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Adding Objects to the Form

Several object types can be added to your data entry form. These objects do not support user input but rather help you design your form by adding structure, organization, and even instructions for different groups of controls within your form.

While the same basic steps are used to add any object to the form, additional actions or considerations might be necessary depending on the object type.

ClosedText Object

You can add several types of text objects to your data entry form. These include normal and normal wrapped text objects, word processor text objects, and special font characters. For more information, refer to Text Object.

ClosedTo add a normal or normal wrapped text object

  1. In the Data Entry Form view, click Text on the Create menu, and then click Normal or Normal Wrapped. Alternatively, click the icon on the object toolbar, and then click the text object type that you want.

  2. Click the data entry form at the location where you want to place the object.

  3. Double-click the text object to open the Text Properties dialog. Alternatively, right-click the object, and then click Properties.

  4. In the navigation pane, click Text.

  5. In the Text field, enter text for the selected object.

  6. Click Close to close the Text Properties dialog.

ClosedTo add a word processor text object

  1. In the Data Entry Form view, click Text on the Create menu, and then click Word Processor. Alternatively, click the icon on the object toolbar, and then click Word Processor.

  2. Click the data entry form at the location where you want to place the object.

  3. Double-click the word processor object to open the Word Processor Text Properties dialog. Alternatively, right-click the object, and then click Properties.

  4. In the navigation pane, click Word Processor.

  5. In the Word Processor field, enter text for the object. Alternatively, click the Word Processor button to open the word processor, and then enter the text that you want by using the available word processing functions.

  6. Click Close to close the Word Processor Text Properties dialog.

ClosedTo add a symbol font character text object

  1. In the Data Entry Form view, click Text on the Create menu, and then click Symbol Font Characters. Alternatively, click the icon on the object toolbar, and then click Symbol Font Characters.

  2. In the Insert Symbols or Special Characters dialog, select the special symbol font that you want in the Font list. The symbols that are included with BarTender are installed as "Seagull" fonts.

  3. In the image preview area, click the symbol that you want to highlight it. You can modify the size of the images as they appear in the preview area by using the options in the Size list at the bottom of the dialog. This setting does not affect the size of the images on the data entry form.

  4. Click Insert to close the dialog.

  5. Click the data entry form at the location where you want to place the symbol.

ClosedLine Object

You can draw a line on the template in any direction and at any angle that you want. After you create a line object, you can use the Line property page to format it by modifying its color and styles.

ClosedTo add a line object

  1. In the Data Entry Form view, click Line on the Create menu. Alternatively, click the icon on the object toolbar.

  2. Click the data entry form at the location where you want to place the line, and then drag it to the length that you want.

  3. Click the icon on the object toolbar to turn off the "line object" cursor.

  4. Double-click the line object to open the Line Properties dialog. Alternatively, right-click the object, and then click Properties.

  5. In the navigation pane, click Line or Position to configure the line object settings.

  6. Click Close to close the Line Properties dialog.

ClosedShape Object

You can add a shape to a data entry form or combine multiple shapes into a single object to make a more complex design. After you add a shape to the data entry form, you can use the Shape property page to format the shape by adding color and styles.

ClosedTo add a shape object

  1. Click the icon on the object toolbar to display a list of all available shapes, and then click the shape that you want. Alternatively, click Shape on the Create menu, and then click the shape that you want.

  2. Click the data entry form at the location where you want to place the shape.

  3. Double-click the shape object to open its Shape Properties dialog. Alternatively, right-click the object, and then click Properties.

  4. In the navigation pane, click Shape or Position to configure the shape object settings.

  5. Click Close to close the Shape Properties dialog.

ClosedTo combine multiple shapes into a single object

  1. After you add the objects that you want, press and hold the Ctrl key on your keyboard while you click each object. Alternatively, click the form and then drag the cursor to encompass the objects.

  2. On the Arrange menu, click Group.

When you group the objects, you can select all of them when you select one object in the group so that you can move the design together as a single object.

For more information about how to group objects, refer to Creating an Object Group.

ClosedPicture Object

The data entry form supports many different image formats, and you can add them to your form from a number of different sources.

ClosedTo add a picture object

  1. On the Create menu, click Picture to display a list of all picture sources. Alternatively, click the icon on the object toolbar.

  2. Click the method that you want to use for importing the image. The following options are available:

For more information about the different methods that you can use to import an image, refer to Picture Source Options.

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