Mask Properties

Learn how to set mask properties.

To open the Mask Properties window:

  • Select Options > Mask Properties from the menu (Alt+Enter keyboard shortcut).
  • Click on the mask to select it, and select Elements > Properties from the menu.
  • Double-click on the mask.
  • Right-click on the mask and select Properties.

The following settings can be defined in the Mask Properties window:

Display

  • Center horizontally: The mask is centered horizontally within the level.
  • Horizontal scroll bar: Determines whether a horizontal scroll bar is displayed if the window containing the mask is smaller than the value in the Max. width field.
  • Vertical Scroll Bar: Determines whether a vertical scroll bar is displayed if the window containing the mask is smaller than the value in the Max. height field.
  • Without header: Enable this option to minimize the header. The header can be opened by double-clicking on it.

Layout

The options in the Layout pane apply to the automatic layout function, see Automatic Layout.

Horizontal Grid

Use these settings to define the horizontal grid units, see Grid Units. These values are used when an element is placed or moved on the mask.

  • Font width: The font width is used as the horizontal grid unit.
  • ½ width: Half the font width is used as the horizontal grid unit.
  • ¼ width: A quarter of the font width is used as the horizontal grid unit.
  • Minimum (pixels): Determines the minimum size of the horizontal grid units in pixels.

Vertical Grid

Use these settings to define the vertical grid units, see Grid Units. These values are used when an element is placed or moved on the mask.

  • Font size: The font height is used as the vertical grid unit.
  • ½ size: Half the font height is used as the vertical grid unit.
  • ¼ size: A quarter of the font height is used as the vertical grid unit.
  • Minimum (pixels): Determines the minimum size of the vertical grid units in pixels.

Position and Size (Grid Units)

These options determine the size and position of the mask.

  • Pos X: Horizontal distance of the mask from the left border of the window. If the Center horizontally check box is enabled, this value is determined automatically by the system.
  • Pos Y: Vertical distance of the mask from the top border of the window.
  • Min. width: The minimum width of the mask in grid units.
  • Min. height: The minimum height of the mask in grid units.
  • Max. width : The maximum width of the mask. A scroll bar is displayed if this value exceeds the size of the window (and the Horizontal scroll bar check box is enabled).
  • Max. height : The maximum height of the mask. A scroll bar is displayed if this value exceeds the size of the window (and the Vertical scroll bar check box is enabled).
    Note: The optimum values are calculated upon exiting closing this window. Select Options > Adjust Mask Size (F7) from the menu at any time to reduce the size of the mask to the minimum size to fit all elements.
  • Use default alignment: The horizontal and vertical positions of the mask are taken from the desktop settings, see Masks Tab (General pane).

Length in Grid Units

These settings determine whether grid units are used for the length of field names and field contents.

  • Field text: Enable this option to calculate the length of field names in grid units.
  • Field contents: Enable this option to calculate the length of field contents in grid units.

If the check boxes are disabled, the number of characters is used to determine the length instead.

Do not show tables

Enable this option to prevent tables from being displayed, e.g. to disable the table containing the times in the Contact Times info area (FS and OTC only).

Free-floating Fields

These settings apply to fields that are placed directly on the mask (i.e. outside of a tab group).

  • User-defined text: The font type, size etc. used for field names.
  • Contents: The font type, size etc. used for field contents.
  • Colors: Click on this button to select from a number of predefined color schemes.

Background

  • Color: Color of the mask.
  • Pattern: Background pattern.
  • No background: Enable this option to ignore the Color and Pattern settings.
  • Use default colors: Enable this option to use the color settings defined in the current desktop format, see Colors Tab and Skins Tab.