Using the Increment and Decrement Buttons

The increment and decrement buttons usually change the ones digit in a numeric control. If you click an increment or decrement button and hold the mouse button down, the display increases or decreases until you release the mouse button. If you click the increment or decrement button, hold down the mouse button, and hold down the <Shift> key, the size of the increment increases by successively higher orders of magnitude. The value first increments by ones, then by tens, by hundreds, and so on. As the range limit approaches, the increment decreases by orders of magnitude, slowing down as the value reaches the limit.

To use the arrow keys to change a numeric display by a digit other than the default increment, use the Operating tool to add the insertion point to the right of the target digit.

Complete the following steps to practice using the increment and decrement buttons.

  1. Add a numeric control to the front panel window.

     Add  Find
  2. Using the Operating tool, click the increment and decrement buttons. The value increases and decreases by one.
  3. Click and hold down the increment button to increase the value repeatedly.
  4. Using the Positioning tool, resize the numeric control. Notice that the control can be increased in length only horizontally.
  5. Using the Operating tool again, hold down the increment button and press the <Shift> key. Notice that the value begins to increase by one, but then by tens, hundreds, and so on.
  6. Change the value of the numeric control to 10 by double-clicking inside the display window, typing 10, and pressing the <Enter> key.
  7. Click the increment button two times. The value increases by one with each click and the value is now 12.
  8. To increment by tens, use the Operating tool to add an insertion point to the right of the tens digit. Press the up arrow key to increase the value to 22. By placing the insertion point to the right of the tens digit, the increment value is changed to tens.
  9. Move the insertion point to the right of the ones digit, and click the increment button. The value increments to 23. Notice that the ones digit again becomes the increment digit.

Right-click a numeric control and select Visible Items»Increment/Decrement from the shortcut menu to display or hide the increment and decrement buttons. You also can use the Increment/Decrement Visible? property to display or hide the buttons programmatically.