Form Control Sheet

The Form Control Sheet defines settings to render an Axiom form. All general form settings and individual component settings are stored on this sheet.

The Form Control Sheet must be added to a file in order to create an Axiom form, however, once the sheet is added you can perform the setup using the Form Assistant task pane. As you define settings within the Form Assistant and the Form Designer, these settings will be automatically reflected on the control sheet. In general, the only reason to interact directly with the Form Control Sheet is if you need to configure a dynamic formula for a particular setting.

To add a Form Control Sheet to an Axiom file:

On the Axiom tab, in the File Options group, click Forms > Enable Forms for the active document.

OR
On the Axiom Designer tab, in the Developer group, click Tools > Add a Control Sheet > Form. This option is only available to administrators.

The added sheet is named Control_Form. The Form Control Sheet is only visible to administrators and to users with Sheet Assistant permission. Otherwise, the sheet is hidden by default.

NOTE: When you first open a form-enabled file after upgrading Axiom Software to a new version, the Form Control Sheet is automatically upgraded for new features. This may result in being prompted to save the file when closing even though you have not made any changes to it. If so, you can save the file now, or if not it will be upgraded again the next time it is opened.

General Form Settings

The top section of the control sheet contains general settings for the Axiom form.

Item	Description	More Information
Title	Optional. If desired, you can define an alternate form title that will display in the browser tab when the form is opened in a browser. This title does not apply when the form is opened as a web tab within the Windows Client. If left blank, the tab text is the file name by default for reports. If the file is part of a file group, the Tab Prefix and Tab Column settings for the file group are honored to determine the tab text.	N/A
Theme	(Deprecated.) The theme applied to the Axiom form. The theme defines the formatting for the components in the form, by defining certain default formats and determining which styles are available for use in components. By default, the theme is blank, which means default formatting is applied to components and default styles are available for use. Generally speaking, themes are intended to fit certain form use cases, such as the Report theme for forms that display reporting data. If your form fits the use case of one of the available themes, it is recommended to apply that theme. NOTE: Themes only apply if your form uses a legacy skin (any skin except the default Axiom2018 skin).	Setting the theme for an Axiom form (deprecated)
Skin	The skin applied to the Axiom form. The skin influences the overall look & feel of the form, by defining certain top-level design elements and default colors. When you create a new form, the skin is automatically set to the system default skin. You can change the skin on a per form basis if needed. The system default skin is controlled by the WebClientSkin system configuration setting, which is set to Axiom2018 by default. For more information on viewing and editing system configuration settings, see System configuration settings.	Setting the skin for an Axiom form
Width Height	The width and height of the form canvas, in pixels. By default these settings are blank, which means the form is inheriting the canvas width and height from the skin. All skins delivered with the Axiom Software platform use a width and height of 400 x 400. You can override this width and height as needed on a per form basis.	Defining the canvas size of an Axiom form
Scale To Fit	Specifies whether the Axiom form is scaled to fit within the current window. This setting is disabled by default, and is primarily intended to support backward-compatibility only. It is not recommended to enable this setting otherwise. NOTE: Line components are not compatible with Scale to Fit.	Defining the canvas size of an Axiom form
Use Web Client Container	Specifies whether the Web Client Container is enabled for the form: If enabled (default), the form is presented within a standard "container" that provides users with access to various features. If disabled, the container does not display. Features that are dependent on the container will not be available. The ability to disable the container is intended for backward-compatibility only. The container should not be disabled unless you are specifically designing a form for use in a legacy format.	Using the Web Client Container with Axiom forms
Show Save Data Confirmation	Specifies whether a confirmation dialog displays after a save-to-database occurs. If disabled (default), then no dialog displays to the user after a successful save-to-database occurs. The yellow status bar in the lower left corner still indicates when a save is in process. If enabled, then a confirmation dialog displays after a successful save-to-database. This dialog simply informs the user that the save completed; it does not display any details about the save. The user must dismiss the dialog to return to the form. An error dialog always displays if the save-to-database experiences errors, regardless of this setting.	Saving data from an Axiom form
Background Color	Optional. The background color for the form, in hexadecimal code. If specified, this color overrides the default background color determined by the form-level skin.	Setting the background color or image for an Axiom form
Background Image Path	Optional. The background image for the form.	Setting the background color or image for an Axiom form
Background Image Repeat	Specifies the repeat behavior for the background image (if defined): Both (default): The image repeats in a tiled pattern both horizontally and vertically, covering the entire form background. Horizontal: The image repeats in a tiled pattern horizontally, starting at the top left corner of the form and extending all the way across. Vertical: The image repeats in a tiled pattern vertically, starting at the top left corner of the form and extending all the way down. None: The image is not repeated. The image displays in the top left corner of the form.	Setting the background color or image for an Axiom form
PDF Size	The default paper size for the PDF, such as A4, Letter, or Legal. The default size is Letter.	Configuring an Axiom form for printing
PDF Orientation	The default orientation for the PDF: Auto, Portrait, or Landscape. The default orientation is Auto, which means that the orientation will be determined based on the width to height ratio of the form (for example, forms that are more wide than tall will be set to landscape).	Configuring an Axiom form for printing
Triggering Component	When a component triggers an update to the Axiom form, the name of the triggering component is written to this cell. An update can be triggered by one of the following: The user makes a change to an interactive component that is configured to Auto Submit. The user clicks a Button component. You can reference this cell elsewhere in the file, for example, to only run an Axiom query when a particular component changes. You could use a formula in the standard Control Sheet so that the query is only active when the Triggering Component cell equals a particular component name.	Referencing the triggering component of an Axiom form update
Is PDF	Indicates whether a PDF copy is being generated for the form. This setting is system-controlled and will always read Off when working in the source file. When a user generates a PDF copy of the form, Axiom will automatically change this value to On in the copy, and then refresh the form before creating the PDF. This allows the form to dynamically change for the "print copy" (the PDF), by referencing this cell in formulas. For example, you may want to hide a certain component in the print copy.	Configuring an Axiom form for printing
Is Excel Export	Indicates whether a formatted grid is being prepared for export to Excel. This setting is system-controlled and will always read Off when working in the source file. When a user exports a formatted grid to Excel, Axiom will automatically change this value to On and then refresh the form before exporting the grid. This allows the grid to dynamically change for the export, by referencing this cell in formulas. For example, you may want to hide certain rows or columns in the grid when exporting. Once the grid has been exported, this value is automatically changed back to Off.	Exporting Formatted Grid contents to a spreadsheet
HelpCode	Optional. A help code to associate with the form, in order to display form-specific help.	Associating an Axiom form with a help code
Help Source	Optional. The help source in which to find the help code. By default, this is set to Database, which means that the help code was defined using the Custom Help Admin feature and is stored in your Axiom Software database. Other entries of Product, Web, and Desktop are supported, but these are primarily used by product developers or implementation consultants.	Associating an Axiom form with a help code
Product Name	Optional. The product help in which to find the help code, when the Help Source is set to Product. This must match an installed product name.	Associating an Axiom form with a help code
Product Area	Optional. The product area that the file belongs to, for display purposes in the Web Client. This option is only present in systems with installed products.	N/A

