User`s Manual
Contents
1. When you close the Layout editor your templates will be automatically added to the list To generate a merged document double click the template name in the list or right click and select Run You may generate more than one document at once simply select multiple documents right click and choose Run Advanced Layout Tools General Pack User s Manual 16 The MonthCalendar The MonthCalendar is not bound to any field and is used for information purposes Because it 1s in your layout you always have it under your eyes It may be set to display more than one month either horizontally or vertically See the CalendarDimension property under Appearance If you choose 2 as width and 1 as height you will see this month s calendar next to next month s calendar November 7004 December 7004 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sak Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat al 1 2 a 4 5 6 1 z a 4 Fi g 9 10 11 12 15 5 6 T g 9 io Ii i4 15 16 17 18 19 20 12 13 14 15 16 18 21 22 23 B25 26 27 19 20 21 22 33 25 28 29 30 26 27 28 29 30 l BEERDA Today 24 11 2004 You may also bold certain dates which can be useful to remind you of holidays See the AnnuallyBoldedDates and BoldedDates properties in the Misc category at the bottom El Misi AnnuallyBoldedDates DateTime Array f i BoldedDates DateTime Array FnterciIngex on EnterSto The Groupbox The Groupbox is a frame that you can use to visually group fields Its purpose is mainly aesth2. See the Button1 and Button2 sections in the Properties window The 2 buttons can also be next to each other For this set the Style property to Horizontal under the Appearance section El ButtonsTextAl MiddleCenter FontWhenOtt Microsoft Sans FontWhenOn Microsoft Sans Style Horizontal El Horizontal TabIndex Vertical Advanced Layout Tools General Pack User s Manual 10 The Age field The Age Field is a textbox bound to a numeric field It is also bound to an annual event date or character field The Age Field returns the age of the date contained in the associated field and automatically writes it to the numeric field When adding the Age Field control to the layout you will be prompted to select first the field containing the date you want to monitor then the numeric field which will hold the age value Here is an example the textbox does not have to have a red background You have full control over the look of the textbox Birthday 4 5 1963 va If the field contains no value or 1f the value is not a date the Age field remains empty The Age Field automatically updates itself when you display a record NOTE If you make a change to the date field the Age Field is updated the next time the record is displayed in other words you need to switch to another record and come back to see any changes made to the associated field Advanced Layout Tools General Pack User s Manual Il The Tabs The Tabs is
3. a tab control that allows to group fields under tabs shipping Accounting Once you have inserted the control to your layout your Tabs control should have one TabPage called TabPagel To add delete rename sort set background colors etc of your tabs select the Tabs control open the properties window F4 and go to the TapPages property Click the Browse button and you will be able to access the properties of each page El EnterIndex on Er 0 EnterStop on Eni False TabPages Collection TabPage Collection Editor New Tabl Properties Background Imac _ none Text TabPage1 E Background Colo _ Control ToolTip Text Advanced Layout Tools General Pack User s Manual 12 Docking the tabs If you want the tabs to be docked to the top bottom sides of the pane this can be accomplished by changing the Dock property under the Layout section of the Properties window El Dock Location Size E EnterIndex on Ente EnterStop on Entei TabPages The E Board The E Board is a control bound to a character or numeric field which displays it in an original appealing format There is nothing wrong with adding fantasy to your layouts It ideally displays short and fixed length fields like a customer number To edit the content of the field simply double click the E Board control and this window will appear RBC 301 As with any of our controls a lot of properties are accessible through the properties w
