Physical Quantity dialog box to browse to find a physical quantity to use. You can also type a search string in the text field at the top of the dialog box and then click the Filter button () to filter the list of physical quantities. For example, type potential and click the Filter button to only list physical quantities that represent some kind of potential. Alternatively, click the Custom Unit button () to enter a unit (for example, m/s^2) in the text field (the physical quantity then becomes a Custom unit).

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 form windows. 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.

You can also specify the width of the array input. Enter a width (in points) in the Width field. If you have chosen Fill from the Horizontal alignment list, you can instead specify a Minimum width. Choose Automatic to compute the minimum width automatically (typically, this means a minimum size of 0) or choose Manual to specify a minimum width in the text field underneath. The Height field is unavailable because the height of the input field is determined by the software.

Additionally, in the sketch mode, you can specify the absolute position of the array input 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.

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:

From the Text color list, select Inherit (the default) to inherit the text color from the setting in the Form node, or select one of the predefined colors, such as Black. Select Custom to choose a custom text color from the color palette.

From the Background color list, select a color to use as the background in the array input: Transparent (the default), any of the predefined basic colors, or Custom, which makes it possible to select a custom color from a color palette.

From the Text alignment list, choose an alignment for the array texts: Left (the default), Center, or Right. The alignment does not affect the label.

The font and the font size for the text in the array input fields 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 or the Italic check box to use italics (an italic font).

Under State, you can control the initial state of the array input when users run the application. By default, the array input is visible and enabled. Clear the Visible or Enabled check box if you want to make the initial state so that the array input 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.

You can specify a method or command sequence to run when an event such as data entry occurs. The On data change list contains None (the default) and any available methods or command sequence. You can add the following types of events by choosing from the Create Global Method menu () to the right of the On data change list:

There can only be one local method and one command sequence so if you add one or both of them, the menu will instead contain Remove Local Method () and Remove Command Sequence (), respectively. Click one of them to delete the local method or command sequence.

The selected method in the On data change list then changes to the created method or command sequence. You can also Ctrl+Alt-click the array input object or right-click it to create a local method or (by choosing Edit Method or Edit Local Method) to open the method associated with the command. To open the selected method or command sequence, click the Go to Source button (). The focus then moves to the method’s editor window or the Command Sequence dialog box, respectively.