When a database is first opened (for example by double clicking it, choosing it from the File>Recent menu, or using the Open File menu command), Panorama normally opens the database with the same window arrangement it had the last time it was open. In other words, the same windows will open in the same location. If opening the previous window arrangement is fine with you, you can skip the rest of this topic.
Initial Windows
If you prefer to have the same windows open each time no matter what windows were open previously, use the Initial Windows option in the File>Database Options>General panel. If the Initial Windows option is empty, Panorama will open whatever windows were open the last time the database was open. But if you provide a list of one or more windows, Panorama will open only those windows and no others (of course you can use the View menu to open additional windows later).
The list of windows is text, so you can type items into the list or edit it. To add a form to the list, type FORM: followed by the name of the form. The form name must be typed in exactly, including upper and lower case. The list of initial windows can also include one or more procedures, type PROCEDURE: followed by the name of the procedure (again, the name must be exact, including the exact capitalization).
To help you type in window names exactly, use the Add Window pop-up button. Select the item you want and it will be typed in to the list (only the data sheet and forms are included in the pop-up menu, procedures must be typed in manually).
If you want to go back to the default mode (automatically restoring the open windows), simply delete the entire list.
Note: Panorama will not necessarily open the windows in the order you list them. There is no way to control the exact window order, however, you could use the .Initialize procedure to bring a specific window to the front.
Note: The Initial Windows list specifies only the window names, not their positions and size. For form windows, the position and size can be specified as part of each form’s properties, as described in the next section. The position and size are not part of the database options, but rather the form options.
Initial Form Window Position & Size
When you close any Panorama window, Panorama remembers the position and size of the window. The next time the window is re-opened, the window will appear in the same location with the same size (this happens whether the window is opened with the View menu or by opening the database).
For form windows, however, you have the option to explicitly specify the position and size of the window when the form is opened. To do this, go into Graphics Mode and fill in the desired coordinates in the Initial Dimensions property. (If you don’t know the exact numeric coordinates you want, you can ask Panorama to measure the current window dimensions for you, see Measuring the Dimensions of a Window below.)
Once you’ve set the initial dimensions, this form will always open to this exact spot when you open the database or open the form with the View menu. (However, you can still write code using the openform statement to open the form to a different spot.)
If you want to go back to Panorama remembering the position and size, simply delete the Initial Dimensions property and leave it blank.
Initial Form Size
When setting up the Initial Dimensions property, you can omit the top and left coordinates and include only the height and width. If you do this, the form will always open at the specified height and width, but the position (top and left) will be saved from the last time the window was open.
Measuring the Dimensions of a Window
To measure the dimensions of a window, use the Window>Window Dimensions menu item. This will display the coordinates of the window, like this:
If you press the Copy button, Panorama will copy the window dimensions into the clipboard in a format that is compatible with the Initial Dimensions form property. So you can position the window exactly as you want it, copy the dimensions, then paste them into the Initial Dimensions. From then on, the form will always open to that exact position and size.
History
| Version | Status | Notes |
| 10.2 | New | New in this version. |