Three-Dimensional Effects in Frame Controls

The following image is an example of three-dimensional (3D) effects in a Frame control:

The following table lists the properties defined in the Frame class that enable you to create three-dimensional effects.

Region Property Description
Black border borderStyle The frame can be enclosed with a border.
Outer bevel rectangle bevelOuter, bevelOuterWidth The outer bevel can be empty, inset, or raised.
Second outer rectangle boundaryWidth, boundaryColor, boundaryBrush The boundary region between the inner and the outer bevels can be empty. It can also be a plain color or a dotted pattern.
Inner bevel rectangle bevelInner, bevelInnerWidth The inner bevel can be empty, inset, or raised.
Half of outer and inner bevel rectangles bevelColor The color of the bevel section. The position depends on whether the bevel is inset or raised.
Half of outer and inner bevel rectangles bevelShadowColor The color of the bevel shadow section. The position depends on whether the bevel is inset or raised.
Rectangle containing text backColor, alignment, caption, foreColor The actual client area of the frame surface, where any child controls are placed.

A frame also has properties that are designed to automatically resize the frame and its children when the container of the frame is resized. For a frame or status line control, the position (0,0) is the top left of the area inside the 3D frame. Controls with the frame as its parent are not painted in the border area.

The position (0,0) is the top left corner of the client area. Mouse positions are also relative to this, and negative position values may result when the mouse is in the top or left border area.