Tip of the Month (April 2006)

Adding a Control to the Middle of the Control Order

Visual CE uses the "control order" to determine the order of the columns in the record list display, the order in which the cursor moves from field to field when the user presses the Tab key, and the order of command buttons in a macro program.

When you create a new control, it is always placed at the end of the control order. You then can select FORM | CONTROL ORDER and use the "Move Up" button to put it in the correct place in the control order.

Using the "Move Up" button works pretty well if there are only a few controls, but if you want to add a control after the 156'th control on a form that has 400 controls, this can be cumbersome.

Here's an easy way to create a new control and put it where you want it in the control order:

1. Create the new control as you normally would.
2. Select FORM | CONTROL ORDER.
3. In the dialog box that appears, click on the entry for the control immediately before the position you want for the new control (in our example, the 156'th control). Note: don't click on the control itself, click on the entry in the dialog box for that control. The order number for the selected control (156 in our example) will appear right above the OK and CANCEL buttons.
4. Don't press the OK button, just click on the title bar and move the dialog box over to the side.
5. Click on the new control.
6. Click on the OK button in the dialog box.

The new control will be in the desired position in the control order and all the controls after it will be incremented by one.