Creating a Dialog Page

Step 1: Add a Dialog Page

1. Open your report in the Articles Designer
2. Click Report → New Dialog Page (or right-click in the Report Tree → Add Page → Dialog Page)
3. A blank form designer appears

Step 2: Configure Dialog Properties

Select the dialog page and set properties:

Name: DialogPage1

• The internal identifier for this dialog page
• Used when referencing the dialog in code or scripts
• Should be descriptive (e.g., “DialogCustomerReport”, “DialogDateRange”)

Caption: “Report Parameters”

• The text displayed in the dialog’s title bar
• What users see at the top of the window
• Should clearly describe the dialog’s purpose (e.g., “Select Report Criteria”, “Filter Options”)

BorderStyle: bsDialog

• Controls the window border and behavior
• bsDialog creates a fixed-size dialog that cannot be resized by the user
• Other options: bsSizeable (allows resizing), bsNone (no border)
• Recommended: Use bsDialog for parameter dialogs to maintain consistent layout

Position: poScreenCenter

• Where the dialog appears when shown
• poScreenCenter displays the dialog in the center of the user’s screen
• Other options: poDesktopCenter, poMainFormCenter, poOwnerFormCenter
• Recommended: Use poScreenCenter for best user experience

Width: 450

• Dialog width in pixels
• Should be wide enough to accommodate all controls without crowding
• Typical range: 400-600 pixels for parameter dialogs

Height: 300

• Dialog height in pixels
• Should provide enough vertical space for controls and buttons
• Typical range: 250-400 pixels for parameter dialogs
• Remember to leave room for OK/Cancel buttons at the bottom

Step 3: Add Controls

From the Dialogs toolbar, drag controls onto the dialog:

Labels

• Display static text to identify other controls
• Used for field names, instructions, and headings
• Example: “Select Customer:”, “Date Range:”, “Options:”

Edit boxes

• Allow users to type text or numbers
• Use for free-form input like names, amounts, or search terms
• Should be validated before use

ComboBoxes

• Dropdown lists with predefined choices
• Use for static options like “Active/Inactive”, “All/Some/None”
• Simpler than DBLookupComboBox but limited to hardcoded values

DBLookupComboBoxes

• Dropdown lists populated from database tables
• Display one field (ListField) but return another (KeyField)
• Use for dynamic data like customer lists, product categories, etc.
• Most powerful but requires proper configuration

DateEdits

• Calendar controls for selecting dates
• Provide built-in date picker for user convenience
• Use for date ranges, cutoff dates, filtering by date

Buttons

• Trigger actions when clicked
• Always include OK and Cancel buttons
• OK button should have ModalResult = mrOk and Default = True
• Cancel button should have ModalResult = mrCancel and Cancel = True

CheckBoxes

• Boolean (true/false) options
• Use for toggles like “Include Inactive Records”, “Show Details”, “Print Summary”
• Return checked state as boolean value