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26. Dialog Editor


This ResourceStudio reference chapter contains details about the 
commands and options found in the Dialog editor. For an 
introduction to ResourceStudio, see Chapter 7, "Adding Look and 
Feel with Resources." 


Dialog Editor

The Dialog editor (see Figure 26-1) is used to edit dialog resources. 

	

[Figure 26-1 The Dialog editor The Dialog editor displays the dialog box and its controls as they will appear at run time. To add a new control to the dialog box, select a tool from the Tool menu (or from the toolbox), then place the control in the dialog box by clicking and dragging. Controls can be moved and resized by clicking and dragging as well. Commands in the Controls menu can be used to center and align controls. The dialog box can be tested by choosing Test Dialog in the Dialog menu. For more information about using the Dialog editor, see Chapter 7, "Adding Look and Feel with Resources." DialogExpress As a new dialog resource is created, the DialogExpress dialog box opens (see Figure 26-2). DialogExpress lets you select a predefined dialog box type to use as a starting point for your dialog resource.

[Figure 26-2 DialogExpress Select dialog type Specifies a type of dialog box to create as a starting point for the dialog resource. Standard: Creates a dialog box with no controls. About box: Creates a dialog box with static text and an OK button. Standard, buttons on the bottom: Creates a dialog box with OK and Cancel buttons along the bottom. Standard, buttons on the right: Creates a dialog box with OK and Cancel buttons along the right edge. 3-dimensional look Specifies that the dialog box and controls should look 3-dimensional. File menu commands The File menu (see Figure 26-3) contains commands to save the resource file, edit resource IDs, and perform other miscellaneous functions.

[Figure 26-3 Dialog editor File menu Save Saves the resource file. If the file is unnamed, this command executes Save As. Save As Opens a Windows File Save As dialog box, which is used to save the resource file under a new name. Edit Resource IDs Opens the Resource ID Browser dialog box, used to browse and modify resource IDs. For more information about managing resource IDs and using the Resource ID Browser dialog box, see "Managing Resource IDs," in Chapter 7, "Adding Look and Feel with Resources." ClassExpress Runs ClassExpress, passing the filename of the resource file as the project that ClassExpress should open. This command is only enabled if the Dialog editor is running in the right pane of the Browser window. Close Editing Closes the Dialog editor. Edit menu commands The Edit menu (see Figure 26-4) contains standard editing commands. You can undo operations, and can cut, copy, paste, and delete single or multiple controls. Note that to select multiple controls, you must press Shift or Control while clicking the second and subsequent controls, or must use the selection tool to drag a box around the controls.

[Figure 26-4 Dialog editor Edit menu Undo Undoes the last Dialog editor operation. Redo Redoes the last action that was undone. Cut Copies the selected control to the Clipboard, then deletes it from the dialog box. Copy Copies the selected control to the Clipboard. Paste Copies the control in the Clipboard to the dialog box. Delete Deletes the selected control from the dialog box. Select All Selects all controls in the dialog box. Dialog menu commands The Dialog menu (see Figure 26-5) contains commands to control the grid, display tab stops, test the dialog, and check for duplicate control IDs.

[Figure 26-5 Dialog editor Dialog menu Grid Options Opens the Grid Settings dialog box (see Figure 26-6), used to set grid options.

[Figure 26-6 Grid Settings dialog box Width Specifies the grid point horizontal spacing. Height Specifies the grid point vertical spacing. Snap to grid If checked, controls can only be moved to positions which coincide with grid points. When controls are resized, horizontal and vertical sizes are adjusted to multiples of the grid point spacings. Display grid If checked, the grid is displayed. Grid Toggles display of the grid. Snap to Grid Moves the selected control to the nearest grid point. Display Tab Stops Toggles the display of tab stop numbers on controls. Tab order can be adjusted with commands in the Tab Order submenu of the Controls menu. Test Dialog Runs the dialog. End testing by clicking on a button with a resource ID of IDOK or IDCANCEL, or by pressing Alt+ F4. Check Duplicate IDs Checks the dialog for duplicate control IDs. If any two items have the same ID, the Resolve Duplicate IDs dialog box opens (see Figure 26-7).

