[wxWidgets.git] / src / motif / mdi / doc / mdi.html

<HTML>

<HEAD>
<TITLE>Motif Multi-Document Interface (MDI)</TITLE>
<LINK REV="made" HREF="mailto:ssadler@cisco.com">
</HEAD>

<CENTER>
<IMG SRC="pics/mdi.gif" ALT="[Class Structure]">
<P><H2>
<B>
The Motif Multi-Document Interface
</B>
</H2>
</CENTER>

<P>
The Motif Multi-Document Interface (MDI) is a collection of C++ classes
that emulates the behavior of the Multi-Document Interface in Microsoft
Windows.  The MDI framework allows a user to view multiple documents (windows)
constrained to a single parent window.

<P>
<HR SIZE = 4>

<P>
<B>
C<FONT SIZE=-1>LASS</FONT>
S<FONT SIZE=-1>TRUCTURE:</FONT>
</B>

<P>
<IMG SRC="pics/classes.gif" ALT="[Class Structure]">

<BR>
Figure 1.  Inheritance Graph for MDI classes

<P>
The <I>XsMDICanvas</I> is a self-contained component used to display and manage
any number of child document windows.  All documents windows are derived from
the abstract base-class <I>XsMDIWindow</I>.  To get the Motif-like functionality,
document windows should be derived from the <I>XsMotifWindow</I> class.

<P>
<HR SIZE = 4>

<P>
<B>
E<FONT SIZE=-1>XAMPLE:</FONT> 
</B>

<P>
The process of building and displaying a Multi-Document Interface using MDI
consists of the following steps:

<OL>
<LI>Creating the application document(s)</LI>
<LI>Creating the MDI canvas</LI>
<LI>Adding the document(s) to the canvas</LI>
</OL>

<PRE>

#include "XsMDICanvas.h"
#include "XsMotifWindow.h"

// Application document (derived from XsMotifWindow)

class MyDocument : public XsMotifWindow {
   public:
      MyDocument (const char *name);
      virtual ~MyDocument ( );
   protected:
      virtual void _buildClientArea (Widget parent);
};
      
void createCanvas (Widget parent) {

// Create documents

   MyDocument *doc1 = new MyDocument ("doc1");
   MyDocument *doc2 = new MyDocument ("doc2");
   
// Create the canvas

   XsMDICanvas *canvas = new XsMDICanvas ("canvas", parent);
   
// Add documents to canvas

   canvas->add (doc1);
   canvas->add (doc2);

// Show the canvas

   canvas->show ( );
}
   
</PRE>

<P>
In this example, the application document <I>MyDocument</I> is derived
from <I>XsMotifWindow</I>.  This provides a Motif-like window suitable for
use with the <I>XsMDICanvas</I>.

<P>
Next, two <I>MyDocument</I> objects are created along with the <I>XsMDICanvas</I>.
The two documents are then added to the canvas using the <I>add</I>
member-function of the canvas.  Lastly, the canvas is shown (managed)
using the <I>show</I> member-function.

<P>
Creating the document <I>MyDocument</I> does not automatically create any
widgets.  Rather, it only initializes internal variables.  The widgets are
not created until the document is added to the canvas.  The <I>XsMDICanvas</I>
is responsible for calling <I>XsMotifWindow::_buildClientArea()</I> at an
appropriate time.  In this member-function, the application can create the
actual contents of the document.

<P>
The member-function <I>_buildClientArea</I> is passed a widget to be used as
the parent of the document contents.  This parent widget is an unmanaged
<I>XmForm</I> widget.  The application is free to create whatever contents
it needs as a child of the <I>XmForm</I> parent.

