Properties Dialog question (GUI programming)

[chip_ray1]

Hi all,

I'd like to create a dialog similar to the one in the VS project properties withcategories on the left and a frame on the right that changes depending on the one selected. Anyone done this before?

Options seem to be:

1.Load a dialog into a frame inside a dialog. Is that possible?

2.Have this one dialog packed full of controls that are hidden/shown as groups. I can't picture trying to design that and have itright with all those controls, but this sounds like the most likely solution.

3.Make an entire dialog box including the navigation pane for each option, and just hide/show the appropriate one.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Chip

[llynisa]

I have a rather large dialogue box with about 300 controls on it as the Main Menu for a large program - your Option 2. I have the controls in groups, and the controls or groups of controls that are not in play are greyed out as appropriate. I find this works very well if you have a large screen (mine is 24") and in my case, adding controls by editing the resource script in Notepad because the Wizard gives up after 256 controls.

The logic associated with this is is fairly lengthy and complex, but this is because the groups of controls are all very different in size and character. An essential ingredient of the logic is an Update routine that updates control states as soon as any change is made. It has been QA'ed and is a wonderful advance on the hodge-podge of separate menus that it replaces. I can recommend this approach.

I have no experience of yourOption 1, and am not quite sure how Option 3 iseffectively different from Option 2.

HTH

Bear of Little Brain

[chip_ray1]

Thanks for your response, it sounds like that's definitely what I'm going to do.