Option Buttons - More Info

[Rob Parker]

I'm posting this follow-up to my previous thread ("Option Buttons")
separately, as it's really a summary of what I've found:

Optionbuttons from the Forms toolbar are hard to control - the group-boxes
seem to have a mind of their own, and using multiple sets of Optionbuttons
in close proximity is fraught with difficulty. Optionbuttons from the
Controls toolbar are easy to control, via the Properties sheet (second
top/left button on the Controls toolbar) - you can put them wherever you
want, and as long as you've given them different group names they won't get
confused about which group they're in.

Adding controls from the Controls toolbar is nearly the same simple drag and
drop as from the Forms toolbar, BUT you must be in design mode (click on the
green triangle symbol at top-left of Controls toolbar). Close design mode
to make the controls useable.

The less-controllable Forms Optionbuttons have a better on-screen appearance
(at least in higher resolution screens - above 1024 x 768). They are larger
(the ring is 26 pixels high and wide, as against 23 pixels for the Controls
optionbuttons), and the central dot for the selected button is also larger
(14 pixels across, as against 7); this last difference makes the selected
(Controls toolbar) button rather hard to pick out in a high-res screen.

Why are they different? No idea - maybe it's part of the Microsoft ethic:
"Making you work the way we want you to!" <grin>

HTH,

Rob

 

[sebastienm]

IMHO:
-On the programming side, the activex controls (the one from the Control
Toolbox) are easier to handle.
-For the excel user, the Forms ones are easier to set up: no code needed,
you can set up an input list of values and a return value through the Format
Contol dialog. (while for the Control Toolbox ones , you have to show their
Property WIndow separately from the Format COntrol).

- one BIG thing about the Forms control in my opinion, is that you can place
them on CHart Sheets while you cannot do that with the activex controls.
- i have heard that the activex are heavier and take more resources ... but
haven't tested ( 100 activex on a sheet vs 100 Forms ones.)
- also, can't remember what it was, but i believe there was issues
concerning publishing excel sheet on the web or converting sheets to html
with one of these control set.

Regards,
Sebastien