Select
| Select a form control to perform an action on it.
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Design mode on/off
| Toggle between design mode on (to edit forms) and design mode off (to use forms).
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Control
| Launch form control properties dialog box. This dialog box can be kept open as different controls are selected.
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Form
| Launch form properties dialog box, controlling properties for the form as a whole, such as which data source it connects to.
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Form Navigator
| The Form Navigator is a nice utility, displaying all the forms and controls in the current document, allowing you to edit and delete them easily.
If you use the Form Navigator, it's a good idea to give your controls names (in the properties dialog box). The name appears in the navigator so, for example, if you have ten text boxes, you can tell which is which.
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Add Field
| Add Field is only useful if you have specified a data source for the form. If no data source is specified, an empty box opens.
If you have specified a data source, Add Field opens a list of all the fields in the specified table, which you can then drag and drop onto the page. The fields are placed on the page with the name of the field before them.
This is a quick and easy way to create a form from a data source.
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Activation Order
| Allows you to specify the order in which focus shifts between controls. You can test the order by leaving design mode and using Tab to switch between the controls.
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Open in Design Mode
| Open the current form in design mode (to edit the form rather than entering data into it).
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Automatic Control Focus
| If activated, focus is set to the first form control.
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Position and Size
| Launches the Position and Size dialog box, allowing you to specify both by typing in precise values, rather than dragging the control. You can also lock the size or position, so they do not get changed accidentally. For some controls, you can rotate and set the slant and corner radius.
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Change Anchor
| Just as with a frame, any form control can be anchored to page, paragraph or character and also anchored as a character (meaning that it behaves like any other character on the page).
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Alignment
| The Alignment button is disabled unless the control is anchored as a character. You can align a control in different ways, for example so the top of the control lines up with the top of the text or the bottom lines up with the bottom of the text.
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Display Grid
| Display a grid of dots on the page, to help you line up controls.
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Snap to Grid
| When a control is brought close to a grid point or line, it will snap to the grid. This makes it easier to line up controls.
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Guides when Moving
| When a control is being moved, lines extend from the control horizontally and vertically to help you position it accurately.
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