When you open a screen in the Screen Designer, the design interface comprises three main windows: the Design window, the Property window, and the Screen Component Toolbox.
- The Design window displays a screen form. The screen form is a blank slate on which you can draw controls to build a user interface.
- The Property window lists the properties, events, and code insertion points associated with the selected screen element. Properties range
from basic, such as size and position of the selected item, to advanced, dictating the style and behavior of the item.
- The Screen Component Toolbox lists all of the available controls (such as entry fields and grids) and other screen items (including
menus and toolbars) that can be added to the selected screen form. If you are working with a character-based screen, the toolbox
shows a subset of the controls available for use with a graphical screen.
The first step in creating your user interface is to configure the screen itself. While screen properties can be set after
controls have been added to the screen, some screen properties, such as Font, are inherited by controls added to the screen. By setting these properties at the start, you can save time and streamline
the design process.