docs/latex/wx/ttab.tex

   1 \section{Tab classes overview}\label{wxtaboverview}
   2
   3 Classes: \helpref{wxTabView}{wxtabview}, \helpref{wxPanelTabView}{wxpaneltabview},
   4  \helpref{wxTabbedPanel}{wxtabbedpanel}, \helpref{wxTabbedDialog}{wxtabbeddialog},
   5  \helpref{wxTabControl}{wxtabcontrol}
   6
   7 The tab classes provides a way to display rows of tabs (like file divider tabs), which can be
   8 used to switch between panels or other information. Tabs are most
   9 commonly used in dialog boxes where the number of options is too great
  10 to fit on one dialog.
  11
  12 \wxheading{The appearance and behaviour of a wxTabbedDialog}
  13
  14 The following screenshot shows the appearance of the sample tabbed dialog application.
  15
  16 $$\image{8cm;0cm}{wxtab1.eps}$$
  17
  18 By clicking on the tabs, the user can display a different set of controls. In the example,
  19 the Close and Help buttons remain constant. These two buttons are children of the main dialog box,
  20 whereas the other controls are children of panels which are shown and hidden according to
  21 which tab is active.
  22
  23 A tabbed dialog may have several layers (rows) of tabs, each being
  24 offset vertically and horizontally from the previous. Tabs work in
  25 columns, in that when a tab is pressed, it swaps place with the tab on
  26 the first row of the same column, in order to give the effect of
  27 displaying that tab. All tabs must be of the same width.
  28 This is a constraint of the implementation, but it also
  29 means that the user will find it easier to find tabs since there are
  30 distinct tab columns. On some tabbed dialog implementations, tabs jump around
  31 seemingly randomly because tabs have different widths.
  32 In this implementation, a tab can always be found on the same column.
  33
  34 Tabs are always drawn along the top of the view area; the implementation does
  35 not allow for vertical tabs or any other configuration.
  36
  37 \wxheading{Using tabs}
  38
  39 The tab classes provide facilities for switching between contexts by
  40 means of `tabs', which look like file divider tabs.
  41
  42 You must create both a {\it view} to handle the tabs, and a {\it window} to display the tabs
  43 and related information. The wxTabbedDialog and wxTabbedPanel classes are provided for
  44 convenience, but you could equally well construct your own window class and derived
  45 tab view.
  46
  47 If you wish to display a tabbed dialog - the most common use - you should follow these steps.
  48
  49 \begin{enumerate}\itemsep=0pt
  50 \item Create a new wxTabbedDialog class, and any buttons you wish always to be displayed
  51 (regardless of which tab is active).
  52 \item Create a new wxPanelTabView, passing the dialog as the first argument.
  53 \item Set the view rectangle with \helpref{wxTabView::SetViewRect}{wxtabviewsetviewrect},
  54 to specify the area in which child panels will be
  55 shown. The tabs will sit on top of this view rectangle.
  56 \item Call \helpref{wxTabView::CalculateTabWidth}{wxtabviewcalculatetabwidth} to calculate
  57 the width of the tabs based on the view area. This is optional if, for example, you have one row
  58 of tabs which does not extend the full width of the view area.
  59 \item Call \helpref{wxTabView::AddTab}{wxtabviewaddtab} for each of the tabs you wish to create, passing
  60 a unique identifier and a tab label.
  61 \item Construct a number of windows, one for each tab, and call \helpref{wxPanelTabView::AddTabWindow}{wxpaneltabviewaddtabwindow} for
  62 each of these, passing a tab identifier and the window.
  63 \item Set the tab selection.
  64 \item Show the dialog.
  65 \end{enumerate}
  66
  67 Under Motif, you may also need to size the dialog just before setting the tab selection, for unknown reasons.
  68
  69 Some constraints you need to be aware of:
  70
  71 \begin{itemize}\itemsep=0pt
  72 \item All tabs must be of the same width.
  73 \item Omit the wxTAB\_STYLE\_COLOUR\_INTERIOR flag to ensure that the dialog background
  74 and tab backgrounds match.
  75 \end{itemize}
  76
  77 \subsection{Example}
  78
  79 The following fragment is taken from the file test.cpp.
  80
  81 {\small
  82 \begin{verbatim}
  83 void MyDialog::Init(void)
  84 {
  85   int dialogWidth = 365;
  86   int dialogHeight = 390;
  87
  88   wxButton *okButton = new wxButton(this, wxID_OK, "Close", wxPoint(100, 330), wxSize(80, 25));
  89   wxButton *cancelButton = new wxButton(this, wxID_CANCEL, "Cancel", wxPoint(185, 330), wxSize(80, 25));
  90   wxButton *HelpButton = new wxButton(this, wxID_HELP, "Help", wxPoint(270, 330), wxSize(80, 25));
  91   okButton->SetDefault();
  92
  93   // Note, omit the wxTAB_STYLE_COLOUR_INTERIOR, so we will guarantee a match
  94   // with the panel background, and save a bit of time.
