Dialog Editor Window

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# Dialog Editor Window

The dialog editor window includes a title bar, an information bar below the title bar, and a status line.

The title bar includes the name of the dialog (or "Untitled" if the dialog and the library have not been named). For example:

    MYDIALOG [MYLIB] - Dialog

The information bar below the title bar contains the following information:

Item | Explanation
--- | ---
Status | Indicates whether the dialog has been modified since it was saved.
Selected (handle) | Indicates the handle name of the currently selected dialog element; the selection box displays the handle names of all dialog elements in the dialog together with their level number in the dialog element hierarchy. You can select another dialog element in the selection box.
x | X axis position of the currently selected dialog element relative to the upper left corner of the client area of the parent dialog element (or dialog, for top-level dialog elements). Equivalent to the current value of the `RECTANGLE-X` attribute.
y | Y axis position of the currently selected dialog element relative to the upper left corner of the client area of the parent dialog element (or dialog, for top-level dialog elements). Equivalent to the current value of the `RECTANGLE-Y` attribute.
w | Width of the currently selected dialog element. Equivalent to the current value of the `RECTANGLE-W` attribute.
h | Height of the currently selected dialog element. Equivalent to the current value of the `RECTANGLE-H` attribute.

Dialogs that are larger than the area shown in the dialog editor window can be scrolled using the scroll bars on the right and at the bottom of the dialog editor window.

The following topics are covered below:

- Changing the Initial Position of the Dialog

- Changing the Initial Size of the Dialog

- Selecting/Deselecting Dialog Elements

- Aborting Mouse Operations

- Creation Mode in Map Editor and Dialog Editor

- Changing the Position of a Dialog Element

- Changing the Size of a Dialog Element

- Moving the Pointer

- Simulating the Mouse with the Spacebar

- Scrolling in a Dialog

- Using the Clipboard

## Changing the Initial Position of the Dialog

To change the initial position of the dialog

- Select its title bar and drag it to the desired location.

  Or:
  Open its attributes window and type in the new coordinates (in pixels) in the "X" and "Y" fields.

To open the attributes window

- From the Dialog menu or from the dialog's context menu, choose Attributes.

  Or:
  Select the dialog and press ENTER.

## Changing the Initial Size of the Dialog

To change the initial size of the dialog

- Use the sizing border of the dialog.

  Or:
  Open its attributes window and type in the new size (in pixels) in the "W" and "H" fields.

## Selecting/Deselecting Dialog Elements

It is possible to select multiple dialog elements, but only one can be active at any time. The active selection is delineated by black selection marks using which the control can be resized. The inactive selection is delineated by grey selection marks.

Dialog Editor commands which are based on a single dialog element use the active selection, whereas other (such as Delete) use both the active and inactive selection. Selecting a dialog element which is part of the inactive selection makes it the active selection without deselecting any other dialog element.

To select a dialog element

- Select an unselected dialog element, which becomes selected, while all other dialog elements become deselected. To select an additional dialog element, hold down SHIFT and select the dialog element. The dialog element selected last becomes the active selection, the ones selected before are the inactive selection. To deselect the dialog element(s), select the blank space in the dialog window.

  Or:
  Point to the background in the dialog window and then drag the pointer to enclose or partially enclose the elements you want to select. To deselect or select additional elements, do the same as above while pressing SHIFT.

  Or:
  Press TAB to select the next dialog element in the control sequence.

  Or:
  Press SHIFT+TAB to select the previous dialog element in the control sequence.

  Or:
  Select a dialog element from the drop-down list in the status bar. You can do this by using the mouse or by pressing F6 to switch to the drop-down list box and then using the arrow keys to select the dialog element. To drop down the list and view the dialog elements to choose from, press F4. To deselect the drop-down list box, press ESC or ENTER.

Note
If one or more dialog elements are already selected, you can only additionally select other controls with the same parent.

## Aborting Mouse Operations

Any operation that is completed by releasing the left mouse button may be aborted by pressing the ESC key before releasing the left mouse button.

## Creation Mode in Map Editor and Dialog Editor

If you create a dialog element by selecting "Insert" plus the dialog element type, the dialog editor is in "creation mode". After creation, the dialog editor is no longer in creation mode; that is, you do not have to switch off creation mode by selecting the dialog element as you would in the map editor.