[Figure 26-7 Resolve Duplicate IDs dialog box To resolve duplicate IDs, first click on a number in the Duplicate IDs list. The Used By listbox displays the controls that are using that ID. Click on Resolve One to automatically assign new IDs (with unique values) to the controls. Note that all static text usually shares the same ID; in general, this is acceptable and does not cause conflicts in the application. Controls menu commands The Controls menu (see Figure 26-8) contains commands to align, space, and center controls, and to adjust tab order.

[Figure 26-8 Dialog editor Controls menu Align Opens the Align submenu (see Figure 26-9). Before choosing one of these commands, select two or more controls and designate one as the standard by clicking on it while pressing the Control key.

[Figure 26-9 Dialog editor Controls menu Align submenu Left Aligns the left edges of the selected controls with the left edge of the standard. Right Aligns the right edges of the selected controls with the right edge of the standard. Top Aligns the top edges of the selected controls with the top edge of the standard. Bottom Aligns the bottom edges of the selected controls with the bottom edge of the standard. Space Evenly Opens the Space Evenly submenu (see Figure 26-10). Before choosing one of these commands, select three or more controls.

[Figure 26-10 Dialog editor Controls menu Space Evenly submenu Vertical Spaces the selected controls evenly in the vertical direction. Horizontal Spaces the selected controls evenly in the horizontal direction. Center Opens the Center submenu (see Figure 26-11). Before choosing one of these commands, select one or more controls.

[Figure 26-11 Dialog editor Controls menu Center submenu Vertical Centers the selected controls vertically within the dialog box. Horizontal Centers the selected controls horizontally within the dialog box. Make Same Size Opens the Make Same Size submenu (see Figure 26-12). Before choosing one of these commands, select two or more controls and designate one as the standard by clicking on it while pressing the Control key.

[Figure 26-12 Dialog editor Controls menu Make Same Size submenu Vertical Changes the vertical size of the selected controls to that of the standard. Horizontal Changes the horizontal size of the selected controls to that of the standard. Both Changes both the vertical and horizontal sizes of the selected controls to those of the standard. Tab Order Opens the Tab Order submenu (see Figure 26-13). Before choosing one of these commands, select a single control.

[Figure 26-13 Dialog editor Controls menu Tab Order submenu First Moves the selected control to the front of the tab sequence. Forward Moves the selected control forward in the tab sequence. Back Moves the selected control back in the tab sequence. Last Moves the selected control to the end of the tab sequence. Tool menu commands The Tool menu (see Figure 26-14) lets you select tools used to place controls in the dialog box. After selecting a tool, click and drag in the dialog box to place and size the new control. Once the control is placed, the Select tool is selected automatically.

[Figure 26-14 Dialog editor Tool menu Select Selects the Select tool. With the Select tool, you can select individual controls. You can select groups of controls by clicking in the dialog box outside of any control and dragging a box over the controls to be selected. Picture Selects the Picture tool, used to place a static image (a box, frame, or icon) in the dialog box. Text Selects the Text tool, used to place static text in the dialog box. Edit Control Selects the Edit Control tool, used to place an edit control (a textbox) in the dialog box. Group Box Selects the Group Box tool, used to place a group box in the dialog box. Push Button Selects the Push Button tool, used to place a push button in the dialog box. Check Box Selects the Check Box tool, used to place a check box in the dialog box. Radio Button Selects the Radio Button tool, used to place a radio button in the dialog box. List Box Selects the List Box tool, used to place a listbox in the dialog box. Combo Box Selects the Combo Box tool, used to place a combobox in the dialog box. Vertical Scroll Bar Selects the Vertical Scroll Bar tool, used to place a vertical scroll bar in the dialog box. Horizontal Scroll Bar Selects the Horizontal Scroll Bar tool, used to place a horizontal scroll bar in the dialog box. Toolbar commands The Dialog editor toolbar (see Figure 26-15) provides quick access to frequently used menu commands. Left-click on these buttons, except where noted.

