Common Properties

The set of FRAME common properties includes:

TITLE

A frame may have a title. It can appear in several possible positions, depending on the value of the TITLE-POSITION special property. The TITLE phrase is used to specify the title. A key letter may be specified in the title. See Common Screen Options for more information.

VALUE

Frames do not have values.

SIZE

The LINES and SIZE values describe the area occupied by the frame, using the frame's font to determine the dimensions of the row and column. The frame is drawn immediately inside the described area, except that the top or bottom line of the frame is moved by half the height of the title font (even if no title is specified). This allows the title, if any, to appear centered vertically in the frame's upper or lower line, depending on the value of the TITLE-POSITION special property. However, if the FULL-HEIGHT style (below) is specified, the frame's title will descend from the top of the frame instead of being centered vertically. The default LINES value is 5. The default SIZE value is 12.

When the program executes on a non-graphical system, the values specified in the CLINES and CSIZE phrases, if present, replace the values specified by the LINES and SIZE phrases.

COLOR

For the default style, the foreground color is used when the frame is drawn. The background color is not used. However, for the various 3-D styles, the background color is the primary color used, and the foreground color is not used. Normally, you want the background color to match the surrounding area when drawing a 3-D effect. Frames use the current window colors as the default foreground and background colors.
Note: If you are using the WIN32_NATIVECTLS runtime variable to automatically enable XP or Vista control styles, and have frames with labels, see the COLOR property of section Label: Common Properties - Label for information on how the labels may display.

STYLES

HEAVY Causes the frame to be thicker or more pronounced than normal. The exact effect depends on the other styles used.
VERY-HEAVY Creates a very heavy line or 3-D effect. Most of the 3-D effects degrade somewhat when used with this style. However, you should use this style whenever you use the ALTERNATE style.
ALTERNATE Creates an alternate look. To get the alternate look, you must also specify either the HEAVY or VERY-HEAVY styles.

The default (NORMAL) style, when combined with the ALTERNATE and VERY-HEAVY styles, produces a double-line frame. The run-time system accomplishes this by filling the middle pixel of the 3-pixel frame with the background color.

The effect of ALTERNATE on the RAISED, LOWERED, ENGRAVED, and RIMMED styles is described below under their respective entries. All styles can be previewed on screen with the FRAMES sample program.

RAISED One of the four 3-D styles. The raised style causes the interior of the frame to appear as if raised above the surface of the screen. We suggest that you do not use a title with this style, because the title tends to reduce the 3-D effect.

When combined with the ALTERNATE and VERY-HEAVY styles, RAISED creates a frame that appears to have a raised area with a slight rim around it

Note: Be careful when using this style that you don't make a frame that looks like a push button.
LOWERED One of the four 3-D styles. This style causes the interior of the frame to appear to be lower than the surface of the screen. We recommend against using a title with this style, because the title tends to spoil the 3-D effect.

When it is combined with the ALTERNATE and HEAVY (or VERY-HEAVY) styles, LOWERED creates a frame that has a dark border around the interior of the lowered region.

ENGRAVED One of the four 3-D styles. This style causes the frame to appear lower than the surface of the screen, while the interior of the frame appears to be level with the surface.

When combined with the ALTERNATE and VERY-HEAVY styles, the engraved area of the frame appears to be accentuated and deeper. When ENGRAVED is used with the ALTERNATE and HEAVY styles, the middle pixel of the 3-pixel frame is painted black instead of the background color. This makes the framed region look like a separate piece of the screen.

RIMMED One of the four 3-D styles. This style causes the frame to appear to be raised above the surface of the screen, while the interior of the frame appears to be level with the surface.

When combined with the ALTERNATE and VERY-HEAVY styles, the rim appears to be taller than usual.

FULL-HEIGHT Causes the top line of a frame to appear at the exact row position specified. In this case, the frame's title descends from the top of the frame instead of being centered vertically. Use in conjunction with TITLE-POSITION to adjust the frame title's location.

To see how the different frame styles appear on your system, compile and run the sample program frames.cbl.