State

Different display of a control element depending on its status.

A control element can assume different states at runtime, which are activated by user interaction. The respective state of the control element can be visualised graphically - using colours and shadows.

Example: If the mouse pointer is positioned over a button, the button changes to the "Hover" state. It then changes colour to indicate that it can be clicked. If the user presses the mouse button down on the button, the button changes to the " Pressed" state. This can also be indicated by a different colour and/or a shadow effect.

States at runtime

A control element can assume the following states:

Checked

State of the control element when it is activated by clicking or tapping on it.

Disabled

State in which the control element is blocked and cannot be operated, e.g. if the user has no authorisation or must first make other entries.

ErrorMode

State of the input control element in the event of an error, i.e. if the input limits are exceeded.

Focused

State in which the control element has the input focus. The control element then signals that the user can enter a value, e.g. by means of a flashing input marker.

Hover

State of the control element when the mouse pointer is positioned over it.

Pressed

State of the control element when it is pressed with the mouse or touched with the finger. The state only exists as long as the mouse button remains pressed or the finger touches the screen.

Properties for the states

Different colours for the background, text and frame of the control as well as shadows of different depths can be configured for the different states of a control. The properties for configuring these colours and shadows contain the state designation in the property name.

Example: The "HoverBackgroundColor" property defines the colour for the background of the control element in the "Hover" state, i.e. when the mouse pointer is over the control element.

Visualisation of the state at design time

In the Designer, a control can be displayed as it would look at runtime in the various states. For this purpose, there are properties in the "Other" category of a control element that can be activated to display the control element in the respective state. These properties are labelled as the state to be visualised: "Checked", "ErrorMode", "Focused", "Hover" and "Pressed". Some properties can also be activated simultaneously, e.g. to display the "CheckedHoverPressed" state of the toggle button in the Designer. Activating these properties has no effect at runtime.

The DropDownBoxand SelectBox controls also contain an additional property:

Open

Displays the open selection list of the DropDownBox in the Designer (corresponds to the "Checked" status).

All control elements can be deactivated via the "Disabled" property.

Disabled

The "Disabled" property (category "General properties") not only affects the display in the Designer, but also sets the initial status of the control at runtime. This means that if the "Disabled" property is activated at design time, the control appears as disabled after the application is started, meaning that it cannot be operated initially.