Teach Yourself Borland C++ in 14 Days - portal

NOTE
Working with the Form Designer and the Menu Designer
You don’t have to drag down and to the right. You can drag in any
direction to select components.
Selecting Multiple Items: Components Within Components
Frequently you will have components placed within other components. The Panel component
is frequently used as a container for other components. Speedbars are built this way, for
example. To select a group of components on a panel, you have to hold down the Ctrl key
on the keyboard while you drag to select the components. (Try it without holding down the
Ctrl key and see what happens!) In case you’re wondering, yes, you can use a combination
of Ctrl+Shift+drag. (I suppose the Borland designers could have figured out some way of
working the Alt key in there, too.)
To illustrate, first start with a blank form. Then do the following:
1. Select a Panel component from the Component Palette and place it on the form
using the drag method. Drag it so that it occupies most of the form.
2. Now select a Button component and place six buttons on the form. Your form
should look something like Figure 7.4.
3. Drag a bounding rectangle around Button1, Button2, and Button3. You will
notice that you moved the panel, which is not what you expected (and not what
you wanted). Move the panel back to where it was.
4. Hold down the Ctrl key and drag a rectangle around Button1, Button2, and
Button3. The buttons are selected.
5. Now hold down both the Ctrl and Shift keys and drag the bounding rectangle
around Button5 and Button6. Now all buttons are selected except Button4.
Figure 7.4.
The form with a
panel and six buttons.
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