  95   wxPanelTabView *view = new wxPanelTabView(this, wxTAB_STYLE_DRAW_BOX);
  96
  97   wxRectangle rect;
  98   rect.x = 5;
  99   rect.y = 70;
 100   // Could calculate the view width from the tab width and spacing,
 101   // as below, but let's assume we have a fixed view width.
 102 //  rect.width = view->GetTabWidth()*4 + 3*view->GetHorizontalTabSpacing();
 103   rect.width = 326;
 104   rect.height = 250;
 105
 106   view->SetViewRect(rect);
 107
 108   // Calculate the tab width for 4 tabs, based on a view width of 326 and
 109   // the current horizontal spacing. Adjust the view width to exactly fit
 110   // the tabs.
 111   view->CalculateTabWidth(4, TRUE);
 112
 113   if (!view->AddTab(TEST_TAB_CAT,        wxString("Cat")))
 114     return;
 115
 116   if (!view->AddTab(TEST_TAB_DOG,        wxString("Dog")))
 117     return;
 118   if (!view->AddTab(TEST_TAB_GUINEAPIG,  wxString("Guinea Pig")))
 119     return;
 120   if (!view->AddTab(TEST_TAB_GOAT,       wxString("Goat")))
 121     return;
 122   if (!view->AddTab(TEST_TAB_ANTEATER,   wxString("Ant-eater")))
 123     return;
 124   if (!view->AddTab(TEST_TAB_SHEEP,      wxString("Sheep")))
 125     return;
 126   if (!view->AddTab(TEST_TAB_COW,        wxString("Cow")))
 127     return;
 128   if (!view->AddTab(TEST_TAB_HORSE,      wxString("Horse")))
 129     return;
 130   if (!view->AddTab(TEST_TAB_PIG,        wxString("Pig")))
 131     return;
 132   if (!view->AddTab(TEST_TAB_OSTRICH,    wxString("Ostrich")))
 133     return;
 134   if (!view->AddTab(TEST_TAB_AARDVARK,   wxString("Aardvark")))
 135     return;
 136   if (!view->AddTab(TEST_TAB_HUMMINGBIRD,wxString("Hummingbird")))
 137     return;
 138
 139   // Add some panels
 140   wxPanel *panel1 = new wxPanel(this, -1, wxPoint(rect.x + 20, rect.y + 10), wxSize(290, 220), wxTAB_TRAVERSAL);
 141   (void)new wxButton(panel1, -1, "Press me", wxPoint(10, 10));
 142   (void)new wxTextCtrl(panel1, -1, "1234", wxPoint(10, 40), wxSize(120, 150));
 143
 144   view->AddTabWindow(TEST_TAB_CAT, panel1);
 145
 146   wxPanel *panel2 = new wxPanel(this, -1, wxPoint(rect.x + 20, rect.y + 10), wxSize(290, 220));
 147
 148   wxString animals[] = { "Fox", "Hare", "Rabbit", "Sabre-toothed tiger", "T Rex" };
 149   (void)new wxListBox(panel2, -1, wxPoint(5, 5), wxSize(170, 80), 5, animals);
 150
 151   (void)new wxTextCtrl(panel2, -1, "Some notes about the animals in this house", wxPoint(5, 100), wxSize(170, 100)),
 152     wxTE_MULTILINE;
 153
 154   view->AddTabWindow(TEST_TAB_DOG, panel2);
 155
 156   // Don't know why this is necessary under Motif...
 157 #ifdef wx_motif
 158   this->SetSize(dialogWidth, dialogHeight-20);
 159 #endif
 160
 161   view->SetTabSelection(TEST_TAB_CAT);
 162
 163   this->Centre(wxBOTH);
 164 }
 165 \end{verbatim}
 166 }
 167
 168 \section{wxTabView overview}\label{wxtabviewoverview}
 169
 170 Classes: \helpref{wxTabView}{wxtabview}, \helpref{wxPanelTabView}{wxpaneltabview}
 171
 172 A wxTabView manages and draws a number of tabs. Because it is separate
 173 from the tabbed window implementation, it can be reused in a number of contexts.
 174 This library provides tabbed dialog and panel classes to use with the
 175 wxPanelTabView class, but an application could derive other kinds of
 176 view from wxTabView.
 177
 178 For example, a help application might draw a representation of a book on
 179 a window, with a row of tabs along the top. The new tab view class might
 180 be called wxCanvasTabView, for example, with the wxBookCanvas posting
 181 the OnEvent function to the wxCanvasTabView before processing further,
 182 application-specific event processing.
 183
 184 A window class designed to work with a view class must call the view's
 185 OnEvent and Draw functions at appropriate times.
 186