Modifying a crosstab's properties at runtime

As with other DataWindow objects, you can modify the properties of a crosstab at runtime using the Modify or SetProperty methods. Some changes require the DataWindowControl to dynamically rebuild the crosstab; others do not. (If the original crosstab was static, it becomes a dynamic crosstab when it is rebuilt.)

Changes that do not force a rebuild

You can change the following properties without forcing the DataWindowControl to rebuild the crosstab:

**Table 7-1: Properties you can change on a crosstab DataWindow without forcing a rebuild**
Properties	Objects
Alignment	Column, Compute, Text
Background	Column, Compute, Line, Oval, Rectangle, RoundRectangle, Text
Border	Column, Compute, Text
Brush	Line, Oval, Rectangle, RoundRectangle
Color	Column, Compute, Text
Edit styles (dddw, ddlb, checkbox, edit, editmask, radiobutton)	Column
Font	Column, Compute, Text
Format	Column, Compute
Pen	Line, Oval, Rectangle, RoundRectangle
Pointer	Column, Compute, Line, Oval, Rectangle, RoundRectangle, Text

Changes that force a rebuild

If you change any other properties, the DataWindowControl rebuilds the structure of the crosstab when Modify is called. You should combine all needed expressions into one Modify call so that the DataWindowControl has to rebuild the crosstab only once.

Default values for properties

For computations derived from existing columns, the DataWindowControl by default uses the properties from the existing columns. For completely new columns, properties (such as font, color, and so on) default to the first column of the preexisting crosstab. Properties for text in headers default to the properties of the first text control in the preexisting crosstab's first header line.

For details on the DataWindow object properties, see the DataWindow Object Reference in the online help.