AX1230

Elbow Line component for Axiom forms

Use the Elbow Line component to draw a bent line or arrow. The bends can extend from a horizontal line or a vertical line.

Although all three line types display as separate components in the Form Designer, all three use the same base component and have the same settings. The Line Kind determines the type of line, and is set automatically based on which component type you place on the canvas.

NOTES:  

  • Your Axiom Software license determines whether you have access to this component. For more information, see Licensing requirements for Axiom forms.
  • Lines are not compatible with Scale to Fit. If Scale to Fit is enabled, lines may not scale accurately.

Line properties

You can define the following properties for a Horizontal Elbow Line or Vertical Elbow Line component.

Component properties can be configured using the Form Assistant task pane or the Form Designer unless otherwise noted. All properties can also be defined on the Form Control Sheet directly if desired. For example, if you want a property to be dynamic depending on the result of a formula, you can define that formula in the control sheet. To access the control sheet settings for the component, double-click any property name to go to that property in the Form Control Sheet.

Component behavior properties

The following properties control the display and behavior of this particular component type.

Item Description

Line Color

The line color. If left blank, the color is determined by the style or skin (in that order).

Click the [...] button to open the Choose Color dialog. You can select from the colors displayed at the top of the dialog, or you can enter a valid RGB or hexadecimal color code (such as #00FFFF for Aqua). Click OK to use the specified color.

If you are modifying the Form Control Sheet directly, then you must use a hexadecimal code. For an example list of colors and hexadecimal codes, see: http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-color/#svg-color (external link).

Line Thickness

The thickness of the line, in pixels. If left blank, the thickness is determined by the style or skin (in that order). The specified or inherited thickness must be greater than 0 or else the line will not display on the form.

Dashed Line

Specifies whether the line is dashed or solid. By default this is not selected, which means the line is solid. If you want a dashed line, select this check box.

Arrow Kind

Specifies the arrow options for the line. Select from the following:

  • None (default): No arrow head is present on the line.
  • Right: Place an arrow head on the right end of the line.
  • Left: Place an arrow head on the left end of the line.
  • Both: Place an arrow head on both ends of the line.

Line Kind

Specifies the type of line. By default, this is determined based on which component type you place on the canvas; however, you can change the type later if desired:

  • Straight
  • Horizontal Elbow
  • Vertical Elbow

Line is Top Left

Determines where the line starts. By default this is not selected, which means the line starts at the bottom left. Select this check box if you want the line to start at the top left.

All shape components use the same basic properties. When viewing line properties on the Form Control Sheet, you will see several settings that do not apply to the component:

  • Default Shape Type: This is set to Line when the component is placed on the canvas. Generally speaking, Axiom Software does not support dynamically changing the shape type.
  • Fill Color: This property only applies to Ellipse and Rectangle components.
  • Rectangle Has Rounded Corners: This property only applies to Rectangle components.
  • URL / Use New Window: These properties only apply to Ellipse and Rectangle components.
  • Text / Text Color / Font Family / Font Size / Font Weight / Font Style: These properties only apply to Ellipse and Rectangle components.

General properties

The following general properties are available for all components:

Item Description

Component Name

The name of the component. This is for identification in the file; this name does not display on the Axiom form canvas.

The name of the component identifies the corresponding settings for the component on the Form Control Sheet. The component names are also useful if you have multiple types of the same component within an Axiom form, so that you can tell which component you are currently editing.

Component names must be unique within a file and must start with a letter. Names can only contain letters, numbers, and underscores. Names are validated when the file is saved; an invalid name will prevent the save.

NOTE: Spaces are not allowed in component names and will be automatically removed by Axiom Software. For example, if you enter "My Component" as the component name, it will be automatically adjusted to "MyComponent".

Visible

Specifies whether the component is visible on the Axiom form (On/Off). By default this is set to On.

This setting can be used to dynamically show or hide the component using a formula. Keep in mind that if you have multiple components that you need to dynamically show or hide based on the same condition, then it is preferable to place those components on a dedicated layer and then show or hide the entire layer instead of the individual components.

