Customizing toolbars

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.

StepsTo add a button to a toolbar:

  1. Position the pointer on the toolbar and display the pop-up menu.

  2. Select Customize.

    The Customize dialog box displays.

    The sample shows the Customize dialog box. At top is a box labeled Select palette with radio buttons for Painter Bar, Power Bar, and Custom. Painter Bar is selected. Below is an area labeled Selected palette displaying all the buttons available on the Painter Bar palette. Below that is a box labeled Current toolbar that displays the currently selected buttons. At bottom is the label Description : and the text " Space evenly horizontally."
  3. Click the palette of buttons you want to use in the Select palette group.

  4. 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”.

    NoteSeeing 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.

StepsTo move a button on a toolbar:

  1. Position the pointer on the toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select Customize.

  2. In the Current toolbar box, select the button and drag it to its new position.

StepsTo delete a button from a toolbar:

  1. Position the pointer on the toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select Customize.

  2. 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.

StepsTo reset a toolbar:

  1. Position the pointer on the toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select Customize.

  2. 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.

NoteTo 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”.

Steps To clear or delete a toolbar:

  1. Position the pointer on the toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select Customize.

  2. Click the Clear button, then Yes to confirm.

    The Current toolbar box in the Customize dialog box is emptied.

  3. Select new buttons for the current toolbar and click OK, or click OK to delete the toolbar.

Adding a custom button

You can add a custom button to a toolbar. A custom button can:

StepsTo add a custom button:

  1. Position the pointer on the toolbar, display the pop-up menu, and select Customize.

  2. Select Custom in the Select Palette group.

    The custom buttons display in the Selected Palette box.

  3. 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:

    The sample shows the Toolbar Item Command dialog box. From top down, there are boxes for Command Line, Item Text, and Item Microhelp, which are all blank, and a cleared check box labeled Run Minimized. At bottom is a box labeled Special Command displaying buttons for Query, Report, Format, and Function.
  4. Fill in the dialog box as shown in Table 1-4.

    Table 1-4: Toolbar Item Command dialog box

    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 Chapter 8, “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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

Table 1-5: Arguments for running reports

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.