Toolbars provide buttons for the most common tasks in InfoMaker. You can move (dock) toolbars, customize them, and create your own.
InfoMaker uses three toolbars: the PowerBar, PainterBar, and StyleBar. You can hide a toolbar by right-clicking in the toolbar area and clearing the check mark text to its name. If a toolbar is not hidden, it displays as shown in the following table.
|
Toolbar |
Purpose |
Availability |
|---|---|---|
|
PowerBar |
Opening painters and tools |
Always. |
|
PainterBar |
Performing tasks in the current painter |
When a painter is open. Some painters have more than one PainterBar. |
|
StyleBar |
Changing the properties of text, such as font and alignment |
In appropriate painters. |
To reduce the size of toolbars, some toolbar buttons have a down arrow on the right that you can click to display a drop-down toolbar containing related buttons.
For example, the down arrow next to the Text button in the Report painter displays the Controls drop-down toolbar, which has a button for each control you can place on a report:
Default button replaced
The button you select from a drop-down toolbar replaces the default button on the main toolbar. For example, if you select the Picture button from the Controls drop-down toolbar, it replaces the Command button in the PainterBar.
You can control:
-
Whether to display individual toolbars and where
-
Whether to display text on the buttons
-
Whether to display PowerTips
Choosing to display text and PowerTips affects all toolbars.
To control a toolbar using the pop-up menu:
-
Position the pointer on a toolbar and display the pop-up menu.
-
Click the items you want.
A check mark means the item is currently selected.
To control a toolbar using the Toolbars dialog box:
-
Select Tools>Toolbars from the menu bar.
The Toolbars dialog box displays.
-
Click the toolbar you want to work with (the current toolbar is highlighted) and the options you want.
InfoMaker saves your toolbar preferences in the registry and the InfoMaker initialization file.
You can use the mouse to move a toolbar.
To move a toolbar with the mouse:
-
Position the pointer on the grab bar at the left of the toolbar or on any vertical line separating groups of buttons.
-
Press and hold the left mouse button.
-
Drag the toolbar and drop it where you want it.
As you move the mouse, an outlined box shows how the toolbar will display when you drop it. You can line it up along any frame edge or float it in the middle of the frame.
When you first start InfoMaker, all the toolbars display one above another at the top left of the workspace. When you move a toolbar, you can dock it:
-
At the top or bottom of the workspace, at any point from the left edge to the right edge
-
At the left or right of the workspace, at any point from the top edge to the bottom edge
-
To the left or right of, or above or below, another toolbar
You can customize toolbars with InfoMaker buttons and with buttons that invoke other applications, such as a clock or text processor.
Adding, moving, and deleting buttons
You can add, move, and delete buttons in any toolbar.
To add a button to a toolbar:
-
Position the pointer on the toolbar and display the pop-up menu.
-
Select Customize.
The Customize dialog box displays.
-
Click the palette of buttons you want to use in the Select palette group.
-
Choose a button from the Selected palette box and drag it to the position you want in the Current toolbar box.
If you choose a button from the Custom palette, another dialog box displays so you can define the button.
For more information, see Adding a custom button.
Seeing what is available in the PowerBar
InfoMaker provides several buttons that do not display by default in the PowerBar, but you can add them. To see what is available, scroll the list of buttons and select one. InfoMaker lists the description for the selected button.
To move a button on a toolbar:
-
Position the pointer on the toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select Customize.
-
In the Current toolbar box, select the button and drag it to its new position.
To delete a button from a toolbar:
-
Position the pointer on the toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select Customize.
-
In the Current toolbar box, select the button and drag it outside the Current toolbar box.
Resetting a toolbar
You can restore the original setup of buttons on a toolbar at any time.
To reset a toolbar:
-
Position the pointer on the toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select Customize.
-
Click the Reset button, then Yes to confirm, then OK.
Clearing or deleting a toolbar
Whenever you want, you can remove all buttons from a toolbar. If you do not add new buttons to the empty toolbar, the toolbar is deleted. You can delete both built-in toolbars and toolbars you have created.
To recreate a toolbar
If you delete one of InfoMaker's built-in toolbars, you can recreate it easily. For example, to recreate the PowerBar, display the pop-up menu, select New, and then select PowerBar1 in the New Toolbar dialog box. For information about creating new toolbars and about the meaning of PowerBar1, see Creating new toolbars.
