Understanding the Work Pane

The Work pane, shown in Figure 3.8, is used to create and modify design objects such as forms, subforms, views, and folders. You use the Work pane to add design elements to the design object, such as fields in forms, columns in views, graphic objects or hotspots to pages, and so on. For a form or subform, this area is exactly like one big rich-text field. When you're designing views and folders, the active area of the Work pane is the title bar of the view. This is where columns are added and modified. By default, if the Work pane is available for the design element, it is displayed.

Figure 3.8. The Work pane for the Domino URL form shows text and fields in a table. Also shown is the Form properties box.

When you design forms, it is sometimes useful to see more than the default half-screen for the Work pane. You can change this view in any of the following ways:

• Click and drag the narrow bar that separates the Work pane from the Programmer's pane. Domino Designer resizes each pane accordingly .
• Double-click the separator bar that separates the Work pane from the Programmer's pane. The Programmer's pane collapses completely; double-click again, and it is restored to its original height.
• Uncheck Programmer's Pane from the View menu.
• Click the View Show/Hide Programmer's Pane button on the toolbar.

You can similarly resize the Action pane or the Objects and Reference pane. If you need still more space, you can close the Bookmark window.

Right-clicking the Work pane displays a floating submenu (also known as a context menu see Figure 3.9) that is different for each of the design elements and Work pane areas. The top choice on the menu is always properties of the current object. With forms and subforms, the second choice is Text Properties; for navigators, it is Object Properties. The remainder of the submenu varies with the object you are designing.

Figure 3.9. The floating submenu for a form provides easy access to text attributes.

TIP

Get in the habit of right-clicking objects and taking advantage of the submenu and the properties boxes. This is a convenient shortcut for many menu options.