Designing Layouts in Act!

• The Custom button contains only one tool. The Pointer tool will allow you to select the fields in the layout.
  
• A field must be selected before you can change the size, position or other field attributes.
  
  If you hold your Shift or Ctrl keys, you will be able to select multiple fields and field labels. You can also select multiple fields and/or field labels by clicking outside of a field and then dragging across the area containing the fields and/or field labels.
  When you click a field or a field label to select it, a thick black border appears to surround the field. The small squares within this black border are called sizing handles. When you place your cursor over one of these sizing handles, your cursor will change to a two-way arrow; allowing you to click and drag the field to a different size. When you place your cursor over other parts of the border, a four-way arrow will appear; allowing you to click and drag the field to a new position.
  
  Field properties can also be adjusted from the Properties window. Find a detailed description in the Properties section of this document.
  

• The Pointer tool will allow you to select the fields in the layout. See the Custom section above for detailed information.
• The Text tool will allow you to enter permanent text into your layout. When the Text tool is enabled, you can click your left mouse button and drag a new text field into your layout.
• The Image tool will allow you to insert a picture or other graphics file into your layout. When the Image tool is enabled, you can click your left mouse button and drag in a field that will contain this image. An Open dialog appears, allowing to browse to (if necessary) and then open the image file you would like to display on the layout. You may add most types of graphics files to the layout, including .bmp, .gif, .jpg, . jpeg and .ico.
• The Rectangle tool will allow you to drag a rectangular shape into the layout.
• The Ellipse tool will allow you to drag a circular shape into the layout.

• The Pointer tool will allow you to select the fields in the layout. See the Custom section above for detailed information.
• The Field tool will allow you to insert additional Contact, Company or Group fields into the layout. When the Field tool is enabled, you can click your left mouse button over an empty space, and then drag a new field into your layout.
• The Memo Field tool will allow you to insert a memo field into your layout. A memo field is longer than a "normal field", wraps around in the layout (unlike previous versions, most fields will not word wrap now), and is designed for longer notes. A memo field will create a text box for entering long pieces of data, so it's ideal for all of the people that have asked if they can just make a "notes" field
• The Picture Field tool will allow you to insert a 'contact specific' graphics file into the layout. A field must be defined as a Picture Field before it will be available to be added to the layout when this tool is enabled. This field type would commonly be used to insert a picture of the specific contact. Pictures can be added to this field after you save and close the layout designer. To add a picture to this field:
  1. Right-click into this field from a contact record, and then click choose image. A Choose an Image dialog box appears.
  2. Browse to (if necessary) and then Open the graphics file you would like to appear on this contact record. Common graphics file types (.bmp, .gif, .jpg, .ico, .png, .emf etc...) will work in an Act! picture field. If your image is blurred or distorted it is advised that you use BMP or PNG file as they are generally smaller in size than GIF or JPG file.
• The YesNo Field tool will allow you to insert a yes/no field into your layout. The YesNo field appears as a small square and will either hold a check mark or will be blank. A field must be defined as a YesNo Field before it will be available to be added to the layout when this tool is enabled.
• The Record Manager tool will allow you to insert the Record Manager field into your layout. The record manager reflects the database User that controls the contact record.
• The Access tool will allow you to insert the field which designates the access level for a specific contact record. When the Public option is enabled, the contact can be viewed by all users of a database. When the Private option is enabled, the contact record can only be viewed by the record manager. When the Limited Access option is enabled, only certain Users and Teams are able to view this contact record.
  
  

Appearance
Within the appearance section, you are able to modify Background Color, Border Style, Font, Font Color and Text alignment.

Clicking the browse button for the Font value, will allow you to change the size, type and attributes of the font. Below the Font value, clicking the value for Name or Size will allow you to change these font attributes individually. The Unit value can be changed to World, Pixel, Inch, Document or Millimeter.

Changing the Strikeout value to True will place a line through the text. Changing the Bold, Italic or Underline values to True will modify the text with these attributes. The Text Alignment property will allow you to align your data Left, Right or Center. It is strongly recommended that you do NOT modify the values for GdiCharSet or GdiVerticalFont or Unit. The GdiCharSet is a byte value that specifies the GDI character set that this Font uses while the GdiVerticalFont is a Boolean (true/false) value that indicates whether this Font is derived from a GDI vertical font. These are settings that come from the font selected and are necessary for the graphic display of that font.

If you click the Edit Properties link, near the bottom of the Properties window, the Edit Properties dialog appears. Here, you may change the Font, Font Style or Size. Field Borders can be set to 3D, Single or None.

Tip:
To change the properties (such as color, font, etc.) of multiple fields at once, hold down the Ctrl button on your keyboard and click on all the fields you want to change. When you have selected the fields, then press the F4 button on your keyboard to bring up the Properties box on the right side of your screen. In the Properties box, you can make changes simultaneously to all the fields you selected.


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Behavior
Within the Behavior section, you can modify Enter Stop status, Enter Stop Value, Tab Stop status, and Tab Stop Value. Please refer to the New Design Features section of this document for detailed information on Tab or Enter Stops.

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Data
Within the Data section, you can change the Field Value to that of a different field. When you click the field name in this data section, a list will appear of fields available to be added to the layout. Caution: If you change the field value in this way, the field label does not change. Therefore, reports or lookups that you use may not display your information correctly.

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Layout
Within the Layout section, the X and Y coordinates reflect the Location of the top-left corner of the field. You can change this Location by adjusting these coordinates or by simply dragging the field to a new position. The Size dimensions for Height and Width can also be adjusted by editing these dimensions or by simply using your mouse to resize the field. (See the Custom tool section above for resizing details)

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When you click the background of your layout from within the Layout Designer, PanelDetail (Panel) appears in the initial Properties field.
PanelDetail (Panel) allows you to modify the Background Color and/or Background Image of your layout.

To change the background color of your layout; click into the value field for Background Color, click the drop-down arrow and then click your desired background color from one of the available color palettes. Refer to the Font Color and Background Color Options section above for details.

If you would like to use a graphics file as your layout background:

1. In the Background Image field, click the System.Draw.Bitmap value. A browse button appears.
2. When you click this button, an Open dialog box appears.
3. Browse to, and then open your image file. The background of your layout will change to display that image.
4. If the image does not appear correctly, click into the Image Options/TileImage field, click the drop-down arrow, and then click either Normal or StretchImage to adjust the display of your image file.