The Controls tab features objects that allow you to issue commands and update variables that may be used to control other objects in the display. The sample display file controls.rtv (located in demos/tutorials) features information on working with objects from the Controls tab.

The value, valueString and selectedValue properties allow you to set the value for the controls. The varToSet property allows you to update the attached variable with the value from the control.

The actionCommand property allows you to set up a command which will be executed from the control.  This actionCommand can reference the value from the control by using the keyword $value. To enable selecting, moving and editing the controls without activating the associated action command, the controls are not active in the main window of the Display Builder.

The tabIndex property allows you to define the order in which table and control objects will receive focus when navigated from your keyboard. Initial focus is given to the object with the smallest tabIndex value, from there the tabbing order proceeds in ascending order. If multiple objects share the same tabIndex value, then initial focus and tabbing order are determined by the alpha-numeric order of the object names. Objects with a tabIndex value of 0 are last in the tabbing order. NOTE: The tabIndex property does not apply to Slider objects or objects that are disabled, invisible, or have a value of less than 0.

To preview a control object in the Display Builder, save your file and click the Preview button  in the toolbar. Your display opens in a Preview Window that allows you to activate control objects. The Preview button becomes disabled when you edit your display. Save your display again to enable it.

Some control object properties cache their colors and therefore do not update when a custom color definition changes. You will need to either to restart RTView or reload the display to see the color change for these objects.

The Controls tab features the following objects:
 

Navigation Controls	Navigation controls allow you to create a rich and compact visual presentation of hierarchical data. Navigation controls are most often used in a multi-panel application for display navigation. Typically, the navigation control is shown in one panel and another panel contains the displays which you drill-down to by selecting items in the navigation control. Navigation controls can also be used in any application where hierarchical data is most effectively displayed using expandable/collapsible nodes. You can optionally configure status icons for navigation controls, using images of your choice, to visually indicate whether an element is in a critical state, and to also propagate the status of elements to the top of the navigation control (see the tree control, for example, below).
	Tree Control	With the tree control (class name: obj_c1tree), multiple nodes can expand at at time. The tree control not only allows you to configure status icons and to propagate the status up to parent nodes - you can also configure type icons. Type icons are static images you assign to tree nodes to visually indicate the element type (for example, Production or Sales) or the node depth.    For details, see Tree Control.
	Accordion Control	With the accordion control (class name: obj_c1accordion), nodes appear as pushbuttons and a single node expands at a time. The accordion control visually indicates whether an element in the accordion is closed or open. As with the tree control, the accordion control allows you to configure status icons and to propagate the status up to parent nodes. The accordion control does not display type icons (as the tree control can).   For details, see Accordion Control.
Text Entry Fields	There are three text entry fields to choose from: obj_c1textedit: Allows you to enter numeric or text information. Attach your data to valueString to update the value shown in this text entry field from your data. obj_c1textedit_i: Accepts only numbers without decimal points. obj_c1textedit_d: Allows numbers with decimal points. Attach your data to value to update the values shown in these text entry fields from your data. NOTE: To get initial values from an internal RTView variable and base those values on user interaction, you must attach the value and varToSet properties to the same variable. The actionCommand is executed and the variable attached to varToSet is updated with the data you typed into the text entry field when you press <Enter> and, if the executeOnFocusLostFlag is selected, when the text entry field loses focus. To disable text entry, deselect the editableFlag checkbox. If the editableFlag is off and enabledFlag is on, the mouse and arrow keys can still be used to move the cursor. If the executeOnKeystrokeFlag checkbox is selected, then each keystroke that modifies the text field will set the varToSet variable and execute the actionCommand, if applicable, using the modified text. NOTE: In a Thin Client deployment there may be a delay between the keystroke and the response, depending on the speed of your network and server. The following properties support input validation. Attach inputValidVarToSet to a local variable and this variable will be updated when the control executes with a value of 1 if the input is valid or a value of 0 if the input is invalid. Attach invalidInputMsgVarToSet