While there is no fixed way to design a dialogbox, here's one suggested sequence: V
1.In design
mode, work with the dialogbox large enough so that you won't be crowded.
2.From the Add menu, select a control to add. This will bring up a dialog where you can enter the necessary information. Use the online help (F1 key) if you have a question as to what goes in a particular field. When the OK button is pressed, the control will appear in the lower right corner of the design box. The control is then positioned by dragging it with the mouse, or by using the arrow keys (Shift+arrow moves a little faster). Work in the upper left corner of the box. !
3.Continue adding controls as desired. At any time, controls can be repositioned or sized with the mouse. If something other than position or size needs changing, select the control and from the Edit menu choose Edit Selected (or use F7). This will bring up its dialogbox for changes.
4.When all the controls have been added and positioned, size the box to fit and move it to the desired location on the desktop. Be sure and add a title (Dialog Parameters from the Edit menu).
5.Enter Try Mode with the F9 key and test the dialogbox. Be sure to check how the controls sequence using the Tab key. Exit Try mode with Esc or click on the close box.
6.If the Tab sequence needs changing, use F8 to enter ordering mode. With the mouse, click on each control to establish the desired order. Exit back to design mode with F8. "
Changing the sequence without a mouse is a little more complicated. Use the Tab key to select (highlight) the next control to be sequenced. Then press the Enter key to enter the selected control into the sequence. After all controls have been entered, exit back to design mode with F8.
Some controls (such as Static Text, and Labels) don't enter into the tab sequence of a dialogbox. You can order these if it's convenient, but the order won't effect the final results. /
Be sure to recheck the tab order in Try
mode.
7.This is a good time to save your work. Choose Save or Save As from the File menu to create or update a .DLG file. Any file with the same name will be renamed with a .BKP extension.
8.You can preview the source code to be generated by choosing Write Source to Screen from the Operations menu. The code will appear in a viewer window. H
9.To create source code for your dialogbox, choose Write Source to File from the Operations menu and choose a filename (.SRC is the default extension). The source code produced will consist of a dialogbox definition function and a data record with fields matching those required by the dialogbox's SetData and GetData methods.
The .SRC file generated may be inserted directly into TESTCASE.PAS (at the line of asterisks) to provide a program to test the dialogbox.
10.To generate a resource file or add the new dialogbox to an existing resource or EXE file, choose Write
Resource from the Operation menu.
Design Mode
Dialog Design begins in design mode and this is the mode that you use for all layout work and editing. In design mode, the dialogbox doesn't look or act quite like it will in the final design. Here's some of the differences: ]
A 'canvas' background is used to better delineate the actual space occupied by the control. )
Controls are colored red when selected. $
Multiple controls may be selected. B
All controls may be selected even those not normally selectable.
Dialog Parameters
Allows entering/changing the title of the dialog box and other dialog box parameters.
The Dialog's title is entered here.
When Dialog Design writes source code for your dialog, it writes a function named MakeDialog by default. You can specify another name here. `
If the function will be used as a method, precede the function name with the object's name as:
TMyProgram.MakeFileDialog
When Dialog Design writes source code for a dialogbox, it defines a record to be used with the dialogbox's SetData and GetData methods. By default, the name 'DataRec' is used. M
To eliminate name conflicts, you may want to change the name in this field.
Enter any reminder notes here (up to 512 characters).
Edit Selected
Allows editing the selected control.
Delete Selected
Deletes the selected control.
Select All (F4)
Selects all the controls.
To select most of the controls in the dialog, it's usually easiest to select them all and then, holding down the shift key, unselect those not wanted by clicking on them with the mouse.
See also Selecting
Controls.
Selecting Controls
A single control may be selected with the mouse by clicking on it. To select a control with the keyboard, use Tab or ShiftTab until it is highlighted.
To select multiple controls, select the first, then hold down the shift key while clicking on the others. Note that, in this mode, clicking toggles selection on and off so it's possible to deselect as well as select. K
To select all controls, use F4 or choose 'Select All' from the Edit menu.
Resizing a Control
To resize a control first select it then click and drag on its lower right corner. Note that some controls only size in one dimension and all have a minimum size. i
You can also change a control's size by changing the width and height fields in the control's edit
box.
Editing a Control
To edit a control, double click it with the left button or click on it with the right button. Or select it with the Tab key and press F7. Either way brings up the control's Add/Edit dialog.
Moving Controls
To move controls, select the controls to be moved, then click on any one of them and, without releasing the button, drag the group to the desired position. 3
The group may also be moved using the arrow keys.
When Dialog Design writes source code for a dialogbox, it defines a record to be used with the dialogbox's SetData and GetData methods. This entry is the name for this control's field. Initially, a unique symbol of the form FieldXXX is generated here. You will probably want to change the ID to something that better describes the field.
The help context identifier and value are entered here. Alternatively, if you have loaded a help
context
definition
file, click on the '*' (or type '*' in the help context field) to bring up a pick list of choices.
Help Context Definition File
If you will be using a context sensitive help file, the definition file may be read in using the menu selection alt-O/H. You will then be able to select help context ID's from a pick list when adding controls to the dialogbox.
This file should be in the format generated by Borland's help compiler, TVHC. For demonstration purposes, try DEMOHELP.PAS (normally in the TVDEMOS directory).
By default, the proper pointer name for the standard TVision control is already entered in this field. If you wish to use a derived control similar to one of the TVision controls, change the pointer name to that for your control. The name entered will be used when generating the dialogbox source code. Depending on what changes you've made, you may also have to do some editing of the generated source code. c
Please be aware that only standard TVision controls can be used if a resource is to be generated.
The button's command ID and value are entered here. Alternatively, click on the '*' (or type '*' in the Command field) to bring up a pick list of common choices.
Enter the width here. If 0 is entered, Dialog Design will set the width to fit the text.
Up to 255 characters may be entered. For a short text selection, entering all on a single line is appropriate. For longer texts, you may want to indicate where line breaks should occur. n
Entering zero for the width and height will tell Dialog Design to select a width and height to fit the text.
You can specify the field width and height here but usually the easiest way is to just enter zero in these fields and Dialog Design will find the size to fit.
(.txt)