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Attached to Project: Koda
Opened by Chris Haslam - 18.04.2011
Last edited by Admin - 05.05.2011

FS#202 - Overcoming MS's confusion in styles for forms

MS‘s mess (discussed previously) is driving me nuts!

So for Styles of TAForm I suggest that you add some pseudo-styles. Some I think of: Title bar, Close box, Minimize box, Normal frame, Dialog frame, perhaps Modal.

There are two ways you could add them:

  1. Put them in the Styles tab, at the top of the list, or
  1. Put a Clearer styles for Form checkbox in Options | Designer. When it is checked, have Koda replace all the WS styles which are equivalent to pseudo-styles.

You have more experience than I do with these bloody styles. Perhaps there is no way to get around MS‘s confusion!

There is another way: document the translation from pseudo-styles to WS_ constants in Controls | Form. For that I would need your help.

Chris Haslam commented on 18.04.2011 03:28

The case that drove me nuts: a dialog box with a title bar and a close box, no other boxes, no sys menu.

Admin
Admin commented on 18.04.2011 10:36

Yeah, form styles :-) I'm still not sure that their logic implemented is correct...

The wholy idea of pseudostyles is ok, but possible ways of realization not yet. All style names an their values in the styles.xml, and with editing "TAForm" section you can have any style pairs you want. But logic of checkbox cross-switching is implemented internally for each control. So, probably simpler to implement some "Presets". When selecting this preset Koda will apply it's value to form and let to do remain work to internal logic.

Chris Haslam commented on 19.04.2011 02:36

Yes to Presets.

At the moment I am thinking that clicking on New Form might bring up a Presets dialog.

Perhaps they could be updated for an existing form by having the Presets dialog show from Tools | Presets... ?

Admin
Admin commented on 19.04.2011 07:19
Perhaps they could be updated for an existing form by having the Presets dialog show from Tools | Presets... ?

I though about presets somewhere in the object inspector. This way it's will be possible create not only form presets, but also other control-related presets. Maybe, even not only styles, but control properties too.

Chris Haslam commented on 19.04.2011 14:11

Object Inspector seems to me like a good place for Presets. Make Presets a tab?

Admin
Admin commented on 20.04.2011 14:28

This is open for ideas yet. I though about combo, but maybe some better design come in mind.

Chris Haslam commented on 21.04.2011 01:45

I am thinking that Presets might be an expanding item in the Properties tab of Object Inspector. I don't see how a combo box would work, because a user may wish, e.g., Close box and Minimize.

One possible simplification: no caption, no boxes ⇒ no title. Am I correct?

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