The Properties panel displays the properties of the selected element. The static, or fallback, values of properties can be manually specified here. This applies to properties that are intended to be static, or in other words not dynamically determined by an external source, like a UTag. For example, users may not want the text of a caption to ever change, but may desire the font color of the caption to change based on a process state. If the property-to-source binding of an element fails to produce an output, the value of the property seen on the Properties panel will be the fallback.
Property values are manually specified by entering text in a field, selecting from a drop-down menu, checking a box, or selecting from a set of buttons.
Note: when entering text in a property field, be sure to hit “Enter” when finished or click away from the selected field to properly apply the change.
Most property names are relatively descriptive. The effect that a property value has on an element can typically be determined by changing the value and observing the effect on the element.
By default, only the most commonly used properties of an element are shown. To display all of an element’s properties, check Advanced box.
The property list can be sorted using the sort buttons. The options are Alphabetical, In Use, By Category, By Type, and By Class.
One common reason to use the Properties panel is to adjust the default properties of controls in order to properly display tag values. For example, the Cylinder Tank control has a default range of 0-100. If the tag bound to the Cylinder Tank has a typical value range of 0-10, the control will not be of much use without modification. Controls that display tag values typically use the Minimum and Maximum properties to determine the range of values that can be displayed.
Most properties of XAML elements are standard .NET properties. For more information on .NET properties visit the Microsoft Developer Network website at https://msdn.microsoft.com (note: link to external website).