Solution
Text ring controls and enums are similar in that both contain lists of strings paired with numeric values through which you can cycle. The major difference between the two is that enums require the numeric values to be sequential, unsigned integer values, while text rings allow you much more freedom in assigning a numeric value, as shown below in
Figure 1.
Figure 1. Properties window of a text ring control
As shown in the figure above, when the
Sequential values option is unchecked in a text ring, the user can set the
Values field for each of the items. The options for the numeric values are controlled by the
Representation selected on the
Data Type tab. As seen in
Figure 2 below, the values of the enum are required to be sequential integer values.
Figure 2. Properties window of an enum control