Formatting captions

A number of the standard field objects in the Object Library palette support captions. Captions provide textual information to the viewers about the form field.

When you add an object that supports captions, Designer assigns a default name for the caption. The default name is the name of the object. For example, if you add a list box object to the form design, the default caption is List Box.

When creating the form design, you can see the caption for the object in two places: on the form design next to the object (the default position) or in the Field tab of the Object palette.

You can edit the caption text by using the Field tab of the Object palette or by editing the caption text directly on the page. If the text wraps as you type, increasing the size of the object will display the text properly. If the object displays a white cross in a red box , the object either needs to be resized or have the caption reserve adjusted. A reserve of 0 sets the caption area to auto-fit so that it adjusts to fit the entire caption. The caption is protected and users cannot be modified it when filling the form.

Note: When you bind a caption to a data source, the caption is always shown in the form, even if you have set Caption Position in the Layout tab to None.

If you need to rearrange field objects, but do not want to risk modifying their captions, you can use the Lock Text command. Using this command lets you to move the field objects around easily but makes the caption not as easy to modify.

Note: You cannot select or edit captions if a field object is locked. See To lock objects .

To set a default font for captions in new forms

  1. Click Tools > Options.

  2. Click Default Fonts.

  3. Under Default Caption Font Properties For New Forms, select Typeface, Size, and Style options, as needed.

To set a default font for captions in an existing form

  1. Click File > Form Properties.

  2. Click Default Fonts.

  3. Under Default Caption Font Properties, select Typeface, Size, and Style options. as needed.

To rename a caption

  1. Select the object.

  2. Do one of the following actions:

    • To change the caption in the Layout Editor, select the text of the caption and type a new caption. If Edit > Lock Text is enabled, double-click the text.

    • To change the caption by using the Object palette, click the Field tab type a new caption in the Caption box.

    You can dynamically populate a caption with a value from a data source.

To position a caption

Captions are positioned relative to the fillable area of an object.

  1. Select one or more objects.

  2. In the Layout palette, select a position for the caption from the Position list.

    Note: When you bind a text field caption to a data source, the text field's caption label is always shown in the form, even if you selected None for the caption position in the Layout tab

To specify the amount of space for a caption

You can adjust the amount of white space between the caption and the fillable area.

  1. Select one or more objects.

  2. In the Layout palette, type a new value in the Reserve box.

    Note: If you enter a reserve space before selecting a position for the caption, Designer adjusts the reserve space automatically.

To set the caption area to auto-fit

  1. Select one or more objects.

  2. In the Layout palette, type 0 in the Reserve box. This number sets the caption area to auto-fit so that it adjusts to fit the entire caption.

To hide a caption

  1. Select one or more objects.

  2. In the Layout palette, select None from the Position list.

// Ethnio survey code removed