PROCOMM PLUS includes a very powerful scripting language called Windows ASPECT. ASPECT allows you to create applications centering around communications. DDE support provides a communications link between PROCOMM PLUS and other applications. Graphics support provides dialog boxes, buttons, icons, bitmaps, metafile and other graphic images!
Watch while we demonstrate the power of the ASPECT Script Language with a script that simulates a data acquisition system. Although our data in this demonstration is fictitious, the script can be easily modified to work with real-world data...
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ASPECT applications are not only limited to business. ASPECT's awesome graphical capabilities provide the building blocks for online and offline games. Imagine a graphical chess match between two individuals, both on opposite ends of the world.
Take a look at what that chess match might look like...
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PROCOMM PLUS features two utilities that make graphical scripts easy to build. The Dialog Editor lets you create dialog boxes to get input or display text. With the User Window Editor, you can transform the PROCOMM PLUS Terminal window into a graphical environment that replaces plain old text systems.
Let's first take a look at the Dialog Editor and a simple dialog box...
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Like the Dialog Editor, the User Window Editor is used to create graphical user interfaces. With the User Window Editor, however, you can create your user interface in the Terminal window. Let's load the User Window Editor and look at a typical user window application. Our application simulates what a graphical interface for a host system may look like...
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The Dialog Editor allows you to place all dialog box controls with the mouse and use the keyboard for fine tuning. In our dialog box example, we include some text boxes, an editbox, a listbox, and some pushbuttons. All of these controls are available from the Controls menu...
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You can run the Dialog Editor from the Tools menu in PROCOMM PLUS, or from the PROCOMM PLUS for Windows 2.0 group in the Windows Program Manager. Now that you've seen the Dialog Editor, a simple dialog box and some dialog controls, let's move on and take a look at the User Window Editor. Later on, after you exit the PROCOMM PLUS Tutorial, open the Dialog Editor and create some dialogs of your own.
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Similar to the Dialog Editor, you can use the User Window Editor to put pushbuttons, metafiles, bitmaps and other objects in your user windows. To place an object, you select it from the Objects menu and click the mouse in the location where you want to put the object. You can use the mouse to move your objects and the cursor keys to fine tune them.
Now that you've seen what a user window looks like, let's look at the Objects menu and see what other objects we can put in a user window...
