- How to add new bitmaps to wxWindows UI elements
+ How to add new bitmaps to wxWidgets UI elements
===============================================
0. Introduction
resource file (include/wx/msw/wx.rc) or by including XPM files in the code.
wxArtProvider should be used instead, to allow users to customize the look of
-their wxWindows app. This technote is a detailed description of steps needed
+their wxWidgets app. This technote is a detailed description of steps needed
when adding new bitmap/icon.
1. Adding new resource
First of all, you have to add new wxArtID constant to include/wx/artprov.h.
Look for "Art IDs" and add new definition to the list, e.g.
- #define wxART_MY_BITMAP _T("my_bitmap")
-
-Add it to docs/latex/wx/artprov.tex, too.
+ #define wxART_MY_BITMAP wxART_MAKE_ART_ID(wxART_MY_BITMAP)
+
+Add it to interface/wx/artprov.h, too.
It may happen that the intended use of the new resource doesn't fit into any
of defined client categories (search for "Art clients" in the header). In case
the new resource is part of a larger category, you need to define a new
client. Just add it to the list of existing clients (and don't forget to
update artprov.tex):
- #define wxART_MY_CLIENT _T("my_client_C")
-(Note that you *have* to add the trailing "_C"!)
+ #define wxART_MY_CLIENT wxART_MAKE_CLIENT_ID(wxART_MY_CLIENT)
Alternatively, you may use wxART_OTHER when accessing the resource if the
bitmap is standalone.
can be used by users, not only the library.
Finally, wxDefaultArtProvider in $(wx)/src/common/artstd.cpp must be updated.
-This consists of two steps:
+This consists of two steps:
a) add #include line for your XPM file, e.g. #include "../../art/my_bmp.xpm"
b) add ART(...) line to wxDefaultArtProvider::CreateBitmap(). The first
Note: there's no difference between icons and bitmaps, always treat them as
bitmaps inside wx(Default)ArtProvider.
+1b. Adding Tango version of the resource.
+-----------------------------------------
+
+While all the bitmaps are provided in XPM format so that they are available in
+all builds of wxWidgets, we also provide most of them in PNG format with full
+transparency support that is not available in XPM. Another advantage of the PNG
+versions is that the icons used are those of the Tango project and so have the
+consistent look, unlike the XPM ones.
+
+So if you an icon exists in http://tango.freedesktop.org/Tango_Icon_Gallery you
+should add it too. For this you need to:
+
+1. Convert the PNG to a C array of bytes suitable for inclusion in the code.
+ This is done using misc/scripts/png2c.py script, e.g. if the variable "f"
+ contains the name of the icon you want to add and you have installed Tango
+ icons in a standard location under a Linux system:
+
+ ./misc/scripts/png2c.py -s /usr/share/icons/Tango/{16x16,24x24}/*/$f.png >
+ art/tango/${f//-/_}.h
+
+ Of course, the same command may be ran with different paths under Windows.
+ Just remember to add both 16 and 24 pixel versions of the bitmap to the
+ header and use the "-s" option to embed the image size in its array name.
+
+2. Add #include for the newly created file to src/common/arttango.cpp.
+
+3. Add an entry to s_allBitmaps array in the same file.
+
+
2. Accessing the resource
-------------------------
-------------------
It is highly desirable to let the users know what stock bitmaps are available
-in wxWindows. The "artprov" sample serves this purpose: it contains a browser
+in wxWidgets. The "artprov" sample serves this purpose: it contains a browser
dialog that displays all available art resources.
-It has to be updated to accomodate for new bitmaps. Fortunately, this is
+It has to be updated to accommodate for new bitmaps. Fortunately, this is
trivial: open $(wx)/samples/artprov/artbrows.cpp in text editor and
ART_ICON(wxART_MY_BITMAP) line to the FillBitmaps() function.