Using the Store-and-load Mechanism
Go Up to Storing and Loading Properties
The description of a form consists of a list of the form's properties, along with similar descriptions of each component on the form. Each component, including the form itself, is responsible for storing and loading its own description.
By default, when storing itself, a component writes the values of all its published properties that differ from their default values, in the order of their declaration. When loading itself, a component first constructs itself, setting all properties to their default values, then reads the stored, non-default property values.
This default mechanism serves the needs of most components, and requires no action at all on the part of the component writer. There are several ways you can customize the storing and loading process to suit the needs of your particular components, however.