[Figure 26-15 Dialog editor toolbar Undo: Same as choosing Undo from the Edit menu. You can right-click on this button to undo multiple operations at once. Redo: Same as choosing Redo from the Edit menu. You can right-click on this button to redo multiple operations at once. Cut: Same as choosing Cut from the Edit menu. Copy: Same as choosing Copy from the Edit menu. Paste: Same as choosing Paste from the Edit menu. Test Dialog: Same as choosing Test Dialog from the Dialog menu. Align Left: Same as choosing Left from the Align submenu of the Controls menu. Align Right: Same as choosing Right from the Align submenu of the Controls menu. Align Top: Same as choosing Top from the Align submenu of the Controls menu. Align Bottom: Same as choosing Bottom from the Align submenu of the Controls menu. Center Vertical: Same as choosing Vertical from the Center submenu of the Controls menu. Center Horizontal: Same as choosing Horizontal from the Center submenu of the Controls menu. Space Evenly Vertical: Same as choosing Vertical from the Space Evenly submenu of the Controls menu. Space Evenly Horizontal: Same as choosing Horizontal from the Space Evenly submenu of the Controls menu. Same Size Vertical: Same as choosing Vertical from the Make Same Size submenu of the Controls menu. Same Size Horizontal: Same as choosing Horizontal from the Make Same Size submenu of the Controls menu. Same Size Both: Same as choosing Both from the Make Same Size submenu of the Controls menu. Grid: Same as choosing Grid from the Dialog menu. Tab Stops: Same as choosing Display Tab Stops from the Dialog menu. Toolbox The Dialog editor toolbox (see Figure 26-16) provides quick access to the tools available in the Tool menu, plus tools for adding custom controls and user controls (not pictured). For more information, see "Tool menu commands," earlier in this chapter.

[Figure 26-16 Dialog editor toolbox Dialog box properties The dialog box has three pages of properties (four if the target platform is Windows 95). The General properties are shown in Figure 26-17.

[Figure 26-17 Dialog box General properties The Text field is used to specify the dialog box title. Styles properties are shown in Figure 26-18.

[Figure 26-18 Dialog box Styles properties Look properties are shown in Figure 26-19.

[Figure 26-19 Dialog box Look properties The dialog box font can be set by clicking on Set Font and selecting a font from the dialog box which opens. The Reset Font button resets the dialog box font to the system default. If the target platform is Windows 95, the dialog box has an extra page of properties, as shown in Figure 26-20.

[Figure 26-20 Dialog box Win95 properties See your Windows 95 documentation for more information. Picture properties Pictures (static images) have properties as shown in Figure 26-21.

[Figure 26-21 Picture properties Select a Type from the drop-down list. If you select Icon, you must also select an icon from the Icon drop-down list. Text properties Static text properties are shown in Figure 26-22.

[Figure 26-22 Text properties Type the static text into the Text textbox. Newlines can be entered by typing Ctrl+ Enter. Edit control properties Edit controls have two pages of properties. The General properties are shown in Figure 26-23.

[Figure 26-23 Edit control General properties Edit control Styles properties are shown in Figure 26-24.

[Figure 26-24 Edit control Styles properties Group box properties Group box properties are shown in Figure 26-25.

[Figure 26-25 Group box properties Push button properties Push button properties are shown in Figure 26-26.

[Figure 26-26 Push button properties Check box properties Check box properties are shown in Figure 26-27.

[Figure 26-27 Check box properties Radio button properties Radio button properties are shown in Figure 26-28.

[Figure 26-28 Radio button properties Listbox properties Listboxes have two pages of properties. The General properties are shown in Figure 26-29.