4. controls that are bound to a field a Select field window will popup Choose a field then click OK IMPORTANT If a tool name starts with Contact_ Group_ or Company_ it means that it is specific to a type of layout Inserting a specific control to the wrong layout will generate errors when using it Editing the properties of your controls In ACT Layout designer window if you right click a control the pop up menu lists a Properties command which opens a window giving you the ability to edit very few properties To really access all properties of a control select the control then press F4 The property editor will open giving you the ability to fully control the appearance and behavior of your control Properties gi New Notifier1 Notifier El AccessibleDesc AccessibleNam AccessibleRole Default El BackColor 189 202 22 BackgroundIm _ none Cursor Default Font Tahoma amp pt ForeColor B contralText Image System Dr RightToLeft fo Text_ El There are many properties you can tweak If you do not know what a property does select it then look at the bottom of the properties widow for the description Edit Properties Launch Path of program or document to be launched when button is clicked Advanced Layout Tools General Pack User s Manual 6 THE TOOLS INCLUDED IN THIS PACK The LaunchButton The Launch button allows to launch a program open a file or a folder by clicking a button in
5. eee eT nen eae rane are pees A Mr Nee eee Mert fot Menenen AMEE Tee 13 The Generate Document Button contact screen cccccscccccsccsccccsscccsccccccccsccccscsccsscccescceeeee 14 The GenerateDocument List CONTACT SCLEEM cccccccccccccsscccccccsccccsccccecccsecccsecccsscccsccccesceeeees 14 Phe Wromth ale mar anina aaia aaa e ia 16 The GPOUDDON srice e oE eaa AEA AA ANAE EEAS 16 The TG eenia aE EAA EAA iaa 17 RGGISCEEING yonr Produit cisiscesswsasecagessocessssuiagy cv ecasebidevauenseiaduscaluce cas vlecadvausocpunedetasistuavenyecsees 17 UP PONE RE E O E O E T A E T 17 Advanced Layout Tools General Pack User s Manual 3 Purpose of the add on Advanced Layout Tools General Pack is a set of ten controls that are designed to enhance your ACT experience Installation procedure Download the program file from our download page and double click it to start the installation Due to the nature of the add on there is no interface nor icons added to your toolbar it consists of a set of tools for your layouts Note that contrarily to versions supporting previous ACT versions and because of the changes in ACT add ons are now DLL files and not executable files This means that they are automatically initialized by ACT when placed in ACT plugin folder a subfolder of the main ACT directory and cannot be started from the Windows Start menu anymore This is why you are not given a choice of installation directory du
6. Advanced Layout Tools General Pack Another efficient and affordable ACT Add On by eXponenciel http www ex Advanced Layout Tools General Pack User s Manual Table of content Purpose of the al OW oesccacssccseecaiss cccscsceeecutdcasceecaewsdeeedausdcbaeewassswcsesceeceaeeesssesescasdaeuscksssscscescasevenss 3 MNS CAM ACION procedure eanna cece cGetcace ceca E EAE 3 How to add a tool to your layout toolbar scccccssssssscccrsssssscccccssssscccccssssccsscessssccsseesssscoss 4 How to add a control to your layout ssseeccssssccccssseeoccsscecosssseeossssccossosscesssssceosssseecssssseesssssseessso 4 How to add a control to your layout ssseeccssssecccssseeccssscecocsssecosossecossssscesssssceosssseeessssseesssssseessso 5 Editing the properties Of your controls seeccscsssseceeeocosssececoccosossceccosossssscecossosssseccecsossssseeeossssse 5 The Ts aur Cin Be ON aeaa e E A E a AS 6 The OpenDocument DUON siarsio A ea R 7 The Detailer Older Prope y oirnn a E A A 7 The Browse Brin wvsicccccvssceecvasseasuccveceseusccctscvavicccvvdssuasedavecestvdieeiseesxecceevdaacasevavsdavossacesseweniacueeiesuss 8 ihe DetauitE older properly sai janie eee aetna ae ees 8 The Check Boxcar anaana aa buddsseeniadined addenvadedesenies 9 TheA ce ficia N T sens saeeteeeueenans eceuneenies 10 e Pas aE A E aevasesecusuactseusnceds 11 Dockin emera Den aa E E E 12 The Hear essex cevesnsasec toss ates a a E a 12 STONN
7. ading the content of the associated field If it contains a valid path it will open the document so if the content of the field is the full path of your document it never looks at the DefaultFolder property and opens it directly If the field does not contain a valid path it will look for a file with the name of the field content in the default folder So even if you decide to use a DefaultFolder property you still can bypass it by specifying the full path of a document Advanced Layout Tools General Pack User s Manual The Browse Button The BrowseButton often works in tandem with the OpenDocument button It is also bound to a field It allows to select a document and automatically sets the value of the field bound to the control to the path of the selected file The DefaultFolder property Like the OpenDocument button it also features a DefaultFolder property It has 2 goals e If no document is specified in the associated field the Browse button will automatically open the Open file window in the default folder e If you select a document in the folder specified in the DefaultFolder property only the name of the file is written into the associated field Therefore if you set up an OpenDocument and a BrowseButton button with the same DefaultFolder property you will be able to select and open documents without ever writing the full path to the database To select the Default Folder click the Select Default Folder link at th
