Setting General Button Properties - AMX TPDESIGN4 V2.5 Instruction Manual

Setting General Button Properties

Once you have created a new button, you can use the General tab of the Properties Control window
to set/edit general (non-state oriented) button properties. The General tab contains a table that lists
the button properties for the selected button type. Text area buttons are generally used to invoke a
keyboard, keypad or cursor prompt on the panel.
To edit any of the listed button properties, click on an item in the right-hand column to activate the
field. Depending on the item selected, you can either set the item manually, select from a drop-
down menu, or both.
The following General button properties are supported (some properties only apply to certain
button types, as indicated in the table):
General Button Properties
Parameter
• Type:
• Name:
• Lock Button Name:
•
TPDesign4 Touch Panel Design Program
Change: specify a number of pixels to add or subtract from the selections height (positive
values add pixels, negative values subtract). Specify wether to adjust the sizing values
absolutely or incrementally.
Description
The Type (button type) defaults to the button type (General, Bargraph, Joystick,
Multi-State General, Multi-State Bargraph or Text Area) that was set when the
button was created. To change the button a different type, click Type to activate
the button type drop-down menu, containing a list of all available button types.
You can use this option to change the selected button's type.
This is the button name. To give the button a specific name (other than the
default Button 1, Button 2, Button 3 etc.), click Name to activate the editable field,
where you can type the new name (max. 50 characters).
This option controls how the name of the selected button is managed by the pro-
gram. When new buttons are created, by default the buttons are automatically
given a sequential two-part name composed of the button number (relative to the
number of buttons already created in the Project) and button type, separated by
a colon (i.e. "Button 1 : general", "Button 2 : multi-state general", etc.).
However, TPDesign4 goes further in automatically generating a descriptive
name for the button, based on the text and/or bitmap applied to the button:
If you apply text to the button, the button text is substituted for the button number.
For example if you create a new button (which is automatically named "Button
9"), then add the text "Welcome", note that the button is automatically renamed
to "Welcome : general". Note that this name change occurs on the fly, and does
not require a Save operation.
Button Text always overrides the presence of a bitmap. If a button contains text,
then assigning a bitmap to the button will not affect the button name. However, if
no button text exists, and you apply a bitmap to the button, the button is automat-
ically renamed to reflect the bitmap file name (i.e. "Background : general").
Note that if you change the text (or apply new text where there was none), the
button is again renamed to reflect the updated text. Furthermore, any time you
change the text on the button, the button name is automatically updated with
either the latest text or bitmap assignment (if there is no text).
This is where the Lock Button Name option comes into play. By default, Lock But-
ton Name is set to Off. At any point in the design process, click Lock Button
Name and select Yes to prevent the button from being automatically renamed by
the program when you edit the text or bitmap assignment(s). However, Lock But-
ton Name does not prevent you from manually renaming the button, via the
Name field.
Working With Buttons
93