<P>
<HR SIZE = 4>

<P>
<B>
C<FONT SIZE=-1>LASS</FONT>
R<FONT SIZE=-1>EFERENCES:</FONT>
</B>

<P>
Of the classes in the MDI package, only the following should be of
interest to MDI library users:

<UL>
<LI> <A HREF="canvas.html"> XsMDICanvas </A> </LI>
<LI> <A HREF="mwindow.html"> XsMotifWindow </A> </LI>
</UL>

<P>
<HR SIZE = 4>

<P>
<B>
E<FONT SIZE=-1>XPLORING</FONT>
R<FONT SIZE=-1>ESOURCES:</FONT>
</B>

<P>
The MDI classes support a number of different X-resources (please refer
the the class manual pages for complete details).  In order to get a feel
for the customization capabilities of the MDI library, try running the
test program (<I>MDItest</I>) with the following command-line options:

<DL>
<DD>MDItest -xrm "*showBorder:false"</DD>
<DD>MDItest -xrm "*showTitle:false" -xrm "*showResize:false"</DD>
<DD>MDItest -xrm "*showMenu:false" -xrm "*showMaximize:false"</DD>
<DD>MDItest -xrm "*borderSize:4" -xrm "*buttonSize:14"</DD>
<DD>MDItest -xrm "*lowerOnIconify:true" -xrm "*title:Hello World"</DD>
</DL>

<P>
<HR SIZE = 4>

<P>
<B>
A<FONT SIZE=-1>DDITIONAL</FONT>
I<FONT SIZE=-1>INFORMATION:</FONT>
</B>

<P>
The test program <I>MDItest.C</I> gives a complete example of an MDI
application.  It should serve as a good reference/example of the MDI library.

