How to Create Panels

The following are the basic steps for building GUI panels with Rogue Wave® Views Studio. The panels are created in the work space of the Main window.

1. If necessary, choose New > Gadgets from the File menu in the Main window to create a new Gadgets buffer. The Buffer Type area should show Gadgets.

2. Make sure that the current editing mode is Selection mode. Drag the desired gadget from the Palettes panel to the work space.

3. If applicable, give names to the object and its callback function by entering them in the Name and Callback fields, respectively, in the Generic Inspector area at the bottom of the Main window.

4. If applicable, edit the object properties by double-clicking the object to open its inspector. After making any changes in the inspector, click Apply to apply the changes to the object.

5. If necessary, change colors and font resources of the object using the Resources editor located at the bottom of the Main window.

6. If necessary, align the object with the borders or other objects. Choose Align/Distribute from the Draw menu of the Main window, then select Alignment Panel to display the Alignment panel. The objects align on the first object selected.

7. Directly edit possible object values by first clicking the Active button

in the Editing Modes toolbar, then testing the object. To leave Active mode, click another editing mode button.

8. Repeat steps 2-7 for each object needed to complete your panel.

9. If necessary, click the Focus button

in the Editing Modes toolbar to define the order of a focus chain. The focus chain is the order in which objects in the window get the keyboard focus as you repeatedly press the Tab key.

10. Specify the size of the panel by choosing Fit to Contents from the Edit menu of the Main window.

11. Define how the objects will behave when the panel is resized. Click the Attachments button

in the Editing Modes toolbar. Attach the objects in the panel to the border guides or to other guides you create. You do this by clicking a middle handle of the object with the left mouse button and dragging a line to a guide.

12. Test the object behavior and its attachments. Click the Test button

in the toolbar and resize the panel by using the standard resizing mechanism of your windowing system. Click the Test button again to close the Test window.

13. Choose Save As... from the File menu in the Rogue Wave Views Studio window. A file selection dialog box appears for you to save the panel in a data directory of your choice. It is saved as an ASCII file with an .ilv file extension.