OpenOffice.org BASIC Guide - OpenOffice.org wiki

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12 Forms
In many respects, the structure of OpenOffice.org forms corresponds to the dialogs. There are, however, a few
key differences:
Dialogs appear in the form of one single dialog window, which is displayed over the document and does not
permit any actions other than dialog processing until the dialog is ended. Forms, on the other hand, are
displayed directly in the document, just like drawing elements.
A dialog editor is provided for creating dialogs, and this can be found in the OpenOffice.org Basic
development environment. Forms are created using the Form Controls and the Form Design Toolbar directly
within the document.
Whereas the dialog functions are available in all OpenOffice.org documents, the full scope of the form
functions are only available in text and spreadsheets.
The control elements of a form can be linked with an external database table. This function is not available in
dialogs.
The control elements of dialogs and forms differ in several aspects.
Users who want to provide their forms with their own methods for event handling, should refer to the Dialogs
chapter. The mechanisms explained there are identical to those for forms.
Working With Forms
OpenOffice.org forms may contain text fields, list boxes, radio buttons, and a range of other control elements,
which are inserted directly in a text or spreadsheet. The Form Functions Toolbar is used for editing forms.
A OpenOffice.org form may adopt one of two modes: the draft mode and the display mode. In draft mode, the
position of control elements can be changed and their properties can be edited using a properties window.
The Form Functions Toolbar is also used to switch between modes.
Determining Object Forms
OpenOffice.org positions the control elements of a form at drawing object level. The actual object form can be
accessed through the Forms list at the drawing level. The objects are accessed as follows in text documents:
Dim Doc As Object
Dim DrawPage As Object
Dim Form As Object
Doc = ThisComponent
DrawPage = Doc.DrawPage
Form = DrawPage.Forms.GetByIndex(0)
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