INFORMIX
Visionary User's Guide
Chapter 7: Modifying Object Properties
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Mapping Columns or Parameters to Properties

You can specify column names or parameters for object properties to create a dynamic data value, rather than a constant value. The process is essentially the same as creating a data-bound object (see Chapter 5, "Displaying Data in a Scene").

Use the Data Element Editor and the Object Inspector to map column names or parameters to object properties.

Example Using a Column Name

Suppose you want a text label that displays a company name for each data point in a scatter chart. To display the company name, you map the company column from the layout's data source to the Text property of the Text object.

To map a column name to a Text object

    1. Double-click the data element where you want to insert the Text object.

    The Data Element Editor appears.

    2. Choose Insert Primitive Text to insert the Text object into the data element.

    3. Map the company column to the Text property, as shown in Figure 7-8.

    Figure 7-8
    Mapping a Column Name to an Object Property

    Click the company button on the Parameter bar of the Data Element Editor so that a red dot appears.

    4. Click Runtime Mode to view the results in the scene.

Tip: You can also type the column name into the property cell to map the data value to the object property.

Example Using a Scene Parameter

You can use scene parameters to alter the appearance of a scene, depending upon a data value. This is useful when one scene contains a wormhole to another scene and you want the appearance of the scene through the wormhole, and its appearance when the user jumps through to it, to depend on some variable value. For an example of using a scene parameter in a wormhole, see "Creating a Parameterized Wormhole".

You can also use scene parameters to alter the appearance of an object in a scene. For example, suppose you want to use the name of a customer in the title of a scene. You could create a scene parameter SCustomer and then map the parameter to the Text object that is used for the title, so that it changes dynamically when the data value changes. Here is an example of how to do that.

To map a scene parameter to a Text object

    1. Open the scene that contains the title you want to parameterize.

    2. Select the Text object in the Scene Editor so that the Text object properties are displayed in the Object Inspector, as shown in Figure 7-9

    Figure 7-9
    Selecting the Text Object

    .

    3. In the Scene Editor, click the SCustomer parameter button so that a red dot appears.

    4. Move the cursor down to the Text property cell in the Object Inspector so that a red dot appears next to the property name, as shown in Figure 7-10

    Figure 7-10
    Mapping a Scene Parameter to an Object Property

    .

    5. Click to enter the parameter in the property cell.

    6. Click Runtime Mode to view results.

Tip: You can also type the column name into the property cell to map the data value to the object property.



Visionary User's Guide, version 1.0
Copyright © 1998, Informix Software, Inc. All rights reserved.