This is the legacy 4D documentation web site. Documentations are progressively being moved to developer.4d.com
- 4D Design Reference
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- Working with active objects
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What are active objects?
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Field and variable objects
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Buttons
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3D Buttons, 3D Check Boxes and 3D Radio Buttons
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Picture Buttons
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Button Grids
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Check Boxes
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Radio Buttons and Picture Radio Buttons
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Pop-up Menus/Drop-down Lists
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Combo Boxes
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Hierarchical Pop-up Menus and Hierarchical Lists
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Picture Pop-up Menus
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Indicators
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Tab Controls
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Splitters
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Web areas
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Plug-in areas
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List boxes
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Subforms
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Plug-in areas
A plug-in area is an area on the form that is completely controlled by a 4D plug-in. When opening a database, 4D creates an internal list of the plug-ins installed in your database. Once you have inserted a Plug-in Area in a form, you can assign a plug-in to the area directly in the Type list (“Objects” theme) in the Property List window:
Notes:
- Some plug-ins, such as 4D Internet Commands, cannot be used in forms or external windows. When a plug-in cannot be used in a form, it does not appear in the plug-in list of the Property List.
- By default, the list does not contain any plug-in.
- When the object type chosen is Plugin Area, an Advanced button may be enabled if advanced options are provided by the author of the plug-in. In this case, you can click this button to set these options. Because the Advanced options dialog box is under the control of the author of the plug-in, information about these Advanced options is the responsibility of the distributor of the plug-in.
If you draw a plug-in area that is too small, 4D will display it as a button whose title is the name of the variable associated with the area. During execution, the user can click on this button in order to open a specific window displaying the plug-in.
To add a plug-in in your 4D environment, you first need to quit 4D. Plug-ins are loaded when you launch 4D. For more information about the installation of plug-ins, refer to Installing plugins or components.
The ability to incorporate plug-ins into forms gives you unlimited possibilities when creating custom applications. A plug-in can perform a simple task such as displaying a digital clock on a form, or a complex task such as providing full-featured word processing, spreadsheet, or graphics capabilities.
If you are interested in designing your own plug-ins, you can receive extensive information about writing and implementing plug-ins. 4D provides a complete kit (on github) to help you write custom plug-ins.
Product: 4D
Theme: Working with active objects
4D Design Reference ( 4D v20 R7)
