What is a Dialog box

1
What is a Dialog box?

• A Dialog box is a window or form that contains
  other child windows or controls that have a
  specific appearances and pre-defined behaviors.
  In many cases the appearance and behaviors of
  these controls can be modified by a program to
  enhance the usability of the control.
• The use of a dialog box can be as simple as
  displaying a warning message or it can be complex
  enough to represent an entire application. Its
  all up to the programmer.

2
Dialog Styles

• There are currently two basic techniques you can
  use to render a dialog with Comet.
• A popup dialog
• Standalone
• Usually modal
• Best for simple message exchange but can also be
  used for complex user input.
• A embedded dialog
• Child of the view window
• Always modeless
• Best for complex forms with many fields.

3
Popup Dialog

• A typical popup dialog contains a title bar, a
  system menu and user controls. It is modal in
  that the parent window (COSW or another dialog)
  is disabled and will remain so until the dialog
  is destroyed. The underlying screen may still be
  visible under the dialog.
• A popup dialog can contain a complex set of
  controls or it can display a simple message.

4
Fitting it all in Tabbed Dialogs

• Most applications manage far more data than can
  be displayed on the screen. For legacy Comet
  applications the solution to this problem is to
  break up the data into manageable groups and then
  display each group separately from the others.
  While this technique can also used in a windowed
  application, there are better ways to handle this
  problem.
• A tabbed dialog is a dialog that contains a
  tab control that looks and behaves in a manner
  similar to a notebook or binder. The user simply
  clicks on a tab and the page associated with
  that tab is displayed in the display area of the
  tab control. The display area inside the tab
  window contains the fields that pertain to a
  group of related fields. In the past, all of the
  controls for every tab had to be individually
  show, hidden, and maintained based upon the tab
  that was clicked. This is no longer the case.

5
Tabbed Dialog Layout

• A typical tabbed dialog will contain a tab
  control that will define the area that each page
  will be share. In addition, the dialog will
  contain other controls that are common to all of
  the pages the dialog will support.

6
Embedded Dialog

• A embedded dialog appears to be integrated
  directly into the COSW view window. This
  technique can provide seamless transitions from a
  legacy Comet application to a windowed
  application. There are two ways to display a
  embedded dialog. The first is to size the COSW
  window to fit the dialog. Because the user will
  see the window size change this is the least
  attractive of the two. The second is to leave
  COSW as is and blend the dialog into the existing
  window (preferred). The only catch to this
  method is that the window must already be large
  enough to contain the entire dialog.

7
What kind of Controls does Comet Support?

• The following controls are currently supported by
  Comet
• Buttons including PushButtons, RadioButtons, and
  CheckBoxes.
• Static Text
• Edit
• GroupBox
• ListBox
• ComboBox
• ScrollBar
• Spin
• Progress
• Tab
• Picture
• IPAddress
• ListView
• TreeView
• DateTimePicker
• MonthCalendar

8
PushButton Control

• The PushButton control is a round-cornered
  rectangle containing text. The text is centered
  in the control. The control sends a message to
  its parent whenever the user chooses the control.

9
RadioButton Control

• RadioButtons are used to select one of several
  options, usually within a dialog box. A radio
  button contains a small circle with text next to
  it. When selected, the circle has a smaller,
  filled circle inside it. Selecting one button in
  a set deselects the previously selected button,
  so only one of the options in the set is selected
  at a time.

10
CheckBox Control

• The CheckBox control is a small rectangle (check
  box) that has the specified text displayed next
  to it (typically, to the right). When the user
  selects the control, the control highlights the
  rectangle and sends a message to its parent
  window.

11
StaticText Control

• The StaticText control provides a convenient way
  to display text on dialog boxes and other
  windows. Static text controls often serve as
  labels for other controls.

12
GroupBox Control

• The GroupBox control is a rectangle that groups
  other related controls together. The controls are
  grouped by drawing a border around them and
  displaying the given text in the upper-left
  corner.

