3D Buttons have more options than ever in 4th Dimension 2004.

You can insert a label, which is the title of the button in the Property List. The font, style, and position of the label can be set.

You can insert a picture icon as well. The picture must be of a four-row by one-column format, since the 3D button has four possible actions. Each row - from top to bottom - corresponds to the four states of a 3D button which are Active, Clicked, Roll-over (highlighted), and Disabled, respectively.

To insert a picture, select a Picture Source in the Property List. Then type the Picture Name/ID. To see examples of included 4x1 pictures in 4D, create a new Detail/List form with default Detail/List buttons in it. Then go to the Tool Box, under the Design menu, and view the picture library. The buttons added to the new form will show up in the picture library.

There are also different styles of 3D buttons:

- None -
The button is similar to an invisible button, but it has the new 3D button options such as label placement, a picture icon placement, and the pop-up menu.

- Background Offset -
This button style is compatible with older versions of 4D, so no new 3D Button options are available. Converted databases with 3D buttons will use this style by default.

- Push Button -
This style appears as a standard system button, but has the benefits of the new 3D button options.

- Toolbar Button -
This button style is designed to be used in a toolbar. It is displayed like an invisible button but changes to a system button when highlighted, and it has a property for adding a pop-up menu.

- Custom -
This style is displayed in similar fashion to a "None" style. In addition to the label and picture icon, it can have a background picture. The background source must be formatted or "framed" with one column by four rows to represent each of the four button states, otherwise different parts of the picture will show during different states of the 3D Button.
The custom style also has options to offset the icon, which gives a customized 3D affect to when the button is clicked. The horizontal and vertical margins delimit the area that the icon and picture must not surpass. This is useful if say a background picture is used has a border or shadowing and the picture and label should not overlap it.
The custom menu does not have a pop-up menu option.

- Circle -
This style displays a round system button in Mac OSX and is exactly the same as the "None" style in Windows except there is no option for a pop-up menu.

- Small System Square -
This is the same as the "Circle" style except a square is displayed in the button.

- Office XP -
This is similar to the "Toolbar Button" style except that the highlight AND background colors are based on system colors. For Windows the highlight only appears when the mouse rolls over it. For Mac OSX the highlight is always seen.

- Bevel -
For Mac OSX, this style is similar to the "Push Button" style except that it can have a pop-up menu. For Windows, "Bevel" is similar to the "Toolbar Button" style except that its triangle to denote a pop-up menu is at the bottom right of the button.

- Rounded Bevel -
For Mac OSX this style is similar to the "Bevel" except that it has rounded edges. This style is identical to the "Bevel" for Windows.

More information on buttons can be found in the 4th Dimension Upgrade Guide 2004, available on 4D's documentation page:
http://www.4d.com/support/documentation.html