Component Settings

Each component that you add to the form canvas has a corresponding section on the control sheet. These sections are dynamically added by Axiom Software, and will also be dynamically removed if you delete a component.

The best way to find the properties for a particular component is to use the Form Assistant task pane:

First, select the component in the canvas thumbnail, which causes the component properties to display at the bottom of the task pane.
Double-click the name of any component property, such as Component Name. This will take you to the exact section of the Form Control Sheet that contains the settings for the selected component, with your cursor in the property that you double-clicked.

For more information on the properties available for each component, see Axiom form components. The relevant properties are detailed in each individual component topic.

In addition to the individual component settings, each component section contains position settings that determine that component's position on the form canvas. When using the default positioning and sizing behavior, these settings are automatically updated on the control sheet when you edit the canvas in the Form Designer. You can also expose most of these settings in the Form Designer / Form Assistant by clicking Show Advanced Settings, so that you can manually edit a component's size and position, including using advanced options. For more information on these settings, see Controlling component position and size.

Item	Description
Reference Location	Specifies the reference point from which to apply the component's x-position and y-position. By default, the reference location is Upper Left, meaning the upper left corner of the form canvas (or of the parent panel, if the component is assigned to a panel). This setting is adjusted automatically when you double-click a selection handle on the component. The green selection handle is the current reference location for the component.
X Position Y Position	The distance the component is located from the reference location. The x-position is the horizontal axis and the y-position is the vertical axis. By default, the distance is in pixels. This setting is adjusted automatically as you use the Form Designer to move components around the canvas.
Width Height	The width and height of the component on the canvas. By default, the width and height are in pixels. This setting is adjusted automatically as you use the Form Designer to size components around the canvas.
Layout Locked	If enabled, the component size and position is locked and cannot be changed using the Form Designer. This optional setting is intended to protect against accidentally moving or resizing a component while working on the canvas.
Z-Index	The depth of the component on the canvas, in relation to other components on the same layer. A component with a higher number will display above a component with a lower number. This setting is adjusted automatically when using the Form Designer to drag and drop components over other components, and when using Send to Back and Send to Front. This setting is displayed as Rendering Order in the Form Assistant / Form Designer advanced component settings.

Layer Settings

Each layer defined for the Axiom form canvas has a corresponding section on the control sheet. These sections are dynamically added by Axiom Software, and will also be dynamically removed if you delete a component.

Layers are listed in the Components section of the control sheet.

Item	Description
Component Name	The name of the layer.
Visible	Specifies whether a layer is visible in the rendered Axiom form. By default, all layers are visible. In order to allow users to hide and show layers, you will need to make this setting dynamic—for example, use a formula that points to the Selected Value for a combo box. For more information, see Configuring layer visibility in the Axiom form.
Is Visible in Designer	Specifies whether a layer is visible in the Form Designer. This is controlled while working in the editor itself, by selecting or clearing the check box for the layer. This setting simply reflects the current status of the layer check box. For more information, see Working with layers in the Form Designer.
Z-Index	The depth of the layer on the canvas, in relation to other layers. A layer with a higher number will display above a layer with a lower number. This setting is adjusted automatically when using the Layers section in the Form Designer to set layer order. For more information, see Working with layers in the Form Designer.

Other standard component settings display for layers—such as Parent, Style, and position / size settings—but these settings do not apply to layers.

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