Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Development:
AppBuilder

> ## Configuring a basic data browser instance

> You can make a number of changes to the appearance and behavior of your basic Browse object, if the default settings in the property sheet do not meet your needs.

> Click on the object to select it, if necessary, and choose Tools Property Sheet. The Property Sheet dialog box opens:

> ##### Minimal configuration

> Although you can accept many of the default settings, you might wish to make two changes to individualize this object:

> - Change the identifier to more closely reflect this data browser’s role in your application.

> - Add a title string, if you plan to allow the browse to display a title bar.

> ##### Query and fields

> If the Query and Fields buttons are visible, it means you can edit those elements using Query Builder and Column Editor rather than the Section Editor. If the buttons are not visible, you must use the Section Editor, and the balance of this section does not apply to this browse.

> Since the query is local to this browse, rather than in a separate module, you can make changes both to the terms of the query and to the fields the browse will display.

> - Choosing the Query button will start Query Builder and allow you to modify the terms of the query. See the "Defining and editing queries using Query Builder" section for more information.

> - Choosing the Fields button will start Column Editor and allow you to modify the columns this SmartDataBrowser will display. For information about how to use Column Editor, see the "Selecting database fields for browsing" section.

> - By default, all columns can be scrolled horizontally, if there are too many columns to display at once. You can choose to lock the leftmost columns in place, so that scrolling does not affect them. Enter in the Locked Columns box the number of columns you want to freeze in place.

> Caution: If you lock more columns than will fit in the browse’s window, you effectively disable the horizontal scroll bar.

> - When displaying a vertical scroll bar, the system tries to size the scroll bar’s thumb slider to reflect the total number of lines in the data stream. Ideally, the size of the thumb varies inversely with the number of lines (records). In general, the number of records being returned by a query will be larger than the number of lines that can be buffered and, when that is the case, the system cannot begin to correctly size the thumb. If you have a good idea about the total number of records in this data stream, you can improve the accuracy of the scroll bar’s appearance. Enter your estimate in the Max Data Guess field.

> - Type into the Tooltip field the identifying text that you want the system to display whenever the mouse cursor hovers over this browse.

> ##### Geometry

> You can set the exact XY origin (relative to the containing frame) and size of this browse instance. Set the values, in character units, in the appropriate fields. You can choose whether the origin is measured at the upper-left corner (the default) or the upper-right corner.

> If you would prefer to use pixels rather than character units, choose the Advanced button and set the values using that dialog box instead.

> ##### Miscellaneous properties (other settings)

> You can make a number of changes to the appearance and behavior of this browse instance, if the default settings do not meet your needs:

> - Column scrolling — Normally set. Clearing this check box causes the horizontal scrolling granularity to be one character. The default is one field (column). This option applies only when running under MS-Windows.

> - Drop target — Normally cleared. Setting this check box causes the system to generate an event when the user drags and drops another object onto this one. You must write code to deal with that event.

> - Enable — Normally set. Clearing this check box causes the browse to be insensitive.

> - Expandable — Normally set. Clearing this check box prevents stretching the last column to cover any background exposed by scrolling. In general, when Column Scrolling is set, and the Browse window is scrolled all the way to the right, some background will be exposed because it is unlikely that the last `n` columns will exactly fit the Browse window width. When this option is set, the last column expands cosmetically to the right to mask any exposed background from view. Applies only when running under MS-Windows.

> - Hidden — Normally cleared. Setting this check box prevents implicit display of the object.

> - Multiple selection — Normally cleared. Setting this check box allows the user to select multiple rows. If any of the fields are updatable, you must also clear the No Row Markers check box.

> - No assign — Normally cleared. When set, changes to updatable fields are not automatically written back to the database when the user moves to a different row (record).

> - No box — Normally cleared. Setting this check box causes the Browse window to display without a border. Under MS-Windows, this border is a single-pixel black line.

> - No labels — Normally cleared. Setting this check box prevents display of the column labels.

> - No tab stop — Normally cleared. Setting this check box removes the browse instance from the TAB-traversal list for the containing frame. Under MS-Windows, removing the object from the traversal list has some effects that might confuse the user.

> - No validate — Normally cleared. Setting this check box disables all validation conditions specified in the Data Dictionary for fields in this browse.

> - Open the query — Normally set. Setting this check box activates the query and populates the fields during initialization.

> - scroll bar vertical — Normally set. Clearing this option hides the vertical scroll bar. The user can still scroll using the arrow keys.

> - Separators — Normally set. Clearing this check box causes the widget to paint itself without lines separating the rows and columns.

> - Title bar — Normally cleared. Setting this check box causes the browse widget to display a full-width frame-like title bar. Specify the title string if you set this option.

> ##### Advanced properties

> Choose the Advanced button. The Advanced Properties dialog box opens:

> You can make a number of changes to the browse’s appearance and behavior by changing the default settings in this dialog box:

> - Help — The text in this field is displayed in the status bar of the parent window when the Browse has the focus. If the parent window has no status area, this text never displays.

> - Private data — AppBuilder writes the contents of this field out as the value of the `PRIVATE-DATA` attribute. You can write code to use this data in any way that meets your needs.

> - Generated code layout unit — Controls whether AppBuilder describes the position and size of this Browse in character or pixel units, when it generates source code.

> - Geometry — Expresses the origin and size of this widget in pixels. You can set a particular origin and size for the object here rather than interactively, if you wish. You can also choose to have the origin be measured at the upper-right rather than the upper-left corner.

> - Column movable — Normally cleared. Setting this check box allows the user to reorder the columns by dragging. Such reordering is cosmetic and has no effect on the actual record.

> - Column resizable — Normally cleared. Setting this check box allows the user to resize the columns interactively. Resizing the column has no effect on the actual field widths.

> - Column searching — Normally cleared. Setting this check box allows the user to search on a selected column (field).

> - Movable — Normally cleared. Setting this check box, together with the Selectable box, allows the user to move the entire browse object around within the bounds of the enclosing frame.

> - Resizable — Normally cleared. Setting this check box, together with the Selectable box, allows the user to change the size of the browse object, within the limits of the enclosing frame.

> - Row resizable — Normally cleared. Setting this check box allows the user to change the vertical size (height) of the rows by dragging a horizontal separator line.

> - Selectable — Normally cleared. Setting this check box allows the use to select the browse object.

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