8. e bottom of the Properties window available only in ACT 2006 or click in the DefaultFolder property box to make appear a browse button DefaultFolder EnterIndex on 0 EnterStop on False El DefaultFolder EnterIndex on Enters 0 EnterStop on Entersh False Select al i Folder Layout Here we have added a BrowseButton to our last example We have used the same DefaultFolder property so that when we click the browse button we are automatically taken to our contract folder and we select a document only the name of the document is written in the field not the whole path Since the Open button has the same folder set as default it will open the contract without any problem Contract Contract for HLE Consulting doc open_ As with most controls if you want to give ita XP look as shown above change the FlatStyle property to System Advanced Layout Tools General Pack User s Manual The CheckBox The CheckBox control is to be bound to a Yes No field and acts as a replacement for the standard Checkbox control used by ACT It displays a set of 2 buttons which you can toggle on and off So instead of the regular checkbox you could have something more visual like OFF It can be customized to be more user friendly than a regular checkbox Replace the typical Ship to business With the more visually attractive and significant Ship to The 2 buttons can be completely customized color font etc
9. ete the registration process Support For support contact support exponenciel com Rev October 17 2006 v 5 5
10. etic because it visually regroups fields but it is also a field container which means that the fields that you add inside the groupbox can be moved around by moving the groupbox Note that if you delete the groupbox you also delete the fields it contains Here is an example Personal inio ID Status Spouse Birthday Referred By As with most controls if you want to give it a XP look change the FlatStyle property to System Advanced Layout Tools General Pack User s Manual 17 The Line ACT does not provide any line control This could be a useful control to improve the look of your layouts Just insert and resize using the resize handles You may only resize horizontally Sa To set the line thickness either change the Height property under Size or use the links at the bottom of the Properties window These links allow to increase the thickness by 1 px reduce it by 1 px or reset to 1 px thickness available in ACT 2006 only ipx q iy ipx thick Thickness 1px Registering your product To continue using this product passed the trial period please buy a license at www exponenciel com Licenses are issued for one ACT username and will only work for that username Once you get a license code right click one of the controls of the pack in your layout and select About Once the About screen is open type the registration code in the appropriate box and click OK You will need to close and restart ACT to compl
11. ill open the document which path is in the text field This way you have the ability to open a document or program or folder specific to the record When you insert the OpenDocument control in your layout you are prompted to select a character field This is the field which will be bound to the button The DefaultFolder property The OpenDocument button has a DefaultFolder property under the Misc category which is the path to the folder which will be used by default If you want to use the OpenDocument button to open documents always located in the same folder this default path property allows you to only enter the name of the file in your field Let s see an example Some of your records have contracts and you would like to be able to open the contract directly from your layout You have a text field named Contract Add an OpenDocument button next to your contract field and tie it to the Contract field If all your contracts are in the same folder enter the path of this folder in the Default folder property of the button for example C Documents and Settings John My Documents Contracts In the field simply type the name of the document for example Contract for HLC Consulting doc When clicking the button the control will automatically add the folder s path to the contract name and open the contract Contract Contract for HLE Consulting doc Here is how the control deals with the DefaultFolder property It starts by re
