Using Dialog and Properties Boxes

Often, selecting a menu command causes Notes to display a dialog box. Dialog boxes and Properties boxes function similarly in that they both enable you to set options and make specific choices related to the object with which you are currently working. Each type of box contains certain elements you need to understand to use it. Whereas dialog boxes appear as a result of choosing something through the menu, Properties boxes appear when you right-click an item or when you select them from the File command on the menu.

Dialog Boxes

Figure 3.2 shows an example of a dialog box. The User Preferences dialog box, which you access by choosing File, Tools, User Preferences from the menu, contains most of the elements common to Notes dialog boxes. Table 3.2 describes those elements and tells you how to use them.

Table 3.2. Dialog Box Elements

Element	Description
Title bar	Indicates the name of the dialog box (such as the Open Database dialog box).
Drop-down list box	Displays one option from a list; click the arrow to the right of the box, and the box drops down to display the entire list.
List box	Displays a list of options so that you can see more than one choice at a time.
Scroll bar	Enables you to display additional items in a window or list box; click the up or down arrow to see more.
Text box	Enables you to enter a selection by typing it in the box.
Command button	Completes the commands or leads to another related dialog box containing more options.
Close (X) button	Closes the dialog box without saving (Windows 95) changes.
Check boxes	Enables you to select or deselect options individually; when the option is selected, a check mark appears in a small square box beside the option.
Check list	Enables you to select one or more items from a displayed list of options; click an option to select or deselect it, and a check mark appears beside it or disappears (respectively).

To use a dialog box, make your selections, as described in Table 3.2, and then choose a command button. The following list describes the functions of the most-common command buttons:

• OK or Done accepts and puts into effect the selections you've made in the dialog box and then closes the dialog box. Pressing the Enter key on your keyboard has the same affect as clicking the OK or Done button.

• Cancel cancels the changes you've made in the dialog box and closes it (as does the Close (X) button at the right end of the title bar).

• Browse (or any other button with an ellipsis following the button's name) displays another dialog box.

• Open (or any other button with only a command on it) performs that command.

• Help displays information about the dialog box and its options.

Properties boxes

A Properties box also presents options that are related to the menu commands. However, you work with a Properties box in a different way than you do a dialog box. A Properties box displays only the properties of a specific item, such as a workspace or a database. Properties are types of information about an item such as its name, location, settings, design, size, and so on. When you make a selection in a Properties box, it takes effect immediately—even though the Properties box remains onscreen as you work.

Properties boxes contain tabbed pages that offer various types of options about the item you have selected. Figure 3.3 shows the Properties box for a database.

Properties boxes have many of the same elements that dialog boxes have: drop-down lists, list boxes, text boxes, and check boxes, for example. However, Properties boxes also contain the additional elements described in Table 3.3.

Table 3.3. Properties Box elements

Element	Description
Title of Properties Box	All Properties boxes begin with the words "Properties for." You select the element for which you want to change the properties in the drop-down list in the title bar.
Tabs	Named flaps that represent pages of options related to the selected element.
Help	Click the Help button and then click any item in the Properties box to view an explanation or definition of the item.

Because a Properties box can remain on screen while you work, you might want to reposition it on your screen. To move a Properties box, click the title bar and drag it to a new position.

In this lesson, you learned to use menus, SmartIcons, and dialog and Properties boxes. In the next lesson, you learn about opening databases and using views.