Move the Margins of a Form
You can use the Form Layout frame Move operation to create forms wider than 80 columns or to change the boundaries or margins of the form. When you use forms that are larger than your window, the form scrolls when you move the cursor to the edge of your window.
To use the Move operation
1. Place the cursor on the right margin marker and choose the Move operation.
A new set of menu operations appear:
Place
Moves (contracts) the margin to a specified location within the current boundaries.
Expand
Expands (increases) the current form boundaries by moving the form's margin outward to the right or further down.
Help, End
Perform standard operations.
2. Use the Place and Expand operations in conjunction with each other:
a. Use Expand to extend the right or bottom margin in large increments.
b. Use Place to fine‑tune the new margin setting, positioning the margin at the specific point you want, within the confines of the expanded margins.
Each time you use Expand or Place, the Move operation is completed and VIFRED returns you to the previous menu.
You must then use the Move operation again to perform another expand or place operation.
Expand the Right Margin
To create a form wider than the default width (determined by the column width of your screen):
1. Place the cursor on the margin of the form. The margin is a vertical broken line containing ruler marks, if rulers have been turned on.
Typically, VIFRED uses the entire column width of your screen, which places the right margin immediately off-screen to the right. If the right margin is off-screen, you can move the cursor to it with your cursor keys.
2. Choose the Move operation on the Form Layout frame.
3. Choose the Expand operation on the Move submenu.
The Expand operation adds one‑fourth of your monitor's current screen width to the form. If you use Expand once on an 80‑column screen, you extend the right margin to column 100. Using it a second time extends the margin to column 120. You can choose the Expand operation as often as you like.
Expand the Bottom Margin
Follow the same procedure to expand the bottom margin as you do to expand the right margin, except that you start by placing the cursor on the bottom margin. Each time you expand the bottom margin, the margin moves down by one quarter of your monitor's screen height in lines. If you use Expand once on a 24‑line screen, you extend the bottom margin down by 6 lines.
Place the Margin of a Form
The Place operation moves the margin inward to a position within the confines of the current margins. You cannot use the Place operation to move a margin outward from its current position, nor can you use it to move the margin so far towards the center of the form that some portion of a form component extends outside of the margins. In this case, the Place operation moves the margins as close to the desired location as possible, without having any form components extending past the margins. Under no circumstances does the Place operation squeeze components closer together.
To use the Place operation
1. Place the cursor on the margin.
2. Choose the Move operation on the Form Layout frame.
3. Relocate the cursor to the spot where you want the margin to be, within the boundaries of the current margins.
4. Choose the Place operation to move the margin to the new location.
For example, to position the margin at column 110 on an 80‑column screen, use the Expand operation to extend the margin to column 100, and again to extend the margin to column 120. Then position the cursor at column 110 and choose Place.
Last modified date: 08/28/2024