Size, Align, and Move Controls

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Size, Align, and Move Controls

After you create and lay out the controls for your window, you need to adjust the size and alignment of the controls. Sizing and aligning could be very tedious if you had to do them manually. The Navigation Diagram tool contains functionality that helps you adjust the sizing, aligning, and moving of controls.

The following table lists the functionality for sizing, aligning, or moving controls.

Functionality	Primary Use
Grid	Define a grid as a positioning and alignment aid. Cause an object to align (snap) to the nearest grid lines.
Move	Reposition a window or control.
Move Groups	Move a group box and all controls with which it intersects as a single object.
Position	Size other controls to the size of a reference control. Align controls vertically or horizontally. Separate controls vertically or horizontally. Move controls to the top, center, or bottom of a window.

Note: The size of fonts from platform to platform and the resolution of monitors can cause some overlapping or truncation of controls. You may notice this more if you develop an application on one platform and execute it on another.

The following suggestions can help you minimize or eliminate problems caused by different font sizes and monitor resolutions:

Size the surrounding box around each control and prompt (the box that you see when you select a control) larger both horizontally and vertically.
Change the font designation of the generated application on the target (execution) platform to match the font designation on the development platform.
Position entry fields and their prompts with the Horizontal/Middle alignment option (select Edit, Position).
Perform the design work on the lowest resolution monitor on which the application will execute. Controls sized for fonts on a low resolution monitor are usually sized adequately for a high resolution monitor, but not conversely.