to a local variable and this variable will be updated when the control executes with an error message if the input is invalid or an empty string if the input is valid. If validation fails, the actionCommand will not be executed. By default, input validation occurs whenever a control executes (i.e. when you press <Enter>). If executeOnFocusLostFlag is selected, then the control will also execute whenever the object loses focus. If executeOnKeyStrokeFlag is selected, the control will also execute whenever a key is pressed while the object has focus. For numeric validation, set valueMax and valueMin to specify the maximum or minimum valid values. If left blank, there will be no maximum or minimum value validation. Additionally, the following properties apply for text string validation: characterCase - Select from the following options: Mixed Case, Upper Case, or Lower Case. minCharacters - Specify minimum number of characters allowed in the field. If left blank, there will be no validation of minimum number of characters. maxCharacters - Specify maximum number of characters allowed in the field. If left blank, there will be no validation of maximum number of characters. To set the bgColor and fgColor properties of a text entry field, click on the  button and choose a color from the palette. The bgColor property sets the color of the object's object's background area and the fgColor property sets the color of the text. When bgColor and fgColor properties are set to Default, then the text entry field will adopt default settings for background and foreground colors. For example, in the Display Viewer the text entry field in your display will adopt a standard Java appearance. When that same display is viewed via Thin Client Browser, the text entry field will conform to that browser's color preferences. Use the valueTextAlignX property to set text alignment: Left, Center or Right. NOTE: The selected alignment can only be applied if the length of the text is less than the length of the text entry field. Use the mouseOverText property to enter a tool tip for this control. To display the tool tip, move your mouse over the object. To enter a multi-line tool tip, use \n to delimit the lines (e.g. control\nobject). NOTE: The object must be visible (i.e. visFlag property is selected), in order for the tool tip to be visible. The styleClass property allows you to enter the style class name for this object as defined in your style sheet. If not specified, the object class name is used. NOTE: The value entered must not contain spaces and cannot start with rtv-. The numeric text entry controls (obj_c1textedit_i and obj_c1textedit_d) support a validation option for blank entries. To enable this feature, select the validateBlankValuesFlag property. If selected and a blank string is entered, the actionCommand will not execute and invalidInputVarToSet and invalidInputMsgVarToSet will indicate an invalid entry.
Text Area Object	The text area control supports display and entry of multi-line text with optional word wrap. Scrollbars will appear as needed. Attach your data to valueString to update the value shown in this text area from your data. The actionCommand is executed and the variable attached to varToSet is updated with the data you typed into the text area control when the text area control loses focus. To disable text entry, deselect the editableFlag checkbox. If the editableFlag is off and enabledFlag is on, the mouse and arrow keys can still be used to move the cursor. If the executeOnKeystrokeFlag checkbox is selected, then each keystroke that modifies the text area will set the varToSet variable and execute the actionCommand, if applicable, using the modified text. NOTE: In a Thin Client deployment there may be a delay between the keystroke and the response, depending on the speed of your network and server. To set the bgColor and fgColor properties of a text area object, click on the  button and choose a color from the palette. The bgColor property sets the color of the object's background area and the fgColor property sets the color of the text. When bgColor and fgColor properties are set to Default, then the text area control will adopt default settings for background and foreground colors. For example, in the Display Viewer the text area control in your display will adopt a standard Java appearance. When that same display is viewed via Thin Client Browser, the text area control will conform to that browser's color preferences. Use the mouseOverText property to enter a tool tip for this control. To display the tool tip, move your mouse over the object. To enter a multi-line tool tip, use \n to delimit the lines (e.g. control\nobject). NOTE: The object must be visible (i.e. visFlag property is selected), in order for the tool tip to be visible. The styleClass property allows you to enter the style class name for this object as defined in your style sheet. If not specified, the object class name is used. NOTE: The value entered must not contain spaces and cannot start with rtv-. In the Display Viewer, pressing the <Tab> key inside a text area control will inserts a tab character in the text. To move the keyboard focus away from a text area control, either click outside of the control or press <Ctrl-Tab>. In the Display Viewer Applet, pressing the <Tab> key inside a text area will move the keyboard focus.
