Binding Properties dialog box

Use this dialog box to change a form object’s properties when you associate a data binding with an existing field on the form design. You can associate a data binding with a form object by dragging a node from the Data View palette onto the object or by using the Binding tab in the Object palette. See To create a bound field or subform.

This dialog box is only displayed for form objects that support data binding. Notice that this dialog box is not displayed when setting the binding of radio button objects.

To display this dialog box, drag a node from the Data View palette onto an existing field on the form design or when you specify the binding node using the Binding tab in the Object palette.

Update all related properties

Updates all the possible properties of the form object to match the properties of the binding object.

If the form object type is different from the binding type, and you select Update All Related Properties, the form object type will change to match the binding type. For example, if the form object is a text field, and the binding object is a numeric field, selecting Update All Related Properties changes the form object to a numeric field. To control whether the object type is changed, use the option Update The Following Properties Only.

Update the following properties only

Displays a list of all the possible properties of the form object that can be updated by the properties of the binding object. You can select the specific properties that you want to update. Accepting all the options produces the same result as selecting Update All Related Properties.

The list of properties displayed varies according to the combination of form object type and binding. If the form object and binding object are the same, the following list of possible options may appear as updateable properties:

Name
Caption
Descriptive Information
Occurrence
Validation Scripts

The Name and Caption properties are always displayed. The other properties vary according to what is appropriate for the form object and binding. For example, if the binding has validation script information, the Validation Scripts option is displayed.

Depending on the form object and binding combination, Designer also displays options related to the object’s type. The following list of type-dependent options may appear as updateable properties:

Data Pattern (Text Field and Date/Time Field only)
Default Value (all fields except Image Field)
Image URL (Image Field only)
List Items (Drop-down List only)
Max Chars (Text Field only)

If the form object type is the same as the binding object type, Designer displays the type-dependent properties along with the other properties mentioned above. However, if the form object type is different from the binding object type, Designer displays the Type option, followed by all the type-dependent properties. In this situation, the Type option must be selected to update any of the type-dependent properties. If you do not select the Type option, none of the type-dependent properties will be updated.

If you do not want the form object type to change, deselect the Type option.

Don’t update any related properties

Specifies that no additional properties of the object, other than the binding itself, will be changed.

Don’t Show Again

Stops the Binding Properties dialog box from displaying when you drag a node from the Data View palette onto the Layout Editor.

None of the object’s properties will be updated to match the properties of the data item in the data source.

To start the Binding Properties dialog box displaying again, right-click the Data View palette, select Options, and select the Show Binding Properties Dialog option.