Tab Control object
The name of the object is obj_c1tabs. It appears on the Controls tab of the Builder's object palette.
The tab control has two fake tabs labeled A and B when it is drawn on the palette, and also when the user places an instance on a display. The fake tabs are replaced with the actual tabs by attaching the tab control's valueTable property to a data table containing one row for each tab.
The size given to the control in the Builder determines the space available for tabs. The tabs are drawn horizontally with the first tab at the left edge of the control. If the control is not wide enough to show all of the tabs, the tabs will wrap vertically. If the control is not tall enough to show all of the tabs, some of the tabs may be clipped or invisible.
Changing the control's labelTextSize property will change the size of the tab label text, which will also affect the size of the tabs.
The tab control is populated from a data table attached to its valueTable property, with one tab created for each row in the table. The following tab control properties are used to map the columns of the data table to each tab:
Property | Description |
labelColumnName | The value from this column is used as the tab label. If labelColumnName does not specify a column in the valueTable or if it contains an empty string, then the tab for row N in the valueTable will be labeled "Tab N". The labelColumnName property appears in the Label category. |
valueColumnName | The value from this column is assigned to the variable (if any) attached to the tab control's varToSet property when the corresponding tab is selected by the user. If valueColumnName does not specify a column in the valueTable, then the tab's index (0 through N - 1, for a table with N rows) is used as the tab value. The valueColumnName property appears in the Data category. |
imageColumnName | The value from this column is used to load an icon image, shown to the left of the tab's label. If imageColumnName does not specify a column in the valueTable, or if the column is empty, or if the image can't be found, the tab will not contain an icon. An icon will affect the size of the tab. The imageColumnName property appears in the Image category. |
mouseOverColumnName | The value from this column is used as the tooltip for each tab. If mouseOverColumnName does not specify a column in the valueTable, or if the column is empty, the tab will not display a tooltip. The mouseOverColumnName property appears in the Interaction category. |
The tab control supports the drillDownColumnSubs property, which can be useful in cases where the tab's command is a drilldown. As with other objects that support drillDownColumnSubs, it can be used to set the values for substitutions and local variables from columns in the row of the valueTable that corresponds to the selected tab.
The control's visFlag property can be used to toggle the control's visibility. Unlike the other control objects, the tab control does not support the enabledFlag property. So it is always enabled. As on other control objects, the predefined substitution named $value can be used in the control's command. The value of the selected tab will be substituted for $value when the command is run. (See the valueColumnName property for a description of how a tab's value is determined). If a tab control has a command defined and the commandConfirm property is checked, the user will be asked to confirm the command when a tab is clicked, but the clicked tab will become the selected tab regardless of the user's response.
Limitations / Differences:
In the Thin client, the tab control is not supported in Internet Explorer version 8 or older, and will not appear in displays opened in those versions.
The tab sizes and appearance may differ when viewed in the Builder/Viewer versus Thin client.
In the Thin client, the background color of the selected tab is brighter than the unselected tabs, while in the Builder/Viewer the selected tab is darker than the other tabs. (This difference is intentional, to conform with the standard appearance of tabs in Swing versus a Browser.)