OK, I've calmed down since yesterday and am ready to try this again.  I've had to go back to a pre-"mini tabs" .dsr because I wanted to eliminate the customized navigation I had put into my application before I made the mini-tabs to hold the command buttons.

What I'm trying to do it this:  I'm creating the mini-tabs outside my larger tabs, on the greater form pallet.  Then I'm moving the command buttons onto the mini-tabs.  Then I'll move the whole thing onto my larger tab.

Here's my current problem:  I cannot get the command buttons to "center on parent element".  When I apply that setting the button jumps to the left edge of my form.  Is there a minimum tab size that Sesame needs to consider the tab a "parent element"?  The size I'm trying to use is 100x100.

Later I'll try the blocker-boxes again, see if I can get it to work today.  Thanks in advance for any help.

OK, thanks Bob, I'll do that...from now on.  So far I've managed 3 mini-tabs with what appears to be no problem.  What I wound up doing, to solve the "center on parent element" problem, was shoving the new tab all the way to the left of the screen, then placing the buttons on it.  After that the setting worked.

It looks like I'm still going to need defined navigation, though, because when I tab or "enter" around my main tabs focus still jumps to the mini-tabs.  Maybe building them on the larger tab, as you suggest, will solve this.