Button	The actionCommand is executed and the variable attached to varToSet is updated with the value from the valueToSet property when you click on the button. Use the hotKey property to enable keyboard activation on a button. Assign an alphanumeric value (A-Z or 0-9) to be used on the keyboard with the Alt key. The button is activated when the panel it resides in has focus and the user holds down the Alt key and simultaneously selects the assigned value on the keyboard. For example, Alt+B, where B is the assigned key. When keyboard activation is enabled and the defaultButtonFlag is selected, a button can be activated by pressing the <Enter> key. In the display, the activated button will be highlighted with an extra border. While multiple objects in the display can have the defaultButtonFlag selected, it will only apply to first one added to the display. NOTE: The defaultButtonFlag property does not apply to objects that are disabled or invisible. If you are viewing the Display Server in Firefox, another control object must have focus when the <Enter> key is pressed in order for the button to be activated. To set the bgColor and fgColor properties of a button, click on the  button and choose a color from the palette. The bgColor property sets the color of the object's background area and the fgColor property sets the color of the text. When bgColor and fgColor properties are set to Default, then the button will adopt default settings for background and foreground colors. For example, in the Display Viewer the button in your display will adopt a standard Java appearance. When that same display is viewed via Thin Client Browser, the button will conform to that browser's color preferences. Use the mouseOverText property to enter a tool tip for this control. To display the tool tip, move your mouse over the object. To enter a multi-line tool tip, use \n to delimit the lines (e.g. control\nobject). NOTE: The object must be visible (i.e. visFlag property is selected), in order for the tool tip to be visible. The styleClass property allows you to enter the style class name for this object as defined in your style sheet. If not specified, the object class name is used. NOTE: The value entered must not contain spaces and cannot start with rtv-. Use the menuItemIndex, menuItemGroup and menuItemSubmenu properties with the obj_c1_button to extend the RTView context menu. For details, see Extending the Context Menu.
Checkbox	Attach your data to the value property to update the value displayed by the checkbox. NOTE: To get initial values from an internal RTView variable and base those values on user interaction, you must attach the value and varToSet properties to the same variable. If the value of your data attachment equals the valueToSetChecked property, the checkbox will be selected. Default values for valueToSetChecked is 1 (On) and for valueToSetUnchecked is 0 (Off). The actionCommand is executed and the variable attached to varToSet is updated when you click on the checkbox. If clicking on the checkbox selects it, then varToSet will be updated with the value of valueToSetChecked. If you click on the checkbox and it does not become selected, varToSet will be updated with the value of valueToSetUnchecked. Use the mouseOverText property to enter a tool tip for this control. To display the tool tip, move your mouse over the object. To enter a multi-line tool tip, use \n to delimit the lines (e.g. control\nobject). NOTE: The object must be visible (i.e. visFlag property is selected), in order for the tool tip to be visible. The styleClass property allows you to enter the style class name for this object as defined in your style sheet. If not specified, the object class name is used. NOTE: The value entered must not contain spaces and cannot start with rtv-.
Radio Button Group	Use the radioListValues property to specify the labels and values for each radio button (e.g., Low,25;Medium,50;High,75), or make a data attachment to a two-column table. When attaching to a table, the first column is used for the radio button labels, the second column is used for radio button values. If only labels are specified, they will also be used as values. Specify which radio button is selected using the selectedValue property. The orientationMode property specifies how radio buttons are populated, horizontally (by row) or vertically (by column). Specify the width, in pixels, of the space between radio buttons using the horizontalGap and verticalGap properties. The actionCommand is executed and the variable attached to varToSet is updated with the selected value when you select a previously unselected radio button from the group. Use the mouseOverText property to enter a tool tip for this control. To display the tool tip, move your mouse over the object. To enter a multi-line tool tip, use \n to delimit the lines (e.g. control\nobject). The object must be visible (i.e. visFlag property is selected), in order for the tool tip to be visible. NOTE: In a Thin Client deployment, multi-line and non-static tool tips are not supported. The styleClass property allows you to enter the style class name for this object as defined in your style sheet. If not specified, the object class name is used. NOTE: The value entered must not contain spaces and cannot start with rtv-.