NOTE: This setting is only available on the Form Control Sheet; it cannot be set in the Form Assistant or in the Form Designer.

Layer

The layer that the component belongs to on the Axiom form canvas. In the Form Assistant and the Form Designer, this displays as the layer name (for example: Layer 1). In the Form Control Sheet, this is recorded as the layer ID (for example: 1).

If the canvas only has one layer, then the component is automatically assigned to that layer and cannot be changed. If the canvas has multiple layers, you can assign the component to any layer using the drop-down list. By default, the component will be assigned to whichever layer is selected in the Layers box when you initially drag the component onto the canvas. For more information on layers, see Using multiple layers on the canvas.

If desired, you can jump to the applicable layer settings on the Form Control Sheet by clicking the binoculars icon next to the drop-down list.

Parent

The parent component that this component is assigned to. If blank, then the component does not have an assigned parent. Currently, only Panel components can be designated as parents.

If a component has an assigned parent, then that component is positioned within the parent instead of within the canvas at large. If the parent is hidden, all "child" components of that parent are also hidden.

The parent assignment is automatically completed when a component is dragged into a panel in the Form Designer, and automatically cleared when a component is dragged out of a panel. In most cases, you should not need to manually assign a parent.

For more information, see Using panels to group and position components.

Style and formatting properties

To define the component formatting, you can assign one or more styles to the component. Styles can impact formatting properties such as fonts, borders, and colors.

If you do not want to apply a style to this component, or if you want to override one or more formatting properties in an assigned style, click the Show Advanced Settings link underneath the Style box to display the individual formatting properties. For more information on defining individual formatting properties for a component, see Formatting overrides for Axiom form components.

Item Description

Style

Optional. The styles used to determine the formatting of the component. You can assign one or more styles.

Click the Select component styles button [...] to open the Choose Style dialog. Using this dialog, you can select one or more styles to apply to the component. The available styles depend on the component type and the skin assigned to the form. For more information, see Using component styles.

Some components have several styles that are specifically designed for that component type, while other components may only have the "generic" styles that are available to all components. When using a generic style, keep in mind that they may not be useful for all components. You can view a description of each style and view the effective formatting applied by the selected styles within the Choose Style dialog.

Component Theme

(Deprecated.) The theme to use for the component instead of the form-level theme. If left blank, the component uses the form-level theme.

This setting should be left blank unless you need to override the form theme. Generally speaking, themes should be set at the form level and only overridden at the component level when necessary.

This setting is available in the advanced component properties (click Show Advanced Settings under the Style box). On the Form Control Sheet, the setting displays using the name Theme Override.

NOTE: This setting only applies if your form uses a legacy skin (any skin except the default Axiom2018). The Axiom2018 skin does not use themes.

Position and size properties

You can view the position and size properties for a component by clicking the Show Advanced Settings link under the Style box. If necessary, you can edit these properties directly (instead of automatically modifying them by adjusting the component's position and size on the canvas). For more information on using these settings, see Controlling component position and size.

Item Description

Reference Location

The reference location determines how the x-position and y-position of a component are evaluated. By default the reference location is UpperLeft.

NOTE: This setting is not exposed in the advanced component settings. It can be changed on the canvas by double-clicking the corner selection handles of a component, or you can edit the setting on the Form Control Sheet directly.

X Position

Y Position

The x-position determines the component's position along the horizontal axis, and the y-position determines the component's position along the vertical axis. Both are evaluated relative to the reference location. Positions can be set in pixels (default) or percentages.

Width

Height

The width and height determine the size of the component. The width and height can be set in pixels (default) or percentages. Size keywords are also available to support special behavior.

Rendering Order

The order in which the component is rendered in the layer. A component with a larger order number will display above a component with a smaller order number.

For components that support tab navigation (tabbing to the next editable component), the rendering order also determines the tabbing order.

NOTE: On the Form Control Sheet, this setting is labeled as Z-Index.

Lock Layout

If enabled, the component size and position are locked and cannot be changed by dragging and dropping on the canvas. This optional setting is intended to protect against accidentally moving or resizing a component while working on the canvas.