Forms (Profile)

Forms present standard and extended attributes and collections as property sheet tabs or can be used to create dialog boxes launched from menus or property sheet buttons.

1. Right-click a metaclass, stereotype or criterion and select New > Form to create an empty form.
   Note: If you define a property tab under a stereotype or criterion, it is displayed only when the metaclass instance bears the stereotype or meets the criterion.

   
   
   
2. Enter the appropriate following properties:

   Property	Description
   Name	Specifies the internal name of the form, which can be used for scripting.
   Label	Specifies the display name of the form, which will display in the tab of the property tab or in the title bar of the dialog box.
   Comment	Provides additional information about the form.
   Help file	Enables the display of a Help button and specifies an action that will be performed when the button is clicked or F1 is pressed when in the context of the form. The action can be the display of a help file (.hlp, .chm or .html), and can specify a specific topic. For instance: C:\PD1500\pddoc15.chm 26204 If no help file extension is found, the string will be treated as a shell command to execute. For instance, you could instruct PowerDesigner to open a simple text file: notepad.exe C:\Temp\Readme.txt
   Type	Specifies the kind of form. You can choose from the following: Dialog Box – creates a dialog box that can be launched from a menu or via a form button Property Tab – creates a new tab in the property sheet of the metaclass, stereotype or criterion Replace <standard> Tab – replaces a standard tab in the property sheet of the metaclass, stereotype or criterion. If your form is empty, it will be filled with the standard controls from the tab that you are replacing.
   Add to favorite tabs	[property tabs only] Specifies that the tab is displayed by default in the object property sheet.

3. Insert controls as necessary in your form using the toolbar on the Form tab (see Adding Extended Attributes and Other Controls to Your Form).
4. Click the Preview button to review the layout of your form and, when satisfied, click Apply to save your changes.

• Adding Extended Attributes and Other Controls to Your Form
  You insert controls into your form using the tools in the Form tab toolbar. You can reorder controls in the form control tree by dragging and dropping them. To place a control inside a container control (group box or horizontal or vertical layout), drop it onto the container. For example, if you want the extended attributes GUID, InputGUID, and OutputGUID to be displayed in a GUI group box, you should create a group box, name it GUI and drag and drop all three extended attributes under the GUI group box.
• Example: Creating a Property Sheet Tab
  In this example, we will create a new property tab for the EAM Person metaclass to display extended attributes we define to store personal information.
• Example: Including a Form in a Form
  In this example, we will replace the General tab of the EAM Person metaclass by a form which includes properties from the person and from the site to which she is assigned by including a form defined on the Site metaclass as a read-only control in a form defined on the Person metaclass.
• Example: Opening a Dialog from a Property Sheet
  In this example, we will add a button to a property sheet tab, to open a dialog box, allowing you to enter additional personal details for a person.