Starting with version 5, the Format menu of the designer has been replaced by the Data and Settings menus.
The Settings menu gives you the ability to set properties of an entire spreadsheet, or rows or columns if either is selected, or individual cells or a range of cells. From here you can launch the settings dialog boxes or change the height of rows or width of columns. For information on the dialog boxes, refer to Spread Designer Dialogs.
The Data menu allows you to create groups (outline grouping) or sort data.
The Settings menu options are grouped under Spread Settings, Sheet Settings, Appearance Settings, Other Settings, and Designer Settings. The options are explained in the table below.
| Settings Options | Description |
|---|---|
| Spread Settings | |
| Spread Settings | When an entire Spread is selected, this allows you to customize properties of the FpSpread component. For more information, refer to Getting Started Designing and Spread Settings Dialog. |
| Sheet Settings | |
| Sheet | When a sheet is selected, this allows you to customize properties of the active sheet. For more information, refer to Adding and Customizing Sheets and Sheet Settings Dialog. |
| Appearance Settings | |
| TabStrip Editor | This allows you to customize the tab strip. For more information, refer to the TabStrip Editor |
| Focus Indicator Editor | This allows you to customize the appearance of the focus indicator. For more information, refer to the Focus Indicator Editor |
| Style Editor | This allows you to customize the style. For more information, refer to the Named Style Editor |
| Spread Skin Editor |
This allows you to create a skin for the Spread control. For more information, refer to the SpreadSkin Editor |
| Sheet Skin Editor | This allows you to create a skin for the sheet. For more information, refer to the SheetSkin Editor |
| Alternating Row Editor | This allows you to set properties for alternating rows (such as backcolor). For more information, refer to the Alternating Row Collection Editor |
| Other Settings | |
| Cells | When a cell or range of cells is selected, this allows you to customize properties of the selected cell or cells. For more information, refer to Setting Cell Properties in Spread Designer. |
| Columns | When a column or range of columns is selected, this allows you to customize properties of the selected column or columns. For more information, refer to Setting Column Properties in Spread Designer. |
| Rows | When a row or range of rows is selected, this allows you to customize properties of the selected row or row. For more information, refer to Setting Row Properties in Spread Designer. |
| GroupInfo | This allows you to create basic formatting for groups. |
| Input Map | This allows you to create an input map for the keyboard keys. |
| Designer Settings | |
| Save Split Bars on Apply | With this preference checked, Spread Designer applies the split bars and viewports to the spreadsheet; otherwise, the split bars would just be used while in the Spread Designer and lost upon applying. |
| Auto-Launch Designer on New Instance of Spread | With this preference selected, the Spread Designer is automatically launched when a new instance of the Spread component is placed on a Windows Form. |
| Allow Designer DragFill | With this preference selected, drag fill works in the designer. |
| Show Start-Up Screen | With this preference selected, the start-up screen in Spread Designer is displayed each time Spread Designer is launched. With this option toggled, the Spread Designer does not display that initial screen when launched. |
| Select Context Menu Automatic | With this preference selected, focus moves to the Drawing Tools or Chart Tools tab automatically if you insert a shape or a chart. |
| Show Property Grid | If this preference is not selected, the property grid is not visible. Unchecking this option makes the designer faster. |
| Show All Conditional Formatting Options | This option shows the conditional formatting with rules and the previous cell conditional formatting options when a designer file that contains the previous cell conditional formatting is loaded. |