CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c++mfc
omatai
omatai

Reputation: 3718

Create a property sheet using a dialog template

I need to extend an existing MFC app with a UI that will end up very cluttered unless I use a tab control. However, the nature of the UI is that there are some controls that are global, and only some that can be localised to a particular tab.

The standard use of tab controls (CPropertySheet + CPropertyPage) more or less expects there only to be CPropertyPage instances (tabs) visible on the CPropertySheet object, and nothing else. There is a Microsoft Example Project that shows a single additional window painted outside the area occupied by the tab control... but it's not immediately clear how it is created/drawn/handled, and it is only one single additional window that generates few events (I guess it is painted, so there must be a WM_PAINT event handler lurking somewhere).

Is it possible to lay out a bunch of controls with the MS Dialog Editor, including a tab control, and create the CPropertySheet using that template, hook up event handlers in a nice way, etc... or some equivalent way of getting the MFC framework to do as much of the creating, drawing and event handling as possible when it comes to a situation like this?

Upvotes: 0

Views: 1601

Answers (2)

omatai
omatai

Reputation: 3718

There are at least three solutions paths:

  • Try to squeeze the situation into the CPropertySheet + CPropertyPage framework which does not naturally allow for additional dialog controls on the CPropertySheet object, and so you will get no framework support this
  • Place a tab control on an ordinary dialog, and then use the TCN_SELCHANGE messages to fire code that manually hides & shows individual dialog controls subject to the tab control (again no framework support, but this time "within" the tab control instead of outside it)
  • Follow Mark Ransom's observation that if you can embed one kind of CWnd-based control on a CPropertySheet then you can probably embed any such object, including a CDialog-based object that has been developed in the MFC Dialog Editor

All of these approaches are going to encounter challenges, and it will depend on the specifics of the situation as to which is better. But first you should really consider whether there is a cleaner UI design which would lend itself to a simpler solution.

In my specific case, I saw no cleaner design alternatives, and found it easiest to take the second approach. It left me with some reasonably simple calls to ShowWindow() to show/hide the controls inside the tab control.

Upvotes: 0

xMRi
xMRi

Reputation: 15355

Yes it is possible to create dialog templates and use them in a CPropertyPage.

Each CPropertyPage behaves nearly like a dialog and handles all events for the controls on it.

Also there are features like OnApply that help you to manage the data exchange between the controls and your internal storage.

The central CPropertySheet only creates the dialog that get active. So OnInintDialog for a page is called the first time when the page gets active.

In the MFC since 2010 are more possibilities than a CPropertySheet. You can create tabbed views, that again may be CFormViews. I don't like CDialog based applications so I would prefer a tabbed view in a standard frame with toolbar and menus if appropriate for the application. So another method to unclutter your UI is to choose the MDI interface with tabbed documents... but multiple documents maybe isn't what you want.

Here is a sample of an SDI application with multiple tabbed views. Also Coeproject shows some more samples here and with splitters and tabs here.

Upvotes: 1

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