</BODY>
</HTML>
Commit	Line	Data
8704bf74 JS	1	<HTML>
	2
	3	<HEAD>
	4	<TITLE>Motif Multi-Document Interface (MDI)</TITLE>
0d57be45	5	<LINK REV="made" HREF="mailto:ssadler@cisco.com">
8704bf74 JS	6	</HEAD>
	7
	8	<CENTER>
	9	<IMG SRC="pics/mdi.gif" ALT="[Class Structure]">
	10	<P><H2>
	11	<B>
	12	The Motif Multi-Document Interface
	13	</B>
	14	</H2>
	15	</CENTER>
	16
	17	<P>
	18	The Motif Multi-Document Interface (MDI) is a collection of C++ classes
	19	that emulates the behavior of the Multi-Document Interface in Microsoft
	20	Windows. The MDI framework allows a user to view multiple documents (windows)
	21	constrained to a single parent window.
	22
	23	<P>
	24	<HR SIZE = 4>
	25
	26	<P>
	27	<B>
	28	C<FONT SIZE=-1>LASS</FONT>
	29	S<FONT SIZE=-1>TRUCTURE:</FONT>
	30	</B>
	31
	32	<P>
	33	<IMG SRC="pics/classes.gif" ALT="[Class Structure]">
	34
	35	<BR>
	36	Figure 1. Inheritance Graph for MDI classes
	37
	38	<P>
	39	The <I>XsMDICanvas</I> is a self-contained component used to display and manage
	40	any number of child document windows. All documents windows are derived from
	41	the abstract base-class <I>XsMDIWindow</I>. To get the Motif-like functionality,
	42	document windows should be derived from the <I>XsMotifWindow</I> class.
	43
	44	<P>
	45	<HR SIZE = 4>
	46
	47	<P>
	48	<B>
	49	E<FONT SIZE=-1>XAMPLE:</FONT>
	50	</B>
	51
	52	<P>
	53	The process of building and displaying a Multi-Document Interface using MDI
	54	consists of the following steps:
	55
	56	<OL>
	57	<LI>Creating the application document(s)</LI>
	58	<LI>Creating the MDI canvas</LI>
	59	<LI>Adding the document(s) to the canvas</LI>
	60	</OL>
	61
	62	<PRE>
	63
	64	#include "XsMDICanvas.h"
	65	#include "XsMotifWindow.h"
	66
	67	// Application document (derived from XsMotifWindow)
	68
	69	class MyDocument : public XsMotifWindow {
70	public:
71	MyDocument (const char *name);
72	virtual ~MyDocument ( );
73	protected:
74	virtual void _buildClientArea (Widget parent);
75	};
76
77	void createCanvas (Widget parent) {
78
79	// Create documents
80
81	MyDocument *doc1 = new MyDocument ("doc1");
82	MyDocument *doc2 = new MyDocument ("doc2");
83
84	// Create the canvas
85
86	XsMDICanvas *canvas = new XsMDICanvas ("canvas", parent);
87
88	// Add documents to canvas
89
90	canvas->add (doc1);
91	canvas->add (doc2);
92
93	// Show the canvas
94
95	canvas->show ( );
96	}
97
98	</PRE>
99
100	<P>
101	In this example, the application document <I>MyDocument</I> is derived
102	from <I>XsMotifWindow</I>. This provides a Motif-like window suitable for
103	use with the <I>XsMDICanvas</I>.
104
105	<P>
106	Next, two <I>MyDocument</I> objects are created along with the <I>XsMDICanvas</I>.
107	The two documents are then added to the canvas using the <I>add</I>
108	member-function of the canvas. Lastly, the canvas is shown (managed)
109	using the <I>show</I> member-function.
110
111	<P>
112	Creating the document <I>MyDocument</I> does not automatically create any
113	widgets. Rather, it only initializes internal variables. The widgets are
114	not created until the document is added to the canvas. The <I>XsMDICanvas</I>
115	is responsible for calling <I>XsMotifWindow::_buildClientArea()</I> at an
116	appropriate time. In this member-function, the application can create the
117	actual contents of the document.
118
119	<P>
120	The member-function <I>_buildClientArea</I> is passed a widget to be used as
121	the parent of the document contents. This parent widget is an unmanaged
122	<I>XmForm</I> widget. The application is free to create whatever contents
123	it needs as a child of the <I>XmForm</I> parent.
124
125	<P>
126	<HR SIZE = 4>
127
128	<P>
129	<B>
130	C<FONT SIZE=-1>LASS</FONT>
131	R<FONT SIZE=-1>EFERENCES:</FONT>
132	</B>
133
134	<P>
135	Of the classes in the MDI package, only the following should be of
136	interest to MDI library users:
137
138	<UL>
139	<LI> <A HREF="canvas.html"> XsMDICanvas </A> </LI>
140	<LI> <A HREF="mwindow.html"> XsMotifWindow </A> </LI>
141	</UL>
142
143	<P>
144	<HR SIZE = 4>
145
146	<P>
147	<B>
148	E<FONT SIZE=-1>XPLORING</FONT>
149	R<FONT SIZE=-1>ESOURCES:</FONT>
150	</B>
151
152	<P>
153	The MDI classes support a number of different X-resources (please refer
154	the the class manual pages for complete details). In order to get a feel
155	for the customization capabilities of the MDI library, try running the
156	test program (<I>MDItest</I>) with the following command-line options:
157
158	<DL>
159	<DD>MDItest -xrm "*showBorder:false"</DD>
160	<DD>MDItest -xrm "showTitle:false" -xrm "showResize:false"</DD>
161	<DD>MDItest -xrm "showMenu:false" -xrm "showMaximize:false"</DD>
162	<DD>MDItest -xrm "borderSize:4" -xrm "buttonSize:14"</DD>
163	<DD>MDItest -xrm "lowerOnIconify:true" -xrm "title:Hello World"</DD>
164	</DL>
165
166	<P>
167	<HR SIZE = 4>
168
169	<P>
170	<B>
171	A<FONT SIZE=-1>DDITIONAL</FONT>
172	I<FONT SIZE=-1>INFORMATION:</FONT>
173	</B>
174
175	<P>
176	The test program <I>MDItest.C</I> gives a complete example of an MDI
177	application. It should serve as a good reference/example of the MDI library.
178
179	</BODY>
180	</HTML>
181
182