12. indow One of the most important one is the number of character the field displays under the Content section You can change the colors of the board The more classic and readable look would be this one Advanced Layout Tools General Pack User s Manual 13 Here are the properties for the above BackColor E Black BackgroundImage none CharacterSpacing 4 Cursor Default ForeColor Yellow Segmentsize 2 SegmentSpacing 1 SurroundSize 2 UnlitSegmentColor 64 64 64 You may also set the UnlitSegmentColor to transparent which makes it even more readable Anything is possible including making it very discreet by matching the backcolor with the background of your layout You may also want to reduce increase the size of the control For this change the SegmentSize SegmentSpacing CharacterSpacing and SurroundSize properties all under the Appearance section For example setting the SegmentSize to reduces the size of each point of the board to one EE NOTE the E_Board can only be associated with a character field without dropdown list Scrolling By default the E Board does not scroll To have it scroll change the Scroll property to true You may also adjust the ScrollSpeed property to your liking EnterIndex on Enter 0 EnterStop on Enter False Scroll True x ScrollingSpeed VeryFast wt Advanced Layout Tools General Pack User s Manual 14 The Generate Document Button contact scree
13. n The Generate Document button is not bound to a field It allows to quickly generate a document based on the template defined in its template property field To select the template you want to associate with the button click the Select Template link at the bottom of the Properties window available only in ACT 2006 or click in the Template property box to make a browse button appear Size El Enabled TabIndex TabStop Select Template Template ij visible Layout Back in the contact screen clicking the button automatically generate a merged document based on the associated template for the current contact The GenerateDocument List contact screen The principle of the GenerateDocument List is the same as the GenerateDocument button except that it provides a list of template which you can choose from to generate a document for the current contact To add and delete templates click in the Templates property box to maek appear a browse button and click this button E Templates Collection Advanced Layout Tools General Pack User s Manual 15 The Template collection editor window will open Click on Add Template Collection Editor Members Properties Add Tic Cancel Help Then click in the Template property box to make a browse button appear so that you can select your template Template Collection Editor Template Properties A Teen Add Remove
14. ring the installation process Advanced Layout Tools General Pack User s Manual GENERAL INFORMATION REGARDING ADVANCED LAYOUT TOOLS This section applies to all Advanced Layout Tools packs How to add a tool to your layout toolbar When in ACT Design Layout mode if the toolbox is not visible go to the View menu and click Toolbar Toolbox Custom Drawing Field Pointer Field Memo Field Picture Field Yes No Field Record Manager ACCESS 4 O a Fil E Do a right click on the toolbox and choose Customize A list of available tools is displayed Check the ones you want to add to the toolbar Customize Toolbox w InformationBar w Notifier wv PictureFieldViewer wv PictureViewer wv UserRestrictedMemoField They will be added under the Custom tab To view them click on Custom Pointer Company AgeField Company Brows eButtc Company ButtonChect Company EBoard Company OpenDocur Contact AgeField Contact Brows eButtor Advanced Layout Tools General Pack User s Manual How to add a control to your layout The tools you add to the Custom tab of your toolbar allow you to add controls to your layouts To add a control use the same method you use to add regular ACT fields Click the tool in the toolbar Then click somewhere in the layout and drag to expand When you release the button of your mouse the control is inserted in your layout For
15. your layout The launch button contrarily to the OpenDocument control see below is not bound to a field Therefore it would open the same program file or folder whatever the record you are in Once you add a Launch button to your layout click F4 to see the properties window The button will launch the program or open the file which path is set as the Launch property To select a program file or folder click the links Program or file to open Folder to open at the bottom of the Properties window only available in ACT 2006 or click in the File or Folder box to make a browse button appear Location 168 200 A Size 80 24 Enabled File Folder Launchargurne TabIndex 55 El El To change the caption of the button set the Text property under Appearance Here is an example of a button which text is set to Calculator Calculator You can change the backcolor font of the caption etc If you want to give it a XP look set the FlatStyle property to System under Appearance Calculator NOTE If you are using the button to launch a program and need to pass a command line argument to it use the LaunchArgument property to specify your argument Enabled True File C Windows Notepad exe Folder Launchargument c log txt Advanced Layout Tools General Pack User s Manual 7 The OpenDocument button The OpenDocument button is very similar to the Launch button except that it is bound to a text field and w
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