Designing a Desktop

If you are creating a new desktop, before you can design it you need to add it to Syntelate XA.

When you need to design an existing desktop, click its DESIGN  button on the Desktops index page.

Adding a Container

The first thing that you need to do is add a container. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click .
2. Click the type of container that you want to add.

The new container is added to the end of the desktop.

Resizing a Container

If you ever need to resize a container (for example, to change it from a 100% container to a 50%–50% container), follow these steps:

1. Click and then Resize.
2. Click the new type of container.

The container is updated. Where you’ve reduced the number of columns, any controls in a deleted column are moved to the rightmost column.

Moving a Container

To move a container down, click and then Move down. The container moves below the container that’s immediately beneath it.

To move a container up, click and then Move up. The container moves above the container that’s immediately above it.

Deleting a Container

To delete a container (including all of its controls), click and then Remove. The Confirm delete dialog box appears.

Click Delete to confirm the deletion.

Adding a Control

To add a control to a container, click and drag it from the Controls list to the container. Drop the control where you want it to go.

Editing a Control’s Properties

To edit a control’s properties, follow these steps:

1. Click and then Properties. The Control properties section shows.
2. Edit the control’s properties as required. For a description of each property, see Desktop Controls.
3. Click .

Moving a Control (within a Desktop)

To move a control, click and drag it to where you want it to go, then drop it.

Duplicating a Control (within a Desktop)

To duplicate a control, click and then Duplicate.

A new control is added to the end of the current container column. This has the same properties as the duplicated control.

Deleting a Control

To delete a control, click and then Delete. The Confirm delete dialog box appears.

Click Delete to confirm the deletion.

Copying a Control (to Another Desktop)

To copy a control to another desktop, you must have the other desktop open in another view and it must belong to the same universe. Next, follow these steps:

1. Click and then Copy. The Confirm Copy dialog box appears.
2. In the dropdown, select the desktop that you want to copy the control to.
3. Click Copy.

A new control is added to the end of the specified desktop, in a new 100% container. This has the same properties as the copied control.

Moving a Control (to Another Desktop)

To move a control to another desktop, you must have the other desktop open in another view and it must belong to the same universe. Next, follow these steps:

1. Click and then Move. The Confirm Move dialog box appears.
2. In the dropdown, select the desktop that you want to move the control to.
3. Click Move.

The control is deleted from the current desktop, and a new control is added to the end of the specified desktop in a new 100% container. This control has the same properties as the original control.

Creating a Workzone

To create a new workzone and to associate your desktop with this workzone, click .

This button only shows where the desktop is not already associated with a workzone.

Publishing/Previewing

Any changes that you make to a desktop are not reflected at runtime until you publish the desktop. Publishing a desktop also publishes any scripts and data entry elements that the desktop uses.

Perhaps you’re not ready to publish the desktop for runtime but just want to preview how it’ll look. Syntelate XA allows you to do this too.

To publish or preview a desktop, follow these steps:

1. Click . The Publish dialog box appears.
2. Select whether to preview the desktop or to publish it.
3. Click Publish.

If any controls are missing required properties, an error message is shown. Fix these controls, and then click again.

Migrating the Desktop to Your Live Database

When you’re working in the Desktop Designer, you’re working on your test database. You must migrate your desktop to your live database before it can be used by agents.

To do this, go to Version Control in Syntelate Designer. Follow the instructions given in the Version Control section of this Help.