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   A Form object is used to manipulate information contained in the Data
   Dictionary. To define a Form object it is necessary to know:

     . What information must be manipulated.

     . How this information is to be manipulated.

   The choice of what information to manipulate derives from the analysis of
   the application. How to manipulate it, is a choice of the project. In this
   environment we will worry about the project and how to identify the best
   way to present information in the data dictionary.

   A Form is a screen mask containing graphical elements that allow to
   display the information. These graphical elements are called Controls.
   It is very important to know the difference between controls and
   symbols. A control is a graphical element with which to display
   information, while a symbol is an element of the Data Dictionary. In
   other words, a control is used to display all possible values of a symbol.
   More controls can be associated to a single symbol, and only one symbol
   can be associated to a single control.

   It is not recommended to insert too many controls within a Form, thus to
   avoid hiding the information that is really needed.

   Some specific keys are made available throughout the Design environment in
   dBsee. Among these, the more important are:

     . F3 - Move controls

     . F4 - Resize controls

     . F6 - Select controls

     . F8 - Copy controls

     . Alt-F1 - Insert controls

     . Alt-F3 - Move object

     . Alt-F4 - Resize object

     . Ctrl-Enter - Options/Properties of current element.

   When a control is to display text (ex. the prompt of a Pushbutton or a
   Radio Button) it is possible to use the character ^b to define the hot
   key. For example, a Pushbutton having the "Ok" caption can be activated
   with the Alt-O keys.

   Different types of Controls exist. They can be grouped into three main
   categories:

     . Passive controls that are only used to display the
       information without allowing the user to interact. Examples of passive
       controls are text lines, semi-graphic fonts and Boxes.

     . Interactive controls that display the data and allow the
       user to interact with the application's database, using the mouse or
       the keyboard. Examples of interactive controls are Gets, Radio Buttons
       and Check Boxes.

     . Active controls that allow the user to interact with the
       Form for the modification of the information displayed. An example of
       an active control is a Pushbutton.

   Let's now examine each of the available Controls, highlighting each of the
   specific points and underlining how they can be used to represent the
   information that has to be manipulated. We do not want this discussion to
   be exhaustive (the details relative to the various Controls are discussed
   in the other paragraphs of this chapter), but want to provide some
   suggestions for their use in Design. The list of available controls is
   displayed by pressing the Alt-F1 keys.