The General tab in the Properties dialog for an object allows you to specify precisely the size and location of the object and to edit its name. However, its main use is to let you easily set some display criteria for the object.
Click on the Name box to edit the name. When an object is created, it is automatically given a name; you can change it to more descriptive name if required.
Click on the Initially Hidden option, if you do not want an object to be visible as soon as the page appears.
Note:
An Initially Hidden shortcut button is also available on the toolbar as a shortcut to making an object hidden.
Click on the Show after option if you want to show the object after a set number of seconds, then use the spin buttons to increase or decrease the time required in seconds.
Note:
You can also have an object show using a Show action.
Click on the Display for option if you wish the object to display only for a specific period of time, for example, to display a temporary message. Use the spin buttons to increase or decrease the time the object will be displayed for.
Click on the Top, Left, Right or Bottom options in the Position panel if you want to move an objects place on the screen. Use the spin buttons beside the option to move it one pixel at a time.
Note:
If you click and drag an object on the page, the position box will update the current position of the object.
Click on the Width or Height button in the Size panel if you want to change the size of an object. Use the spin buttons beside the option you want to resize to increase or decrease one pixel at a time.
Click on the Rotate box if you want to rotate an object by a set number of degrees. Use the spin buttons beside the box to increase or decrease the rotation one degree at a time.
Click on the Skew box if you want to skew (shear) an object horizontally or vertically by a specific percentage. Use the spin buttons beside the boxes to increase or decrease the amount of skew one percent at a time.
Click on the Ignore Transparent Area option if you only want the visible part of the object to be responsive to user interaction.
Click on the Stop mouse clicks passing through option if you don’t want objects underneath this object picking up and responding to any mouse clicks on this object.
Click the Mouse held down auto repeat option if you want the actions attached to the Left Mouse Down trigger to occur repeatedly until the user releases the mouse button or moves the mouse cursor off the object.
Note:
You must have set up a Left Mouse Down trigger on the object in order for this option to work. The list of actions set for this trigger will then be run repeatedly. This would be useful, for example, for a button to scroll text repeatedly, line by line, or for recreating the spin buttons used throughout Opus.
Click the Fix Objects to Page option if this object is in a Frame object and you do not want it to move when the user drags the frame.
This option is used when the object is in a Frame object. For example:
add an Image object to a Frame object,
tick this option in the Image object,
(make the frame smaller than the Image object by holding down the Ctrl key as you resize the frame)
make the frame draggable,
preview the page and drag the frame across the screen. The frame will move around the page but the image within the frame does not move.
This option is often used when you want the user to be able to magnify an image. Simply add a small image to a page and then create a Frame object containing an Image object as described above. Use a larger version of the original image in the Frame object. If the frame (containing the large image) is positioned over the smaller image on the page, then when the user runs the publication and moves the frame it will look like the smaller image is magnified!
Click on the Apply button to save your changes.