Adding States To a Multi-State Button

There are several ways in which new states can be added to a multi-state button:

Add States

The Add States option provides a method of adding states to a multi-state button by duplicating an existing state a specified number of times:

To add States to a Multi-State button, via the Add States dialog:

  1. Select a Multi-State Button in the Design View.
  2. Select a State in the State Manager window.
  3. Select Button > Add States to open the Add States dialog (FIG. 364):

FIG. 364 Add States dialog

  1. In the Number of States to Add (1-254) field, enter the number of states that you want to add to this button (max = 254). Alternatively, you can use the up and down arrows to change the number.
  2. In the State to Duplicate (1-<#>), enter the number of the state that you want to duplicate.
    • By default, the selected state is set as the state to be duplicated.
    • The state specified here will be used for all new states added via this dialog until this value is changed.
  3. Click OK to close the Add States dialog. The new States are added after the last state of the button (in the State Manager window).

Insert States

The Insert States option provides a method of inserting states into a multi-state button by duplicating an existing state a specified number of times:

To insert States into a Multi-State button, via the Insert States dialog:

  1. Select a Multi-State Button in the Design View.
  2. Select a State in the State Manager window.
  3. Select Button > Insert States to open the Insert States dialog (FIG. 365):

FIG. 365 Insert States dialog

  1. In the Number of States to Insert (1-254) field, enter the number of states that you want to insert into this button (max = 254). Alternatively, you can use the up and down arrows to change the number.
  2. In the State to Duplicate (1-<#>), enter the number of the state that you want to duplicate.
    • By default, the selected state is set as the state to be duplicated.
    • The state specified here will be used for all states inserted via this dialog until this value is changed.
  3. Click OK to close the Insert States dialog. The new States are inserted after the selected state (in the State Manager window).

Adding States via Drag-and-Drop

States can be added to a multi-state button via drag-and-drop in the State Manager window:

  1. Select a multi-state button in the Design View.
  2. In the State Manager window, right-click on the State that you want to duplicate.
  3. Holding the right mouse button, drag the selected State to the desired position. This will highlight a second (target) State in the State Manager window.
  4. Release the right-mouse button to invoke the State Manager Drag-and-Drop Menu.
  5. Select Insert copy before State <#> .

State Manager Drag-and-Drop Menu

To access the State Manager Drag-and-Drop menu, select a button state (thumbnail view), and hold the left mouse button down while dragging the selected state to another location in the State Manager window (FIG. 366):

FIG. 366 State Manager Drag-and-Drop Menu

The options in the State Manager Drag-and-Drop menu are described below:

    • Copy over State <#> - Select to replace the target (highlighted) State with the source (selected) State. This option is only presented if the Source (selected) State is dragged directly above the target (highlighted) State (FIG. 367):

FIG. 367 Drag-and-Drop replace icon

The remaining options are available if the cursor is placed either directly above the target (highlighted) State, or between two States (FIG. 368):

FIG. 368 Drag-and-Drop between icon

    • Insert copy before State <#> - Select to insert a copy of the Source (selected) State directly before the target (highlighted) State. In this case, the original Source State is left in place.
    • Move before State <#> - Select to move the Source (selected) State directly before the target (highlighted) State.
    • Cancel - Select to cancel the drag-and-drop operation.

Adding States from the Clipboard

States may be cut/copied and pasted via clipboard memory:

  1. Select the button from which the states will be copied.
  2. In the State Manager window, select one or more states.
    • Hold down the Ctrl key while left-clicking to add states to the selection.
    • Left-click + Shift to select a range of states.
  3. Press Ctrl-C to copy the selected states to the clipboard (or select Edit > Copy from the main menu or click on the Copy button from the main toolbar, or right click and select Copy from the context menu).
  4. Select a multi-state button as a target for the paste operation.
  5. In the State Manager, select the state prior to which the new states will be inserted.

NOTE: To add the copied states to the end of the series, ensure that no states are currently selected in the State Manager (or select the last state in the series).

  1. Press Ctrl-V to paste the states from the clipboard (or select Edit > Paste from the main menu or click on the Paste button from the main toolbar, or right click and select Paste from the State Manager context menu).

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