Slider	The valueMin and valueMax properties control the range of values for the slider.  Attach your data to the value property to update the value displayed by the slider from a data attachment. NOTE: To get initial values from an internal RTView variable and base those values on user interaction, you must attach the value and varToSet properties to the same variable. The actionCommand is executed and the variable attached to varToSet is updated with the value from the slider when you release the slider thumb after dragging it or when you click on the slider to advance the thumb one unit. Select the updateWhileAdjustingFlag to receive updates while dragging the slider thumb. The fgColor property sets the tick mark color. Click on the button to select a color or select Default to use the best color for your look and feel. The fgColor is only applied when the Slider control is enabled, so tick marks on sliders in the Display Builder's Working Area are not visible. Select Tools>Preview Window to see the fgColor applied. NOTE: In the Thin Client deployment, Slider controls do not have tick marks and therefore the fgColor property does not apply. Use the mouseOverText property to enter a tool tip for this control. To display the tool tip, move your mouse over the object. To enter a multi-line tool tip, use \n to delimit the lines (e.g. control\nobject). NOTE: The object must be visible (i.e. visFlag property is selected), in order for the tool tip to be visible. The styleClass property allows you to enter the style class name for this object as defined in your style sheet. If not specified, the object class name is used. NOTE: The value entered must not contain spaces and cannot start with rtv-. The axisDirection property allows you to set the axis direction of the scale. Select from the following options: Bottom to Top Vertical orientation with min on bottom and max on top. Left to Right Horizontal orientation with min on left and max on right. Top to Bottom Vertical orientation with min on top and max on bottom. Right to Left Horizontal orientation with min on right and max on left.
List Box	Use the listValues property to: Specify the labels and values for each radio button (e.g. Low,25;Medium,50;High,75), Make a data attachment to a single cell table containing a semicolon (;) delimited list of values, or Make a data attachment to a two-column table, where the first column is used for the radio button labels, the second column is used for radio button values. NOTE: If only labels are specified, they will also be used as values. To set the selected list item from a data attachment, attach your data to the selectedValue property. The actionCommand is executed and the variable attached to varToSet is updated with the selectedValue when you chose a previously unselected item from the list box. To set the bgColor and fgColor properties of a list box, click on the  button and choose a color from the palette. The bgColor property sets the color of the object's background area and the fgColor property sets the color of the text. When bgColor and fgColor properties are set to Default, then the list box will adopt default settings for background and foreground colors. For example, in the Display Viewer the list box in your display will adopt a standard Java appearance. When that same display is viewed via Thin Client Browser, the list box will conform to that browser's color preferences. Use the mouseOverText property to enter a tool tip for this control. To display the tool tip, move your mouse over the object. To enter a multi-line tool tip, use \n to delimit the lines (e.g. control\nobject). NOTE: The object must be visible (i.e. visFlag property is selected), in order for the tool tip to be visible. The styleClass property allows you to enter the style class name for this object as defined in your style sheet. If not specified, the object class name is used. NOTE: The value entered must not contain spaces and cannot start with rtv-.