[Figure 26-29 Listbox General properties Listbox Styles properties are shown in Figure 26-30.

[Figure 26-30 Listbox Styles properties Combobox properties Comboboxes have two pages of properties. The General properties are shown in Figure 26-31.

[Figure 26-31 Combobox General properties Combobox Styles properties are shown in Figure 26-32.

[Figure 26-32 Combobox Styles properties Scroll bar properties Scroll bar properties are shown in Figure 26-33.

[Figure 26-33 Scroll bar properties Custom control properties These pages let you work with custom controls. A custom control resides in a DLL that implements the standard functions for manipulating and displaying the control. ResourceStudio can display a custom control as it will appear in your application. Custom controls have two pages of properties. The General properties are shown in Figure 26-31. Use the ID field to edit a custom control's resource ID. To change its style attributes, click Style; this displays the dialog box that the control DLL implements for that purpose.

[Figure 26-34 Custom Control General properties Custom control Extra properties are shown in Figure 26-32. You edit the initialization data for custom controls in this page.

[Figure 26-35 Custom Control Extra properties Working with custom controls Installed custom control DLLs provide ResourceStudio with the information it needs to display the control as it will appear in the application, and open the DLL's control-specific dialog box, with which you specify the control's attributes. To place a custom control in a dialog box: 1. Install its DLL using the Add button on the Controls page of the Preferences dialog box. 2. Click the button in the Toolbox that corresponds to the control, and drag it into the dialog box. Right-clicking on a custom control's button displays its name. 3. Use the General property page to specify the control's resource ID and style attributes. 4. Use the Extra property page to specify any initialization data for the control. At run-time, the control's window procedure receives a pointer to this data in lParam of the WM_ CREATE message. User control properties These pages let you work with user controls. A user control is any control that either is not implemented in a DLL, or whose implementation is non-standard. ResourceStudio can only display a user control as a box. ResourceStudio treats VBX controls as user controls. User controls have two pages of properties. The General properties are shown in Figure 26-36. You use this page to edit a user control's resource ID or change its style bits.

[Figure 26-36 User Control General properties User control Extra properties are shown in Figure 26-32. You edit the initialization data for user controlsin this page.

[Figure 26-37 User Control Extra properties Working with user controls To place a user control in a dialog box: 1. Click the user control button in the Toolbox, and drag it into the dialog box. 2. Use the General property page to specify the control's resource ID, style bits, and other information. 3. Use the Extra property page to specify any initialization data for the user control. At run-time, the control's window procedure receives a pointer to this data in lParam of the WM_CREATE message. Animate control properties Animate control properties are shown in Figure 26-38.

[Figure 26-38 Animate control properties Tree view properties Tree view properties are shown in Figure 26-39.

[Figure 26-39 Tree View properties Tab control properties Tab controls have two pages of properties. The General properties are shown in Figure 26-40.

[Figure 26-40 Tab Control General properties Tab Control properties are shown in Figure 26-41.

[Figure 26-41 Tab Control properties List view control properties List view controls have three pages of properties. The General properties are shown in Figure 26-42.

[Figure 26-42 List View Control General properties List View properties are shown in Figure 26-43.

[Figure 26-43 List View properties Look properties are shown in Figure 26-44.

[Figure 26-44 List View Look properties Hotkey properties Hotkey properties are shown in Figure 26-45.

[Figure 26-45 Hotkey properties Track Bar properties Track bars have two pages of properties. The General properties are shown in Figure 26-46.

[Figure 26-46 Track Bar General properties Track Bar properties are shown in Figure 26-47.

[Figure 26-47 Track Bar properties Progress control properties Progress control properties are shown in Figure 26-48.

[Figure 26-48 Progress control properties Up/Down control properties Up/Down controls have two pages of properties. The General properties are shown in Figure 26-49.

[Figure 26-49 Up/Down control General properties Up/Down properties are shown in Figure 26-50.

[Figure 26-50 Up/Down properties