Enabling object selection in sample AFP files

You can change which AFP objects (text, overlays, page segments, barcodes, images) are selectable in the sample AFP file that is currently open.

When you click an object that is selectable in the sample AFP file, you see a red box around it. Then you can see the properties of the object and, depending on the mode you selected, act on it.

By default, each mode lets you select only the types of objects that you can act on. For example, the AFP Indexer mode lets you select text objects, but not overlays, page segments, barcodes, or images. The default for each mode is suitable for most purposes. However, you might want to temporarily make other types of AFP objects selectable so that you can see the properties of other AFP objects in the AFP file. In that case, you should use the enabling object selection function.

    Note:
  1. If you change the mode or open a new sample AFP file after you change the types of object you can select, your changes are lost and the default selections for the current mode are used.
  2. You cannot select AFP objects that are defined in a form definition, even if the objects are listed as a resource in the file-structure pane or you have enabled their selection.

To choose which objects are selectable in this AFP file:
  1. In AFP Visual Environment, open a sample AFP file.
  2. Click Mode and a feature.
  3. Click Resources ⇒ Enable Object Selection.
  4. Indicate which objects you want to select in this AFP file:
    • Click individual objects you want to select:
      • Text to select text blocks and to select barcodes that were created using fonts.
      • Barcodes (BCOCA) and images (IOCA) to select barcodes that were created using Bar Code Object Content Architecture (BCOCA) and to select images created using Image Object Content Architecture (IOCA).
      • Page segments to select page segments.
      • Overlays to select overlays.
    • Click All objects to select all objects.
    • Click No objects to clear all objects.
  5. Click OK.
  6. In the AFP file, you can now select an object that you made selectable and see its properties:
    1. Click an object.
      If you select an area that contains overlapping selectable AFP objects (for example, an area might contain both a BCOCA barcode and text), you see the Select an Object window so you can indicate which object you want to select.
    2. Right-click anywhere in the AFP file to see the properties of the object.
  7. Optional: To revert to the default object-selection settings for the current mode, click Mode and then click the current mode.
Parent topic: Working with sample AFP files