A tab page is a user object.
Two methods
There are different ways to approach tab page definition. You can define:
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An embedded tab page
In the painter, insert tab pages in the Tab control and add controls to those pages. An embedded tab page is of class UserObject, but is not reusable.
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An independent user object
In the User Object painter, create a custom visual user object and add the controls that will display on the tab page. You can use the user object as a tab page in a Tab control, either in the painter or by calling OpenTab in a script. A tab page defined as an independent user object is reusable.
You can mix and match the two methods -- one Tab control can contain both embedded tab pages and independent user objects.
Creating tab pages
When you create a new Tab control, it has one embedded tab page. You can use that tab page or you can delete it.
To create a new tab page within the Tab control:
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Right-click in the tab area of the Tab control. Do not click a tab page.
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Select Insert TabPage from the pop-up menu.
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Add controls to the new page.
To define a tab page independent of a Tab control:
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Select Custom Visual on the Object tab in the New dialog box.
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In the User Object painter, size the user object to match the size of the display area of the Tab control in which you will use it.
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Add the controls that will appear on the tab page to the user object and write scripts for their events.
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On the user object's property sheet, click the TabPage tab and fill in information to be used by the tab page.
To add a tab page that exists as an independent user object to a Tab control:
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Right-click in the tab area of the Tab control. Do not click a tab page.
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Select Insert User Object from the pop-up menu.
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Select a user object.
The tab page is inherited from the user object you select. You can set tab page properties and write scripts for the inherited user object just as you do for tab pages defined within the Tab control.
Editing the controls on the tab page user object
You cannot edit the content of the user object within the Tab control. If you want to edit or write scripts for the controls, close the window or user object containing the Tab control and go back to the User Object painter to make changes.
Managing tab pages
You can view, reorder, and delete the tab pages on a Tab control.
To view a different tab page:
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Click the page's tab.
The tab page comes to the front and becomes the active tab page. The tabs are rearranged according to the Tab position setting you have chosen.
To reorder the tabs within a Tab control:
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Click the Page Order tab on the Tab control's property sheet.
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Drag the names of the tab pages to the desired order.
To delete a tab page from a Tab control:
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Click the page's tab.
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Right-click the tab page and select Cut or Clear from the pop-up menu.
Selecting tab controls and tab pages
As you click on various areas within a tab control, you will notice the Properties view changing to show the properties of the tab control itself, one of the tab pages, or a control on a tab page. Before you select an item such as Cut from the pop-up menu, make sure that you have selected the right object.
Clicking anywhere in the tab area of a tab control selects the tab control. When you click the tab for a specific page, that tab page becomes active, but the selected object is still the tab control. To select the tab page, click its tab to make it active and then click anywhere on the background of the page except on the tab itself.
Controls on tab pages
The real purpose of a Tab control is to display other controls on its pages. You can think of the tab page as a miniature window. You add controls to it just as you do to a window.
When you are working on a Tab control, you can add controls only to a tab page created within the Tab control.
Adding controls to an independent user object tab page
To add controls to an independent user object tab page, open it in the User Object painter.
To add a control to an embedded tab page:
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Choose a control from the toolbar or the Insert menu and click the tab page, just as you do to add a control to a window.
When you click inside the tab page, the tab page becomes the control's parent.
To move a control from one tab page to another:
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Cut or copy the control and paste it on the destination tab page.
The source and destination tab pages must both be embedded tab pages, not independent user objects.
To move a control between a tab page and the window containing the Tab control:
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Cut or copy the control and paste it on the destination window or tab page.
You cannot drag the control out of the Tab control onto the window.
Moving the control between a tab page and the window changes the control's parent, which affects scripts that refer to the control.
