When you want to move an object to a different place on the form, you select the object with the mouse and drag it to the new location, which is called "drag and drop." You can move objects individually or in groups. When moving objects it is also helpful to use the ruler which is located across the top and along the left side of the form. The measurements on the ruler are screen pixels.
In this section, we'll move the objects to different places on the form to separate the groups of information and make the form easier to read. Refer to the "Customizing the Form" page to review the advised object layout.
To move all the objects on the form:
| 1. | In the "Form Designer" window, lasso the Static Text and DB Edit objects. |
All the objects on the form are selected as a group.
| 2. | With the mouse cursor on any one of the selected objects, hold the left mouse button down. Drag the grouped objects to the center of the form. Release the mouse button. |
| 3. | Click the mouse cursor outside the objects to deselect them. |
Now, we'll move the phone number text and DB Edit objects to the same line and to the right of the area code objects.
To move the phone number objects:
| 1. | In the "Form Designer" window, click on the "Employee phone number:" Static Text object. |
| 2. | Press and hold the [Shift] key, then click on the DB Edit object for EmployeePhone. |
The two phone number objects are enclosed with red handlebars. This indicates that they are selected as a group.
| 3. | With the mouse cursor within the fields, click and hold the left mouse button. Drag the objects to the right of the area code objects. When dragging the objects, you will notice guidelines automatically appear, which assist is the horizontal and vertical alignment to other objects. Horizontally align the selected phone number Static Text and DB Edit objects to the area code objects, and release the mouse button. |
| 4. | Click the mouse cursor outside the objects to deselect them. |
Next, we'll separate some of the objects on the form from the other fields. First, we'll separate the area code and phone number section.
To separate the area code and phone number section:
| 1. | In the "Form Designer" window, click on the EmployeePhone DB Edit object. |
| 2. | Press and hold the [Shift] key, then click on the "Employee phone number:" Static Text object, the area code DB Edit object, and the "Area Code" Static Text object. |
The four fields are now enclosed with red handlebars, indicating they are selected as a group.
| 3. | With the mouse cursor inside the group, click and hold the left mouse button. Drag the group of fields down about an inch so they are near 400 pixel measurement on the Form Designer ruler. When dragging the objects, you will notice the guidelines appear again. Use the guidelines to vertical alignment the DB Edit objects. Release the mouse button. |
| 4. | Click the mouse cursor outside the fields to deselect them. |
Using this same procedure, separate the address information from the employee number and name, placing the Address objects between the name and phone number objects.
Now that the object are moved to new locations, we'll adjust the field sizes.
If you have not done so already save the form. From the menu bar, choose Form: Save Form.
