Wordperfect Quattro Pro

Reference: Using custom dialog boxes and controls

Once you have named a dialog box and given it a title, you can add controls to it. Each control is best suited for presenting or receiving a certain type of information. Most controls display a setting and allow you to change the setting.

Link commands perform dynamic actions in response to events. A link command can make a control do different things. For example, it can send a value to a cell in the notebook, send a value to another control, run a macro, close the dialog box, or change the zoom factor in the notebook. One control can have several link commands listed in the Object link dialog box.

The first list in the Object link dialog box (the Link event list) shows the event that you want to trigger the link command. More than one link command in a control can respond to the same event. The order in which the link commands display in the Object link dialog box is the order in which they run.

Understanding dialog box controls

The following table describes the most common controls.

Control	Description
Button	Performs a specific action when clicked
Check box	Provides two choices: Yes when enabled and No when disabled
Radio button	Typically used in a mutually exclusive list where only one radio button can be enabled at a time
Group box	Contains other controls, such as radio buttons or check boxes
List box	Lets you choose data from a list
Combo box	Lets you add items to a list box
Label	Lets you display text next to a control
Spin control	Lets you choose a value by typing or by clicking arrows and selecting a value
Edit box	Lets you type text
Vertical scroll bar	Lets you select a value from a range of values
Horizontal scroll bar	Lets you select a value from a range of values
Bitmap button	Lets you display a bitmap image instead of a label on a button, and then imitates the behavior of a check box, radio button, or push button
Rectangle control	Embellishes a dialog box, or groups two or more controls
File control	Lets you choose a filename and a browse button with access to all available files
Color control	Lets you change a color setting
Tab	Let s you create tabs on a dialog box
Timer control	Lets you add a timer, clock, or alarm to a dialog box

For more information about the functions of controls, see “Properties of dialog box controls.”

Examples of linking controls

You can create dialog boxes and forms with a variety of controls. You must link each control to an action before it can perform a task. For example, you can write a link command for a button that displays another dialog box when clicked.

Linking bitmap buttons

The following examples give you an idea of the items you can select from the events list, the link commands list, and the other lists in the Object Link dialog box.

Example 1: Displays the dialog box named Warning2 when the button is clicked.

Example 2: Hides the button named BitmapButton1 when the dialog box initially displays.

Linking push buttons

A push button runs a specified command when clicked by the user.

Example: Makes the list box named ListBox6 run any link commands attached to it that respond to the event trigger.

Linking check boxes

Example: Sets the text appearing by the check box button when the dialog box initially displays. The text is taken from the cell A:C23.

Linking combo boxes

By default, a drop-down list is created that has an edit field where users can enter information, or they click the down arrow and choose an option from the list.

Example: Sets the typeface of the label named Label5 as the user scrolls through the combo box’s list of items.

Linking edit fields

Example 1: Displays the point size of the active cells (or cell). This link command is triggered by another link command (see Link timer controls for an example of a link command that does this).

Example 2: As the user types text into the edit field, the text is copied into the active cell and stored there as a label (using the String_Value property).

Example 3: When the user types text into the edit field and presses ENTER, the text is entered into the active cell exactly as it was typed by the user.

Example 4: Sends the edit field’s value to A:A34 whenever the user presses ENTER. Using Number_Value ensures that the entry is always stored as a value.

Example 5: If the edit field is named EditInteger3, this link command sets the edit field’s maximum acceptable value to the current value whenever the user presses ENTER. This is handy for setting up an edit field that has no maximum value, but still has a minimum value (set by the Minimum property).

Linking file controls

Example 1: Sets the initial wildcard displayed by the file select control named FileCtrl6. All files with the extension .bdg are displayed.

Example 2: Sets the initial directory displayed by the file select control named FileCtrl6 to FILES on the C: drive.

Linking group boxes

Example: Sets the text of the label named Label5 whenever a different radio button in the group box is chosen.

Linking scroll bars

Example 1 (Horizontal scroller link): Sets the active cell to the scroll bar’s value.

