Customizing a Browse Window

Article
11/14/2006

You can customize the Browse window to fit your needs by using the following procedures:

Rearranging columns
Changing column widths
Fitting columns to data automatically
Turning grid lines on and off
Splitting a Browse window
Locking columns

Rearranging Columns

You can rearrange the columns of the Browse window into the order you want. This does not affect the actual structure of the table.

To rearrange the columns in a Browse window

Drag a column heading to a new location.

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From the Table menu, choose Move Field, and use the LEFT ARROW or RIGHT ARROW keys to move the column. Press ENTER when you are done.

Changing Column Widths

You can change the width of a column in a Browse window. This resizing does not affect the field length or the structure of the table.

If you want to change the actual length of the fields, modify the structure of the table using the Table Designer.

To change the width of a column

Position the pointer in the column heading between two field names, and drag the pointer to resize the column.

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Select a field, and from the Table menu, choose Size Field, and use the LEFT ARROW or RIGHT ARROW keys to resize the column. Press ENTER when done.

Fitting Columns to Data Automatically

You can resize columns to automatically fit the data that they contain.

To resize one column to data

Double-click the area, between the column headers, to the immediate right of the column you want to resize.

To resize all columns to data

Double-click the square immediately preceding the first column header in the upper and leftmost corner of the grid.

Turning Grid Lines On and Off

You can turn off the grid lines in a Browse window.

To turn grid lines on or off

From the View menu, choose Gridlines.

Splitting a Browse Window

You might find it useful to split the Browse window so that you can look at two different areas in the table, or look at the same records in Browse and Edit modes simultaneously.

To split a Browse window

Place the pointer on the split bar at the bottom left corner of the view.
Drag the split bar to the right to divide the Browse window into two panes.

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From the Table menu, choose Resize Partitions.
Press the RIGHT ARROW key to move the split bar.
Press ENTER.

To resize the panes of a split Browse window

Place the pointer on the split bar.
Drag the split bar to the right or left to change the relative size of the panes.

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From the Table menu, choose Resize Partitions.
Press the LEFT ARROW or RIGHT ARROW key to move the split bar.
Press ENTER.

By default, the two panes of the Browse window are linked; that is, as you select different records in one pane, the change is reflected in the other. If you want to detach the two panes so that they function independently (that is, so that scrolling one pane does not affect the other), clear the Link Partitions command on the Table menu.

Locking Columns

You can lock columns in a Browse window to keep certain columns visible while you scroll back and forth across the grid. Tabbing to the right does not cause locked columns to scroll out of the Grid/Browse window.

To lock all columns to the left of a specific column

Select the rightmost column you want to lock.
Right-click the area, between the column headers, immediately following the rightmost column you want to lock.

A column separator line, which appears 1 pixel wider than the line separating the other columns, indicates the area where the locked columns end and the normal columns begin.

To unlock all columns

Right-click any area between the headers in a grid where one or more columns are locked.

Right-clicking any area between the headers unlocks all columns.

When any of the locked columns scroll out of the Grid window to the left, they remain out of view and do not become visible again until locking is removed.

For example, suppose a grid contains five columns, and the data source has ten columns. When you scroll two columns to the right, the first and second columns scroll out of the grid to the left. When you right-click the area between the first and second visible columns, which are the third and fourth columns in reality, the first visible, or third absolute, column becomes locked. The first and second, currently invisible, absolute columns are also locked. However, you cannot scroll back to the left to view all of the locked columns. This functionality is useful if you want to lock the columns in the middle of the grid and do not want to display the preceding or following columns.

The Column.SetFocus method does not work if a column is locked and not visible in the grid window, for example, scrolled off to the left side.

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