Object Inspector Panel

Summary

The Object Inspector panel enables you to interrogate and edit the properties and events of components in the active script form.

Panel Access 

Content and Use

Clicking on a single component on the active script form in the design editor window will select the component and display attributes associated to it in the Object Inspector panel. Alternatively, use the drop-down field at the top of the panel to choose from a list of all components currently placed on the active form. The form itself is also included.
The information is displayed over two tabs - Properties and Events.

Component Properties

The Properties tab of the panel lists all property attributes for the selected component. The exact list of attributes available will depend on the particular type of component currently under inspection.
A property is a characteristic of an object that influences either its visible behavior or its operations. For example, the Visible property (in the Behavior sub-category) determines whether or not the object is displayed on the script form on which it is placed.
The properties of a component can be modified as required. Click inside the field to the right of a property and either type directly, toggle a check box or select an entry from a drop-down, as appropriate.

Component Events

The Events tab of the panel provides a list of all events that the currently selected component can react upon. Once again, the exact list of events available will depend on the particular type of component currently under inspection.
When an event occurs, such as a button on a form being clicked, the script will take the appropriate action, providing a handling procedure for the event has been defined in the code. This type of procedure is referred to as an event handler.
The skeletal basis for an event handler can be added to the code of the script document from within the Object Inspector panel. Simply select the component you wish to define an event for, choose the particular type of event and then double-click inside the field to the right of the event. A name is created for the event and used in the definition of the name for the event handling procedure - FormName.EventName. The skeleton code for the event handling procedure is then added to the main script code, which is made the active tab in the design editor window.

The 'filling' of the event handling procedure can then be coded to provide the desired response when the event occurs and is detected by the running script.
The bottom section of the panel provides a summary description of the currently selected property or event, where available.

Right-click Menu

The right-click pop-up menu for the panel provides the following commands and options:

• Show Categories - with this option enabled (default), the entries on both Properties and Events tabs are grouped into specific categories. When disabled, entries appear as a single, alphabetically-sorted list
• Delphi Style - with this option enabled (default), the panel assumes a Delphi-style look and feel
• Visual Basic Style - with this option enabled, the panel assumes a Visual Basic-style look and feel.

Notes

• Multiple components may be selected and edited simultaneously. Those properties/events that are common to all components in the selection will be displayed in the panel. Properties/events that have differing values between components will be displayed as blank. Simply edit the properties and/or events as required - the changes made will be conveyed instantly to each component in the selection.

For example you may wish to change the text used on multiple buttons to a particular font. Select all buttons and change the properties listed under the Font category as required - all buttons will be updated to display their text using the same font.

• The keyboard shortcuts Up Arrow and Down Arrow can be used to select the previous and next entry in the panel, respectively.
• For more detailed information with respect to components and their properties, methods and events, refer to the Component Palette Reference, located in the Inside the Altium Designer Environment\Scripting area of the Altium Designer Documentation Library.