13
Edit Control

• The Edit control is a rectangular control window
  typically used in a dialog box to permit the user
  to enter and edit text by typing on the keyboard.

14
ListBox Control

• The ListBox control is a rectangle containing a
  list of strings (such as filenames) from which
  the user can select. The ListBox can be
  restricted to one selection at a time or it can
  allow multiple selections.

15
ComboBox Control

• The ComboBox control consists of either a static
  text box or an edit box combined with a list box.
  The list box can be displayed at all times or
  pulled down by the user. If the combo box
  contains a static text box, the text box always
  displays the selection (if any) in the list box
  portion of the combo box. If it uses an edit box,
  the user can type in the desired selection the
  list box highlights the first item (if any) that
  matches what the user has entered in the edit
  box. The user can then select the item
  highlighted in the list box to complete the
  choice.

16
ScrollBar Control

• The ScrollBar control is a rectangle that
  contains a scroll box and has direction arrows at
  both ends. The scroll-bar control sends a
  notification message to its parent whenever the
  user clicks the mouse in the control. The parent
  is responsible for updating the scroll-box
  position. Scroll-bar controls can be positioned
  anywhere in a window and used whenever needed to
  provide scrolling input.

17
Slider Control

• A slider control, also called a trackbar
  control, lets a user select from a range of
  values by moving a slider. The volume controls in
  the Windows operating system are slider controls.
  

18
Spin Control

• A Spin control (also known as an up-down
  control) is a pair of arrow buttons that the user
  can click to increment or decrement a value, such
  as a scroll position or a number displayed in a
  companion control. The value associated with a
  spin button control is called its current
  position. A spin button control is most often
  used with a companion control, called a "buddy
  window."

19
Progress Control

• A Progress control is a window that an
  application can use to indicate the progress of a
  lengthy operation. It consists of a rectangle
  that is gradually filled with the system
  highlight color as an operation progresses.

20
Tab Control

• A Tab control defines multiple pages for the
  same area of a window or dialog box. Each page
  consists of a set of information or a group of
  controls that an application displays when the
  user selects the corresponding tab.

21
Picture Control

• A Picture control allows the user to display a
  picture in your dialog. The developer can specify
  a bitmap or icon resource to be displayed in the
  control. The picture control can also be used to
  provide etched vertical and horizontal lines or a
  frame around other controls.

22
IPAddress Control

• The IP address control allows the user to enter
  a numeric address in Internet protocol (IP)
  format. This format consists of four three-digit
  fields. Each field is treated individually the
  field numbers are zero-based and proceed from
  left to right. For Comet users this control is
  pretty useless.

23
ListView Control

• The ListView control displays a collection of
  items each consisting of an optional icon (from
  an image list) and a label. In addition to an
  icon and label, each item can have information
  displayed in columns to the right of the icon and
  label. In report view each item appears on its
  own line, with additional information arranged in
  columns to the right. The leftmost column
  contains the small icon and label, and subsequent
  columns contain subitems as specified by the
  application. Currently Comet does not support
  icons in a ListView control.

24
TreeView Control

• A TreeView control is a window that displays a
  hierarchical list of items, such as the headings
  in a document, the entries in an index, or the
  files and directories on a disk. Each item
  consists of a label and an optional bitmapped
  image, and each item can have a list of subitems
  associated with it. By clicking an item, the user
  can expand and collapse the associated list of
  subitems. Currently Comet does not support
  bitmaps in a ListView control.

25
DateTimePicker Control

• The DateTimePicker control provides a simple
  interface to exchange date and time information
  with a user. This interface contains fields, each
  of which displays a part of the date and time
  information stored in the control. The user can
  change the information stored in the control by
  changing the content of the string in a given
  field. The user can move from field to field
  using the mouse or the keyboard.

26
MonthCalendar Control

• The month calendar control provides the user
  with a simple calendar interface, from which the
  user can select a date. The user can change the
  display by scrolling backward and forward, from
  month to month.