Using the Descriptor Properties dialog box
Once you have defined the ActiveX control properties you want to bind to or from an IGSS object, you are ready to change the static properties of the control. You may want to change the number of tick marks on a meter, the background color, the captions, etc.
Instead of using the list of properties listed in the Descriptor Properties dialog box, most ActiveX controls have their own properties dialog box that you can access directly from IGSS. This dialog box is described below.
Using the native ActiveX control properties dialog box
In most cases, an ActiveX control will have its own properties dialog box that provides a graphical interface to its properties usually organised into logical groups as shown in the example below. You open the dialog box by right-clicking on the ActiveX control on the diagram, then select Show ActiveX Control Property Pages. The native properties dialog box for the sample ActiveX control we use in our examples look like this.
As you can see, the properties are split into logical groups on separate
tabs allowing you to easily change the static properties of the control.
This view is often easier to use as opposed to the list of properties
in the Descriptor Properties dialog
box which are listed alphabetically. This means that you have to remember
the exact name of the property in order to change it.
Using the property pop-up menu
You can right-click each property in the Descriptor Properties dialog box to open a pop-up menu that allows you to change the property value, bind the property to an IGSS object value or get Help for the property.
Getting Help
To be able to use an ActiveX control effectively, you must have access to its documentation. In most cases, an ActiveX control comes with an associated Help file. In that case, you can access the Help file directly from IGSS. There are two types of Help available for the ActiveX controls that support it. They are accessed by right-clicking a property in the Descriptor Properties dialog box and selecting one of the items listed below.