Defining a control's properties

Just like the window object, each control has properties that determine how the control looks and behaves at runtime (the control's style).

You define a control's properties by using the Properties view for the control. The properties and values displayed in the Properties view change dynamically when you change the selected object or control. To see this, click the window background to display the window properties in the Properties view and then click a control in the window to display the control's properties in the Properties view.

To define a control's properties:

  1. Select the control.

    The selected control's properties display in the Properties view.

  2. Use the tab pages in the Properties view to change the control's properties.

About tab pages in the Properties view

The Properties view presents information in a consistent arrangement of tabbed property pages. You select items on the individual property pages to change the control's definition.

All controls have a General property page, which contains much of the style information (such as the visibility of the control, whether it is enabled, and so on) about the control. The General property page is always the first page.

Getting Help on properties

You can get Help when you are defining properties. In any tab page in the Properties view, right-click on the background and select Help from the pop-up menu. The Help displays information about the control with a link to an alphabetical list of properties for the control.