Using the individual controls

There are four basic types of controls with different purposes.

**Table 12-2: Summary of control types by function**
Function	Controls include
Invoke actions	CommandButtons, PictureButtons, PictureHyperLinks, StaticHyperLinks, Tabs, User Objects
Display or accept data, or both	ListBoxes, PictureListBoxes, DropDownListBoxes, DropDownPictureListBoxes, DataWindow controls, StaticText, ListViews, TreeViews, RichTextEdit, Graphs, Pictures, ProgressBars, ScrollBars, SingleLineEdits, MultiLineEdits, EditMasks, Tabs, user objects, OLE controls, MonthCalendar, DatePicker, InkEdit, and InkPicture controls
Indicate choices	RadioButtons, CheckBoxes (you can group these controls in a GroupBox), TrackBars
Decorative	Line, Rectangle, RoundRectangle, Oval, Animation

How to use the controls

You should use the controls only for the purpose shown in the table. For example, users expect radio buttons for selecting an option. Do not use a radio button also to invoke an action, such as opening a window or printing. Use a command button for that.

There are, however, several exceptions: user objects can be created for any purpose, and ListBoxes, ListViews, TreeViews, and Tabs are often used both to display data and to invoke actions. For example, double-clicking a ListBox item often causes some action to occur.

Individual controls

The following sections describe some features that are unique to individual controls. The controls are listed in the order in which they display on the Insert>Control menu and the drop-down controls palette:

Some controls are not covered in this chapter:

DataWindow controls and objects. See Chapter 18, “Defining DataWindow Objects.”
RichTextEdit controls. See Chapter 30, “Working with Rich Text.”
User objects. See Chapter 15, “Working with User Objects.”
Graph controls. See Chapter 26, “Working with Graphs.”
OLE controls. See Chapter 31, “Using OLE in a DataWindow Object.”