How To Change the Tab Order of GUI Controls

As you develop a form using the Gambas GUI, you place controls on the form as you go. These can be labels, text boxes etc. Some of those controls will become "tab stops", that is, when your program is run if the user uses the key, it will shift focus from one field to the next. By Default, the order in which it moves between fields is the order in which you have placed those fields (controls) onto the form.

If you later either add new fields, or rearrange the existing ones, it might not make sense to use the order in which they have been placed and you might want to change that order. Unlike other IDE form designers, there is no "Tab Stop" property. To achieve the same effect however, is very simple.

Choose the "Hierarchy" tab. This is right next to the "Properties" tab. Here you will see a list of all the controls on your form. The order in which they are displayed is by implication the tab order. Click on the name of the control you wish to change (or select it on the form) then choose the up or down arrow button to change it's order in the hierarchy. This will change the tabstop order.