before

Topic group Related topics Example

The next object in the z-order of the form.

Property of

All form components and menus

Description

An object’s before property contains a reference to the next object in the z-order, in other words, the object the current object comes before. The z-order is the order in which controls are created on the form. It is the same order in which they are created; the same order as they are listed in the .WFM file. If objects overlap, the one that is later in the z-order is drawn on top, with the exception of Line and Shape objects, which are always drawn on the form surface.

The form’s first property contains a reference to the first control in the z-order. The z-order is a closed loop. The before property of the last control in the z-order points back to the first control.

The form’s tab order is related to the z-order. The objects are in the same order, but only those objects that can receive focus are in the tab order. All visual components in the form are somewhere in the z-order. Non-visual components, such as Query objects, are not in the z-order.

You must reorder the objects in the form’s class definition, by editing the code in the .WFM file or using the Form designer to visually reorder the objects.