Xdialog Commands

Description

The following commands are available in Xdialog

Name: Description
{A}: Specifies an anchor point.
{AUTO_EXTERNAL_REFRESH}: Can improve the performance of Xdialogs.
{BACKGROUND}: The {BACKGROUND} command specifies the background color the dialog.
{BEGINEMBEDDED}: The {BEGINEMBEDDED} command allows you to embed an Xdialog within another Xdialog with in-line code, rather than using the {EMBEDDED} command to define a window within the parent xdialog in which the embedded dialog will be displayed.
{BLUEFRAME}: Draws a box around one or more cells of the Xdialog grid.
{CAN_EXIT}: Allows you to trap an attempt by the user to close a Xdialog box.
{CELLSPILLOVER}: The {CELLSPILLOVER} function allows you to dynamically reposition Xdialog controls to the prior cell on a row.
{CLOSE_ON_LEAVE}: Closes a modeless dialog box when the user clicks outside the Xdialog.
{COL}: Indicate the start and end of columns in an Xdialog.
{COLOR}: Sets the foreground color for some types of controls
{COLORPICKER}: The {COLORPICKER} control displays the Color Picker dialog and returns the hexadecimal value of the selected color.
{COMMENT}: The {COMMENT} command allows you to place a comment in-line with Xdialog code.
{COMPOSITED}: The {COMPOSITED} command enables double-buffering of the screen display to reduce or eliminate screen flickering.
{CONDITION}: The {CONDITION} command allows the display of Xdialog elements to be turned on or off, depending on how a logical expression is evaluated.
{CONDITION_BEGIN}: Make portions of an Xdialog visible.
{CONDITION_ELSE}: For adding additional cases to make portions of an Xdialog visible.
{CONDITION_END}: See the example below from {CONDITION_BEGIN}.
{CURSOR}: Allows you to specify a bitmap to use for the cursor when the mouse is over a control.
{DATA}: The {DATA} command is used to modify an entry in a list of choices?. It allows you to display one value in a list box or tree control, yet store a different value.
{DEFAULTTABSTOPS}: Refer to {TABSTOPS}
{DOCKABLE}: The {DOCKABLE} command is used in an Xdialog to turn the modeless xdialog into a dockable toolbar. It can only be used if the xdialog is modeless. i.e. if you use the UI_MODELESS_DLG_BOX()command.
{DRAG_BUTTON}: For internal use only.
{DRAG_HANDLE}: Specifies which bitmap to use for the "drag handle" when the toolbar is docked.
{EMBEDDED}: The {EMBEDDED} command embeds a modeless dialog into another modeless dialog.
{ENCODING}: The {ENCODING} command defines the encoding for text in the dialog.
{ENDCOL}: Refer to the {COL} command, example shown below.
{ENDEMBEDDED}: Terminates a {BEGINEMBEDDED} command.
{ENDREGION}: Refer to the {REGION} command. {REGION} Example shown below
{ENDROW}: Terminates a {ROW}
{ENDTAB}: Terminates a {TAB}, {DEFAULTTABSTOPS}, {TABSTOPS}, or {NOTABSTOPS} command.
{EXPAND}: The {EXPAND} command allows you to display a message to the user when the function that is populating a branch of a tree control takes a long time to respond.
{FIELDSELECT}: The {FIELDSELECT} command is obsolete.
{FONT}: Defines the font, point size, and style.
{FONTLIST}: The {FONTLIST} command displays a list of installed fonts.
{FRAME}: The {FRAME} command draws a box around one or more cells of the Xdialog grid.
{GROW_TO}: The {GROW_TO} command causes all controls in a region to grow to the same height (in a row) or the same width (in a column).
{HELP}: The {HELP} command allows you to add context sensitive help to an xdialog. If you do not specify the Help_Topic_Name, the topic id in the last {Help} command encountered is used.
{HSCROLL}: The {HSCROLL} command displays a horizontal scroll bar.
{HSIZER}: The {HSIZER} command allows you to stretch a docked toolbar to the left or right.
{HSLIDER}: The {HSLIDER} command places a vertical bar on the dialog that you can slide horizontally to increase the size of one portion of the dialog while decreasing the size of another portion.
{HTML}: The {HTML} xdialog command displays an HTML window using Alpha Anywhere internal HTML control.
{HYPERLINK}: {HYPERLINK} creates a button that looks like a hyperlink.
{ICON}: The {ICON} command is used in MDI modeless xdialogs to specify the name of the bitmap to use as the icon on the title bar.
