Specifies whether a form or toolbar is a top-level form or a child form. Available at design time; read-only at run time.
Syntax
Form.ShowWindow[ = nExpr]
Settings
nExpr
The settings for the ShowWindow property are:
| Setting | Description |
| 0 | In Screen (Default). The form is a child form that is placed in the main Visual FoxPro window. |
| 1 | In Top-Level Form. The form is a child form of the active top-level form, which can be the main Visual FoxPro window or another top-level form. Use this setting if you want the child form to be placed inside the active top-level form. If nExpr is set to 1 when the top-level form is the main Visual FoxPro window, Visual FoxPro automatically resets nExpr to 0. |
| 2 | As Top-Level Form. The form is a top-level form in which child forms can be placed. Note that a top-level form is always modeless, regardless of the WindowType property setting. |
Remarks
A child form is a form contained within another form. Child forms cannot be moved outside the bounds of their parent form; when minimized, they appear at the bottom of their parent form. If a parent form is minimized, the child forms are also minimized.
A top-level form is an independent, modeless form without a parent form, and is used to create an SDI (single document interface) application or to serve as the parent for other child forms. Top-level forms work at the same level as other Windows applications, and can appear in front of or behind them. Top-level forms appear on the Windows taskbar.
The Desktop property determines the behavior of a child form. If the Desktop property is set to true (.T.) the child form is not constrained to the borders of its parent form and can be moved anywhere on the Windows desktop. The child form doesn't appear in the Windows taskbar.