Combo Box	Use the listValues property to: Specify the labels and values for each radio button (e.g. Low,25;Medium,50;High,75), Make a data attachment to a single cell table containing a semicolon (;) delimited list of values, or Make a data attachment to a two-column table, where the first column is used for the radio button labels, the second column is used for radio button values. NOTE: If only labels are specified, they will also be used as values. To set the selected menu item from a data attachment, attach your data to the selectedValue property.  Check the textEditEnabledFlag to allow the user to type a selection in addition to selecting from the drop down menu. The actionCommand is executed and the variable attached to varToSet is updated with the selectedValue when you choose a previously unselected item from the drop down menu or type a new item into the text entry area of the combo box. To set the bgColor and fgColor properties of a combo box, click on the  button and choose a color from the palette. The bgColor property sets the color of the object's background area and the fgColor property sets the color of the text. When bgColor and fgColor properties are set to Default, then the combo box will adopt default settings for background and foreground colors. For example, in the Display Viewer the combo box in your display will adopt a standard Java appearance. When that same display is viewed via Thin Client Browser, the combo box will conform to that browser's color preferences. Use the mouseOverText property to enter a tool tip for this control. To display the tool tip, move your mouse over the object. To enter a multi-line tool tip, use \n to delimit the lines (e.g. control\nobject). NOTE: The object must be visible (i.e. visFlag property is selected), in order for the tool tip to be visible. The styleClass property allows you to enter the style class name for this object as defined in your style sheet. If not specified, the object class name is used. NOTE: The value entered must not contain spaces and cannot start with rtv-.
Date Chooser	Use the selectedValue property to specify an initial date value. The maximumDate and minimumDate properties control the selectable dates in the popup calendar. It is recommended that initial date you specify is within the maximumDate/minimumDate value range so that the user will not have to navigate to a valid date. The actionCommand is executed and the variable attached to varToSet is updated with the selectedValue when either the user selects an date from the popup calendar or, if the date is typed in, when the user presses <Enter> or clicks out of the field. The dateFormat property controls both the input of a date typed into a field, as well as the output to a local variable or action command. If dateFormat is not specified, then a locale dependent format will be used. When users mouse-over the text entry field, a tooltip will display the specified dateFormat so they will know which format to enter. Since the dateFormat controls both the input and the output of the Date chooser, information not included in the dateFormat will be lost. For example, if the date format is MMMM dd, yyyy (e.g. January 01,2000), and the timeEntryEnabledFlag is selected, even if you enter a time it will not be stored since it was not included in the specified dateFormat. Or, if the specified dateFormat does include the time (e.g. MM/dd/yyyy hh:mm) and the time you entered was PM, it would be stored in the AM since am/pm was not specified in the dateFormat and AM is the default. The dateFormat should be specified using format specifiers from the SimpleDateFormat class. The dateFormat property does not support backslashes (\). In the Display Viewer Applet, the text entry field validates the date string as you enter it. It is very strict about allowing only dates in the format specified. In the Display Server the parsing is more flexible, but not guaranteed unless the date entered is in the same format as the specified dateFormat. NOTE: In the Display Server, the text entry field is not validated and the following format specifiers are not supported: G, w, W, D, F, E, k, K, S, z, Z. The timeEntryEnabledFlag property controls the visibility of the Time field in the popup calendar. Times entered into this field must be in the following format: hh:mm:ss a. When timeEntryEnabledFlag is selected, an OK and Cancel button are added to the popup calendar, so you can select a date and enter a time before closing the popup. If the timeEntryEnabledFlag is deselected, the popup calendar closes as soon as you select a date. The validColor property sets the font color to use while editing in the text entry area if the entered value uses the correct format. The default validColor is green. The invalidColor property is the font color used during and after editing in the text entry area if the entered value does not use the correct format. The default invalidColor is red. The fgColor property sets the color of the text entry area. The default fgColor is black. NOTE: The validColor and invalidColor properties are not supported in the Thin Client deployment. The styleClass property allows you to enter the style class name for this object as defined in your style sheet. If not specified, the object class name is used. NOTE: The value entered must not contain spaces and cannot start with rtv-. Localization: The Time field, OK and Cancel buttons are localized by SL, currently only English and Japanese are available. In the Display Builder, Display Viewer Application and Display Viewer Applet the month and day names will use the language settings on the client system. In the Display Server, the month and day names can be localized by replacing the date.js file in the Display Servlet with a localized version. NOTE: The Display Viewer Applet uses JCalendar 1.3.2 which is distributed under Lesser GPL and can be downloaded from www.toedter.com/en/jcalendar. The Display Server uses the Datejs date library for parsing and formatting dates and times.
Password Field	The Password Field control object works just like Text Entry Fields except that instead of displaying entered text, it displays asterisks (*).