{IMAGE}: The {Image} command displays a bitmap (.BMP), cursor (.CUR), or icon (.ico) image. This command is to be used with transparent images.
{IMAGE_OPAQUE}: The {IMAGE_OPAQUE} command displays a bitmap (.BMP) image. This command is to be used with opaque images that are drawn at the same time as the background.
{ImageViewer}: Allows you to load image from files on disk and view them in a window on an Xdialog.
{INCLUDE}: The {INCLUDE} function allows you to call Help_Topic_Name when the name of the help file has been dynamically calculated within the Xdialog.
{INITIAL_FOCUS}: By default the control that has focus when a dialog is opened is the first control on the dialog, however, you may specify a different control. The {INITIAL_FOCUS} command precedes the control that should have initial focus.
{INTERVAL}: The {INTERVAL} command is used to specify how frequently the timer event fires if a timer event is specified.
{JUSTIFY}: The {JUSTIFY} command controls the placement of a control within a cell in an Xdialog. The {JUSTIFY} command is typically inserted between {REGION} and {ENDREGION} commands.
{KEYPAD}: The Keypad Control is no longer supported.
{LF}: The {LF} command inserts one or more carriage return line feed sequences.
{LINE}: The {LINE} command draws a thin line vertically or horizontally for the specified number of rows or columns.
{LINKED}: Creates external dependencies between separate xdialogs.
{LISTVIEW}: The {LISTVIEW} control displays data from an Alpha Anywhere table, Access database, ADO compatible database, or ODBC compatible database in a grid format similar to that provided by Windows Explorer.
{LISTVIEWVIRTUAL}: The {LISTVIEW} control displays data from an Alpha Anywhere table, Access database, ADO compatible database, or ODBC compatible database in a grid format similar to that provided by Windows Explorer in a MDI child window.The {LISTVIEW} control displays data from an Alpha Anywhere table, Access database, ADO compatible database, or ODBC compatible database in a grid format similar to that provided by Windows Explorer in a MDI child window.
{MDICHILD}: The {MDICHILD} function declares the Xdialog to be a member of a new MDI window class.
{NEVERGAINFOCUS}: The {NEVERGAINFOCUS} prevents an Xdialog from being given focus automatically when it is instantiated. The user can still click on controls in the Xdialog and give them focus.
{NOCAPTION}: The {NOCAPTION} command suppresses the title bar of a dialog box. [Picture]
{NOCHILDREN}: Allows you to open new dialogs from a dialog without them being children of the first dialog.
{NOMOVE}: The {NOMOVE} command specifies that a dialog box cannot be moved. The command is used in conjunction with the {NOCAPTION} command.
{NOTABSTOPS}: If you use {NOTABSTOPS} then all controls after this command will not have tab stops. Refer to {TABSTOPS}
{ON_ACTIVATE}: The {ON_ACTIVATE} function sets the value of a_dlg_button and generates a virtual button click. This allows the event handlers in the %code% section to respond to external events.
{ON_CHAR}: The {ON_CHAR} command allows you to capture printable keystrokes. Contrast with {ON_KEY} which lets you trap non-printable keys, such as F2, or PAGE UP, or CTRL END.
{On_Clipboard_Change}: Fires an event when the Clipboard contents change.
{ON_DEACTIVATE}: The {ON_DEACTIVATE} function sets the value of a_dlg_button and generates a virtual button click. This allows the event handlers in the %code% section to respond to external events.
{ON_KEY}: Captures non-printable keystrokes and generates an Xdialog event.
{OVERLAY}: Creates an HTML overlay.
{PANE}: Refer to the {TAB} command.
{POSITION}: Defines the starting position for a dialog box.
{PROGRESS}: The {PROGRESS} command displays a progress bar.
{PROPGRID}: The {PROPGRID} command displays the type of control displayed below. The control provides a mechanism for displaying many prompts and accepting many inputs from the user.
{REGION}: Identifies a sequence of Xdialog commands that should be treated as a single entity.
{REGION_XMARGIN}: The {REGION_XMARGIN} command sets the left margin for the following region(s).
{REGION_YMARGIN}: The {REGION_YMARGIN} command sets the top margin for the following region(s).
{RESTRICT_DOCKING}: The {RESTRICT_DOCKING} command prevents a modeless dialog box that has been turned into a toolbar (by the inclusion of the {DOCKABLE} command) from docking. I.e. force it to always be a floating toolbar.
{RIGHTCLICK}: The {RIGHTCLICK} function responds to right-clicks. It is supported only by the Tree and List Box controls.
{ROW}: Refer to the {COL} command. Copied Example shown below.
