A note field is a custom field created by the user. It will allow for a multiple lines of text to be entered.
Unlike other predefined fields on the page, a note field can be sized and moved.
Entry:
Entering data in a Note field is very similar to a multiple line text field.
When this field is activated for the first time begin entering the value’s characters from left to right.
To insert text into the value of this field, position the edit cursor before the character where you want the text inserted and begin typing.
To delete text from the value of this field, position the edit cursor before the character that you want the start deleting text, then press the Delete key once for every character that you want to delete.
Note: When inserting text into an existing value, make sure that your keyboard is in insert mode and not type over mode. If your new text is overwriting the existing value then you are in type over mode. Stop and undo (see below) the last change to recover your previous value. Then switch to insert mode by pressing the Insert key once. Pressing the Insert key will toggle you between.
To empty the value, select the entire value, then press the Backspace key or the Delete key.
The entire value is selected if all of its characters are highlighted in blue. To select the value when it is not currently highlighted use the keyboard by first pressing the Home key and then pressing the Shift + End key combination.
Any line in the value that is too long to fit in the width of the field will be wrapped to the next line in the field.
To restore the original value use Undo command on the Edit menu, or by pressing the Ctrl+Z key combination. This undo will revert back to the original value. Use undo again to restore the new value.
A note field will not grow to fit the text entered. When more text is entered than will fit in the field it may run off into other fields. You can however adjust the size of a note field as discussed below.
Navigation:
To activate a Note field for editing you must click on it with the mouse. Note fields are not part of the tab sequence on the page. Therefore the Tab key will not navigate to this field even if it appears that is should follow the active field in the tab sequence.
Field Formatting:
The appearance of a note field can be changed in many ways. You can specify its font and underline or bold it. You can change the horizontal and vertical alignment of the text within the field, and more. For more information click here.
Sizing and Placing:
To change the size or position of a note field, open the field’s context menu, select Note Field, then select Size and Position. This will set the note field into a mode that allows resizing and repositioning to be done. It will not allow editing of the value in this mode.
When the note field is in the Size and Position mode you will notice that the field is drawn differently, by having a dotted outline and a small black square on each if its corners.
To adjust the size of the field you can drag a corner of it to a new position on the page. To do this you must click on the small black square at the corner you want to move, then drag it to the new position. Note that you must click and hold the left mouse button while dragging the corner of the field. Repeat this operation to adjust the position of any other corner of the field.
To move the note field, place the mouse pointer in the center of the field while it is in Size and Position mode. This will change the mouse pointer to a cross with arrows. Click on the field and hold mouse button down while dragging the field to its new location.
To exit the Size and Position mode press the Escape button.
The field context menu can be accessed by these methods:
1) If the target field is the active field, then click the Show Field Menu button on the Field Actions toolbar and the field’s context menu will be shown.
2) If the target field is the active field, then you can also use the program’s Edit menu and select Field to show the field’s context menu.
3) If the target field is not the active field, then you can right click on the target field and the field’s context menu will be displayed.
Destroying an existing Note field:
To destroy an existing note field, open the field’s context menu, select Note Field, then select Destroy.
Creating a new Note field:
To create a new note field, open the Edit menu, then select Page, then select Add Note Field. Notice that the mouse pointer changed to a cross. The program is now in Create Note Field mode. Press the Escape key to exit this mode. Position the mouse pointer where the top left corner of the new note field will be, then click and hold dragging the box to define the bottom right corner of the field. Don’t worry if the size and position are not perfect the first time, because you can adjust the size and position later.
Other:
This topic is shown when the More button is pressed on the Brief Help pane. It is also shown when a field on the page is clicked with the Help Cursor.
If the Brief Help pane is not showing then you should open and review its text for two reasons. 1) There may be custom instructions for this field that are shown only in the Brief Help pane. 2) The Brief Help pane will show text that describes the state of the active field, while the help system can not detect a field’s state.