Create GUI class and window

When defining the project resource, a design class and a window name have been defined in the project specification. In order to design a project window, the GUI class referenced in the project resource has to be selected in the class tree of the Designer . When the design class does not yet exist, a new design class has to be created by selecting Insert in the class tree context menu.

Now, an Insert Item dialog pops up allowing to create a new GUI class ( ADK_Class ), window or control. In order to create a new GUI class, the class name has to be entered in the key name field and ADK_Class has to be selected in the region list below.

In order to create a window or control for the selected class, select Insert from the context menu again, enter the window or control name in the Insert Item dialog that has been popped up and chose the appropriate region ( Windows or Controls ).

Instead of creating windows and menus one by one, the class might be initialized using predefined design patterns. In order to initialize a GUI class with one or more design patterns, select the GUI class in the class list and chose Initialize from the context menu. Now, the pattern selection dialog pops up, from which one may select any numbers of pattern classes by activating the check box in the list:

Standard design pattern classes start with _TPL_ and can be designed as any other class in order to provide standard design rules for an application (see also Design patterns ).

In order to initalize the main application window, one should select _TPL_TreeProject from the pattern list, which initializes an application with a main tree on the left side and a dynamic work area on the right side. In order to select the right pattern, one may select a pattern and click the Show button, which displays the current pattern design. More information about how to use the pattern one may get when clicking the About button.

After selecting the pattern(s) that should be used for the selected GUI class by activating the check box(es) in the list one may click Apply in order to initialize the class. This may take some seconds. After initializing, windows and controls shown after expanding the selected class should have become expandable. When this is not the case, refresh the class tree explicitly (context menu Refresh ). Now, one may expand the Windows and Controls region in order to start windows and control design (see also Dialog design and Control design ).