Example 2 (Horizontal scroller link): Sets the initial value of the scroll bar to the value stored in A:C67.

Example 3 (Vertical scroller link): Sets the text color of the active cell (or cells) whenever the scroll bar’s value is changed. Make sure the scroll bar is restricted to the range 0 through 15.

Linking list boxes

Example 1: Sets the list displayed to the cells stored as a label in cell A:A25 when the dialog box initially displays.

Example 2: Sets the list displayed to the cells stored as a label in cell A:A25 when another control uses the link command TRIGGER to generate the trigger event.

Example 3: Sets the title of the pick list button named PickList5 to Blocks when the dialog box initially displays.

Linking radio buttons

Example 1: Displays the message stored in the cells A:A1..C3 whenever the radio button is selected by the user.

Example 2: Sets the initial text appearing by the radio button to whatever is stored in cell A:C3.

Linking spin controls

Example 1: Sets the shading blend of the active cell or cells. Make sure the spin control is restricted to the range 0 through 6.

Example 2: Sets the height of the rectangle named Rectangle2 whenever the spin control’s value changes.

Linking timer controls

Example 1: Tells the edit field named EditField6 to run any link commands attached to it that respond to the event trigger. Use this to create edit fields that constantly retrieve settings from the active object (cells, notebook, sheet, and so on).

Example 2: Displays a message stored in the cells A:A1..C3 when the time specified in the timer control’s Alarm Time property is reached.

Understanding link commands

The following table shows you the link commands available from the Link command list:

The {DODIALOG} macro command brings changed values to the notebook when you close the dialog box. However, if you set up a dynamic link, you do not have to close the dialog box to see the changed values. For more information about using {DODIALOG}, see “Using macros to display a dialog box.”

Understanding link events

The following table describes the link events common to all dialog box controls.

Some link events that trigger link commands are available only for specific controls. The following table describes link events for edit boxes, scroll bars, combo boxes, and timer controls.

Outline of control-specific properties

You can assign properties to a control by right-clicking it, and clicking Properties. The commands on the Properties menu listed before Dimension are specific to that control. All the properties from Dimension to the end of the menu are properties you can set for all controls. The procedure for assigning these properties differs from control to control. The following list identifies control-specific properties.

For more information about specific controls, see “Adding dialog box controls.”

Bitmap button properties

You can select a bitmap image from the systems list or display a bitmap image you have available from another source by using the Bitmap properties dialog box. You can also assign a bitmap button a behavioral identity from the Button type properties.

Push button properties

A push button can also imitate the behavior of an OK button or a Cancel button, allowing the button to close the dialog box.

Check box properties

You have the option of displaying a check box label to the left of a check box in addition to the default display (which displays the label on the right side.)

Combo box properties

One of the variations possible is to configure the combo box to prevent you from entering a value into the list. By default, combo box entries are sorted alphanumerically in ascending order. A combo box can also be set to display a history as the list of the combo box.

Label control properties

You can use the default font in a label control, or you can change the label font through the Label font properties. You can also change the word wrap features of the label and position of the text on the label.

Edit box properties

The input data can be characters, numbers, cell addresses, or you can make the typed data hidden. When you specify Integer as the field type, the control is renamed to Edit Integer. Default values for Edit Integer are 0 as the minimum value, 32,676 as the maximum value, and 0 as the initial (default) value in the edit box. You can configure the edit box to accept special characters, using the following chart for characters available:

You can set an edit box so that you can double-click the edit box, and point to a cell or cell block on a spreadsheet to add the cell references to the edit box.

File control properties

You can display a predefined list in the File list control. When you click the Browse button, the Quattro Pro open file dialog box displays. If the Dialog type property is set to Save, the Quattro Pro save file dialog displays. You can also prevent users from typing in the box.

