cObject
---cUIObject
------DfBaseObject
---------DfBaseWindow
------------DfBaseUIWindow
---------------DfBaseContainer
------------------DfBaseDialog
---------------------DfBasePanel
------------------------BasicPanel
---------------------------AppPanel
---------------------------cFlexTronPanel
The BasicPanel container class provides a top-level window for applications that is independent of all other windows. While BasicPanel objects can be used for creating simple non-MDI programs (usually test programs), objects are usually not based directly on this class. The descendant class, Panel, is normally used for instantiation. By default, an object of this class has icons for maximize and minimize, a resizable border, system-menu icon, and a caption bar.
Object MyPanel is a BasicPanel
Set Size to 100 150
Set Label to "My Test Panel"
Object F1 is a form
Set Location to 10 70
Set Size to 13 40
Set Label to "Name:"
End_Object
Object Dlg1 is a Container3D
Set Size to 30 130
Set Location to 25 10
Object F2 is a form
Set Location to 10 70
Set Size to 13 30
Set Label to "Id:"
End_Object
End_Object
End_Object
Send Activate of MyPanel
Start_UI
Use dfbase
Object object_name is a BasicPanel
set size to height width
set locate_mode to LocateMode
set label to title
set Border_style to borderMode
set Maximize_icon to true|false
set Minimize_icon to true|false
set location to vertical horizontal
set Caption_bar to true|false
set Icon to to IconFileName
set SysMenu_icon to true|false
:
End_Object
A typical application in DataFlex will consist of a single main panel that contains visual components that are bound within this panel. These components (which will comprise most of your application) consist of menus, tool bars, status bars, and a client area. The client area will contain a number of views (dialogs that are bound within the client area). This describes a typical Windows MDI (Multiple-Document Interface) application structure. Additional panels may be used which are not bound to the main panel (i.e., they can be moved off the main panel). These tend to be popup objects and will be non-modal tool panels or modal panels. Specialized classes, all descendants of the DFBasePanel class, exist for main, tool, and modal panels (Panel, ToolPanel, and ModalPanel). The Panel class (a subclass of the AppPanel, which is a subclass of BasicPanel) is used to create a main-panel object. Although objects can be based on the BasicPanel class, its main purpose is that of an intermediate class.
The text that will appear in a panel's caption bar is set with the Label property.
This label will also appear in the Windows task list. Normally your main-panel object should be the only entry in the Windows task list. If you need to create a panel that does not appear on the task list, you should base your object on the ToolPanel or ModalPanel class.
When an object of this class is resized by users, this object sends the onResize message to itself. This message is supplied with no definition as a "hook" procedure to use when some action, such as resizing child objects, is desired on resizing of this object.
The location of a panel is determined by the properties location and locate_mode. The defaut "smart" locate_mode will cause the panel to be centered on the screen unless a location is explicitly set. When no location is set, the panel is centered-usually a good default.
Properties are defined in this class to hold the object IDs of a child tool bar, status, bar and client area. None of these components is directly supported by this class and their property values should all be zero. These properties exist so that child objects may obtain these IDs and react accordingly. For example, a form placed inside this object will see that there is no status bar object for this object and not attempt to display status help. Full support for tool bar, status bars and client areas is added to AppPanel, which adds an MDI-support layer. This capability is inherited in turn by Panel.
When a program is about to be closed, several messages are sent to the program's panel object. First, a verification function (verify_exit_application) is sent. It is the responsibility of the panel to determine if it is appropriate to exit the application and return a zero value to close, and a non-zero value to stop the close. Once it has been determined that the application can be closed, a notification message is sent to the panel (notify_exit_application) indicating that the program will be closed. It is the responsibility of the panel to perform any special closedown activities. Both of these messages do nothing in this class. These behaviors are augmented in the AppPanel and Panel subclasses.