Box Properties Window

Components can contain vast amounts of information that can be edited, exported and printed. An important area for the manipulation of this information is the Box Properties window.

This area has four tabs. The image below shows the Box Properties menu with the Edit Data tab selected

Box Properties: Display window

1. Go to Shape > Properties.  Or click on the properties icon on the home tab.

2. Double click an empty area inside a component (an area with no text or graph­ics, etc.).
3. Right-click a component to launch a pop– up menu. In the pop-up menu choose Properties.
4. Use the hotkey combination of Alt+Enter.

Box Properties: Scope

Scope is a powerful and intuitive interface which allows you to quickly set the range and locations of the data changes in your chart. It is found in the Apply Tosection at the bottom of both Box Properties tabs. It has the following options:

1. Selection – only applies changes to the currently selected component(s).
2. Entire Chart – applies changes to every component in the chart.
3. Active Division – only applies the changes to the division of the currently selected component.

Scope can be applied to any data field, in any combination, anywhere on the chart. This means that you can set certain fields, like the company’s name or telephone number, to appear in every component in the division or chart, but leave all the other data fields unaffected. Since you can have any data (or field) appear anywhere, the pos­sibilities and time saving features of scope are almost limitless.

Box Properties: Edit data

This tab is used to define what data will be associated with certain component(s). To use this section:

1. Click in the right hand column of the data field you want to edit. The area will turn blue.
2. Enter the data.
3. Press Enter or click in another field to apply the data.
4. Set the scope of the changes by going to the Apply To area and clicking one of the available choices.
5. Click the OK button to apply the changes and close the menu.

Box Properties: Define layout

This tab determines the visual appearance the data in the component. It deter­mines what is visible and where (see below):

This tab consists of the following areas:

1. Data Fields area – displays what data fields are available (this changes depending on what data view you have chosen). It contains the following:
   • Data field names in the left column.
   • Drag the desired fields from the list on the left to the box preview to the right.
2.  Preview Pane – displays a simple diagram of the component. It shows:
   • Data fields that will be visible – to change this, check or uncheck the visibility box in the Data Fields area.
   • Order of the data fields – to change the order, highlight the desired field in the Data Fields area, then click the Move Up or Move Down but­tons. (Note: The Move Up and Move Down buttons will only become active if a data field with a check in the visibility box is selected. These buttons will also either activate or deactivate depending upon which data field is selected.)
   • Component text font– this is selected in the Display Properties area (see below).
   • Component text alignment – this is selected in the Display Propertiesarea (see below).
3. Display Properties area – determines certain visual properties of the component. It contains the following:
   • Display Column Name – check this box to make the title of the data field appear in the component (for example, with the box checked a person named “Mr. Sample” would appear in the component as “Title: Mr. Sam­ple”.)
   • Text alignment buttons – click any of the three buttons to determine if the text will be aligned on the left, center or right of the component.
   • Font Style – click this button to open the font menu (for more details, please see the Font Style section of this manual).
   • Apply To area – determines the scope of the changes which have been determined in the other areas (for more details, please see the Box Properties: Scope and Apply Scope sections of this manual).

Once you have made your selections from the above sections, click the OK button to apply the changes and close the menu.