Group box properties

When a group box contains radio buttons, its value is the title of the radio button chosen. By default, an empty group box does not have a value. A group box has a Value property and a Selected property. The Selected property indicates numerically which of its radio buttons is enabled, starting from the top-left radio button (zero) and proceeding to the bottom-right button.

When you create a group box, the Process value of a group box is set to Yes. The Process value of radio buttons in the group box are set to No.

Scroll bar properties

You can configure a scroll bar by setting parameters and changing the settings.

List box properties

You can use a predefined list or assign data in a cell block as the list in a list box. By default, the list displays with one column, but you can add more columns to a list box. By default, lists display in alphanumeric order.

Radio button properties

You can change the label of a radio button, as well as display the label on either the right (default) or left sides of the radio button.

Rectangle control properties

You can customize the appearance of the rectangle through the Rectangle control properties. The Transparent rectangle style is useful for grouping controls together without displaying the rectangle to which they are attached. The background color and the border color around the rectangle can also be customized.

Spin control properties

You can assign a range of values to a spin control through the spin control properties. You can also change the number of digits allowed to display by adjusting the integer length (the default length is 6).

Tab control properties

Once you add a tab control to a dialog box, you can then create multiple tabs (or pages) to help organize the dialog box controls. The Active page property indicates which tab is active. The Page list property displays commands for creating, removing, and reordering tabs.

Timer control properties

There are two ways to configure a timer control for generating regular events: as a timer or as an alarm.

A timer generates the timer event at regular intervals (for example, every two seconds). A timer control shows the current time. You can also use a timer control to run link commands at regular intervals or at a certain time. You can use timer controls to display the current time in a dialog box or on a toolbar. Timer controls do not have a value.

Two properties of the timer control are used to specify the number of milliseconds to wait between timer events, as shown in the following formula: Wait = Units in Milliseconds X Interval in Units

Units in Milliseconds is set to 1000 by default, so you can use the Interval in units property to specify how many seconds to wait between timer events.

As an alarm, the timer control generates the alarm event at a certain time. The toolbar must be open; for example, an alarm set for 3:00 will not generate an alarm event if the toolbar is not on screen at 3:00.

Example of using macros to display a dialog box

First, set up an area in the notebook that will send default settings to the dialog box. For example, in the following table for a loan payment dialog box, B1..B5 is a block that defines the initial dialog box settings:

This sets the default payment period to monthly, the default loan amount at 100,000, the default interest rate at 12.5%, the default term at 30 years, and the payment date at the start of the month.

After the initial dialog box settings have been entered in the notebook, you can enter a macro command that will display the dialog box and send the choices back to the notebook. Use the {DODIALOG} command to do this.

Each cell in the block (starting at the upper-left cell and proceeding row by row to the lower-right cell) sets the initial value of one control. If the dialog box is cancelled, the values in this block remain unchanged.

Here is an example of a {DODIALOG} macro command used to display a loan payment dialog box using the initial settings in B1..B5: {DODIALOG LoanData,B6,B1..B5,1}

This command displays the dialog box and sends (or passes) the initial values in cells B1 through B5 to the dialog box controls. If the dialog box is cancelled, it also sends a value of 0 to cell B6 ; otherwise, the value is 1. The final argument of the command specifies that you can manipulate the dialog box.

For example, if a dialog box has six controls, but you have set the Process value property of the third control to No, the setting block should be only five cells long. The values in the first two cells will be passed to the first two controls. However, the value in the third cell will go to the fourth control, and the values in the fourth and fifth cells will go to the fifth and sixth controls, respectively.

Setting the Process value property to Yes lets the {DODIALOG} macro command access the control’s value. The Process value property is available for many dialog box controls.

By default, the order in which you created controls is the order that the {DODIALOG} command sets initial values in a dialog box. The first control you created is sent the first value from the {DODIALOG} command, regardless of its position in the dialog box.

You can make this dialog box dynamic by adding link commands to each control so that the changes are immediately reflected in the notebook. For more information about using link commands, see “Attaching actions to dialog box controls.”

Reference: Using custom dialog boxes and controls