Using Property Pages

  • Article

Home Page (Resource Editors) |  Overview |  How Do I ... Topics

Property pages control the appearance and the behavior of resources and differ according to their purpose. For example, an image resource property page contains information on the ID, language, condition, and filename, as well as a preview of the resource. But a property page for a push-button control in a dialog box contains several tabs of information, each with many style bits to modify the control’s behavior.

Note   Whenever you make a change on a property page, it is made immediately. You cannot cancel any changes made on a property page.

Manipulating a Property Page

You can use any of the shortcut keys associated with the Text editor to cut, copy, and paste text. In general, these shortcut keys can be used in any edit control on the property page.

You can control the behavior of the Properties window to suit your working style or the nature of the resource editing task. Use the Pushpin button in the upper-left corner of the property page.

Button position Result
The Properties window stays visible even when you are working in another window. This is convenient if, during an editing session, you want to move back and forth frequently between setting properties and editing objects. Pressing ENTER after you change a value in the Properties window returns you to the editing window but leaves the Properties window visible.
The Properties window is dismissed by pressing ENTER or ESC. This is useful if you want to concentrate on working in an editing window but need to bring up the Properties window briefly to change one or two values.