Groups

Group controls can be used to organize other controls, in order to design more clearly structured data entry screens. From a functional point of view, controls in groups do not make any difference to controls that have been placed directly on the data entry screen. Controls organized in groups also use the database record of the parent control (in this case, always the data entry screen itself). However, you can move child controls together with their group control, and properties like Anchor or Dock use the coordinates of the group control for their origin.

Like all other controls, you can position a group control simply by dragging and dropping it on the data entry screen. Controls can be placed automatically by a Layout Control or be dragged directly onto the group. When using the Layout Controls first drag it from the toolbox to the group. Then add the desired controls. The alignment is controlled by the Layout Control. Controls can also be taken directly from the toolbox to the group, however, the positioning must be made manually.

It is neither possible to insert an existing control into a group control at a later time nor to move a group control into another group control or into the parent control. Besides, group controls cannot be nested within other group controls. This means that only one hierarchical level is allowed.

In addition to the global properties, a group control only has one additional property named Border. This property controls the visual appearance of the group control in the data entry screen. Two options are available: By selecting the AllSides option, you can display a border around the entire group control. In contrast, the OnlyTop option displays only a single line along the upper edge, while the other three sides are left open.