To clear or delete a toolbar:
-
Position the pointer on the toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select Customize.
-
Click the Clear button, then Yes to confirm.
The Current toolbar box in the Customize dialog box is emptied.
-
Select new buttons for the current toolbar and click OK, or click OK to delete the toolbar.
You can add a custom button to a toolbar. A custom button can:
-
Invoke an InfoMaker menu item
-
Run an executable (application) outside InfoMaker
-
Run a query or preview a report
-
Assign a display format or create a computed field in a report
To add a custom button:
-
Position the pointer on the toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select Customize.
-
Select Custom in the Select Palette group.
The custom buttons display in the Selected Palette box.
-
Select a custom button and drag it to where you want it in the Current toolbar box.
The Toolbar Item Command dialog box displays. Different buttons display in the dialog box depending on which toolbar you are customizing:
-
Fill in the dialog box as shown in the following table.
Button purpose
Action in Toolbar Item Command dialog box
Invoke an InfoMaker menu item
Type
@MenuBarItem.MenuItem
in the Command Line box. For example, to make the button mimic the Open item on the File menu, type
@File.Open
You can also use a number to refer to a menu item. The first item in a drop-down/cascading menu is 1, the second item is 2, and so on. Separator lines in the menu count as items. Example:
@Edit.Align.4
Run an executable outside InfoMaker
Type the name of the executable in the Command Line box. Specify the full path name if the executable is not in the current search path.
To search for the file name, click the Browse button.
Run a query
Click the Query button and select the query from the displayed list.
Run a report
Click the Report button and select a report from the displayed list. You can then specify command-line arguments in the Command Line box, as described below.
Assign a display format to a column in a report
(Report painter only) Click the Format button to display the Display Formats dialog box. Select a data type, then choose an existing display format from the list or define your own in the Format box.
For more about specifying display formats, see Displaying and Validating Data
Create a computed field in a report
(Report painter only) Click the Function button to display the Function for Toolbar dialog box. Select the function from the list.
-
In the Item Text box, specify the text associated with the button in two parts separated by a comma -- the text that displays on the button and text for the button's PowerTip:
ButtonText, PowerTip
For example:
Save, Save File
If you specify only one piece of text, it is used for both the button text and the PowerTip.
-
In the Item MicroHelp box, specify the text to appear as MicroHelp when the pointer is on the button.
Supplying arguments with reports
If you define a custom button to preview a report, you can specify arguments in the command line in the Toolbar Item Command dialog box.
|
Argument |
Meaning |
|---|---|
|
/l LibraryName |
Specifies the library containing the report |
|
/o ReportName |
Specifies the report |
|
/r |
Runs the report |
|
/ro |
Runs the report but does not provide design mode for modifying the report |
|
/a "Arguments" |
Specifies arguments to pass to the report |
The default command line is: Report /o ReportName /ro.
To modify a custom button:
-
Position the pointer on the toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select Customize.
-
Double-click the button in the Current toolbar box.
-
Make your changes, as described in Adding a custom button.
InfoMaker has built-in toolbars. When you start InfoMaker, you see what is called the PowerBar. In each painter, you also see one or more PainterBars. But PowerBar and PainterBar are actually types of toolbars you can create to make working in InfoMaker easier.
PowerBars and PainterBars
A PowerBar is a toolbar that always displays in InfoMaker, unless you hide it. A PainterBar is a toolbar that always displays in the specific painter for which it was defined, unless you hide it. You can have up to four PowerBars, named PowerBar1, PowerBar2, and so on. You can have up to eight PainterBars in each painter, named PainterBar1, PainterBar2, and so forth.
Where you create them
You can create a new PowerBar anywhere in InfoMaker, but to create a new PainterBar, you must be in the workspace of the painter for which you want to define the PainterBar.
To create a new toolbar:
About the StyleBar
In painters that do not have a StyleBar, StyleBar is on the list in the New Toolbar dialog box. You can define a toolbar with the name StyleBar, but you can add only painter-specific buttons, not style buttons, to it.
-
Position the pointer on any toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select New.
-
Select a PowerBar name or a PainterBar name and click OK.
The Customize dialog box displays with the Current toolbar box empty.
-
One at a time, drag the toolbar buttons you want from the Selected palette box to the Current toolbar box and then click OK.