## Changing the Position of a Dialog Element

To change the position of one or more dialog elements, select the dialog element(s). The name of the dialog element selected first will be displayed in the status bar, together with its current position.

To change position, you can use one of the following options:

1. Drag the dialog element to its new location using the mouse.

2. For each selected dialog element, open its attributes window and type in the new coordinates (in pixels) in the "X" and "Y" fields.

3. Hold down SHIFT and press any arrow to move the selected dialog element(s) the number of pixels specified with the grid settings in the Dialog Editor dialog box described in Dialog Editor Options and Setting the Options in the Using Natural Studio documentation.

4. Hold down SHIFT+CTRL and press any arrow to move the selected dialog element(s) by one pixel.

## Changing the Size of a Dialog Element

To change the size of one or more dialog elements, select the dialog element(s). You then have the following options:

1. Point to one of the eight small black squares (the selection mark of the last selected dialog element). The mouse pointer now indicates the direction into which you can resize the dialog element. Hold down the left mouse button and drag (one of) the dialog element(s) to the desired size. If more than one dialog element is selected, the other dialog elements selected are resized proportionally.

2. Open the dialog element's attributes window and type in the new size (in pixels) in the "W" and "H" fields.

3. Choose "Control > Stretch", then the direction into which you can resize the dialog element. Then use the mouse or the keyboard to continue the operation.

## Moving the Pointer

To move the pointer

- Move the mouse.

  Or:
  Press any arrow key to move the pointer by the number of pixels specified with the grid settings in the Dialog Editor dialog box described in Dialog Editor Options and Setting the Options in the Using Natural Studio documentation.

  Or:
  Hold down CTRL and press any arrow key to move the pointer by one pixel.

## Simulating the Mouse with the Spacebar

You can simulate mouse operations with the spacebar as described in the following table. Note that the pointer must lie on the element to be manipulated.

Mouse Operation | Keyboard Operation
--- | ---
Press left mouse button | Press and hold down the spacebar.
Release left mouse button | Release the spacebar.
Mouse click | Press and release the spacebar.
Mouse, double-click | Press and release the spacebar twice.
Move dialog element | Move pointer to element, press and hold down the spacebar, press the appropriate arrow key(s).
Select several dialog elements | Move pointer to background, press and hold down the spacebar, press the appropriate arrow key(s).
Resize dialog element | Move pointer to any black square of selected element, press and hold down the spacebar, press the appropriate arrow key(s), release the spacebar.

Simulating a mouse double-click with the spacebar opens the attributes window for the dialog element on which the pointer is positioned; if the pointer is not positioned on any dialog element, the dialog attributes window is opened.

## Scrolling in a Dialog

You can scroll in a dialog window if at least one dialog element is outside its scroll range. For you to be able to scroll in a dialog, the dialog scroll bars must be active. To activate the dialog scroll bars, open the dialog attributes window either by pressing ENTER or by double-clicking in the dialog. Then select either the "Horizontal Scrollbar" or "Vertical Scrollbar" entry.

To scroll with the mouse

- Point to the scroll-bar slider and drag the slider in the desired direction.

  Or:
  Point to the scroll-bar shaft and select.

  Or:
  Point to one of the scroll-bar arrow buttons and hold down the left mouse button.

To scroll with the keyboard, you do not need a scroll bar. You have four options:

1. To simulate clicking into a vertical scroll bar, press the PAGE-UP or PAGE-DOWN keys; or

2. To simulate clicking into a horizontal scroll bar, press SHIFT+PAGE-UP or SHIFT+PAGE-DOWN; or

3. To simulate clicking on the corresponding vertical arrow button, press CTRL+PAGE-UP or CTRL+PAGE-DOWN; or

4. To simulate clicking on the corresponding horizontal arrow button, press CTRL+SHIFT+PAGE-UP or CTRL+SHIFT+PAGE-DOWN.

## Using the Clipboard

Key (Combination) | Function
--- | ---
DEL | Delete the selected dialog element
CTRL+C | Copy
CTRL+V | Paste

### On this page

- Changing the Initial Position of the Dialog
- Changing the Initial Size of the Dialog
- Selecting/Deselecting Dialog Elements
- Aborting Mouse Operations
- Creation Mode in Map Editor and Dialog Editor
- Changing the Position of a Dialog Element
- Changing the Size of a Dialog Element
- Moving the Pointer
- Simulating the Mouse with the Spacebar
- Scrolling in a Dialog
- Using the Clipboard