{RTF}: The {RTF} command places an RTF text box on the Xdialog.
{SCROLLABLE}: The {SCROLLABLE} command allows an embedded xdialog to be scrolled within the window defined by its parent Xdialog. The {scrollable} keyword must be in the definition of the embedded Xdialog (not in the definition of the parent).
{SIZE}: The {SIZE} command sets the width of the dialog, using the units specified in the {UNITS} command.
{SIZEINDEX}: The {SIZEINDEX} command allows you to dynamically select between two sets of dimensions for a control. The {SIZEINDEX=} command turns off the command.
{SP}: One or more Button objects may appear inside the Format section of a UI_DLG_BOX() function.
{START_POS}: Resets the starting position of the current cell to the top-left of the previous cell.
{STARTUP}: The {STARTUP} command defines an event to fire when the Xdialog is loaded.
{STICKTO}: The {STICKTO} command defines which side(s) of the dialog box the control or region should stick to when the dialog box is stretched.
{STRETCH}: Allows the dialog box to be stretched.
{T}: The {T} function specifies a location for an anchor point {A}. Anchor points are useful when you want to accurately position buttons on a dialog using owner draw strings with tab stops. A primary application is in creating list boxes with resizable columns.
{TAB}: Tabbed dialogs allow you to organize your dialog into logical sections, and to pack a lot more information onto the dialog than a single dialog would allow.
{TabBand}: The {TabBand} command inserts a line of tabs into an Xdialog control. Each tab will display a different page.
{TABSTOPS}: All controls that come after the command will have tab stops.
{TEXT}: Displays text from a character variable.
{THEME}: The {THEME} command enables or disables XP Themes.
{TIMER}: The {TIMER} command generates timer events. The interval between events is specified by the {INTERVAL} command.
{TITLE}: The {TITLE} command can be used to create dynamic titles for Xdialog.
{TOOLCAPTION}: The {TOOLCAPTION} causes the dialog to display a special half height title bar when the dialog is configured as a toolbar. NOTE: To configure a dialog to display as a toolbar, the dialog must be modeless, and must include the {DOCKABLE} command. If the dialog is configured as a standard modal dialog (i.e. it is displayed using the ui_dlg_box() function), then the {TOOLCAPTION} command turns off the red X button in the title bar.
{TRACKBAR}: The {TRACKBAR} command puts a trackbar control on an Xdialog.
{UNITS}: Defines the units of measure. The default is inches.
Using the {Col} and {Row} Commands: In addition to the rather terse '|' column delimiter and ';' row delimiter, there is an alternate way to specify rows and columns which is similar to syntax used for tables in HTML documents. The {Col} {Endcol} command pair can be used to specify the start and end of a column, and the {Row} {Endrow} command pair can be used to specify the start and end of a row. Like the {Region} {Endregion} command, you can use an optional numeric digit with the command to help you keep track of which {Endcol} command belongs to which {Col} command, and which {Endrow} command belongs to which {Row} command. For example, {Col1} {Endcol1}. The {Col} {Endcol} and {Row} {Endrow} commands have the following rules:
Using the {Data} Command: Allows you to return a value other than the display value from a node in a tree control.
{VPAD}: The {VPAD} command applies to old style radio buttons. It sets the vertical spacing between the radio buttons. This command is not required if you use Freeform Radio Button Control Syntax.
{VSCROLL}: The {VSCROLL} command displays a vertical scroll bar.
{VSIZER}: The {VSIZER} command allows you to stretch a docked toolbar up or down.
{VSLIDER}: The {VSLIDER} command places a horizontal bar on the Xdialog that you can slide vertically to increase the size of one portion of the Xdialog while decreasing the size of another portion.
{WATCH}: The {WATCH} command monitors the value of a variable or expression and fires an event when that expression changes.
{WATCH_ACTIVE}: Monitors an array of variables and generates events when the one in the active window changes.
{WRAP}: Sets the word wrap width.
{XMARGIN}: The {XMARGIN} command sets the left and right margins of the Xdialog. Unless otherwise specified, the measurement is in terms of the default font, which is Arial 8 point.
{XPAD}: The {XPAD} commands sets the horizontal space between columns.
{XSIZE}: The {XSIZE} command changes the default horizontal spacing between controls.
{YMARGIN}: The {YMARGIN} command sets the top and bottom margins of the Xdialog. Unless otherwise specified, the measurement is in terms of the default font, which is Arial 8 point.
{YPAD}: The {YPAD} command sets the spacing between lines in points.
{YSIZE}: The {YSIZE} command sets the default vertical spacing between controls.

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