Groupbox Components are used as containers for an arbitrary set of sub-Components. Each sub-Component in the set is defined as a child XML node under the <Groupbox> XML node. The size and location of each sub-Component contained within a Groupbox is relative to the dimensions of the buffer area defined for the Groupbox via its BufferWidth and BufferHeight Properties. If a Groupbox buffer area is greater than its displayable window area as defined by its Width and Height Properties, then horizontal and/or vertical scroll controls become visible. A Groupbox Components' Scroll Controls can be customised via a set of specialised XML tags and associated Properties.
The purpose of this Component is two-fold:
| · | It acts as an aid to the design process by providing a means for the designer to more easily re-position a complete set of Components whose locations relative to each other has been determined.
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| · | In much the same way that <DIV> tags can be used to provide scrollable regions within HTML documents; the Groupbox Component can also be used as a means to present potentially large scrollable areas of web-content within a single browser window.
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Custom XML Tag
Use the following XML tag to define custom Properties and sub-Component sets for a Groupbox Component within your Custom XML file:
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Common Properties
Groupbox Components inherit the following common Properties:
Component Visibility Properties
Use this Property to exclude a Groupbox Component from the UI. If this Property is set to false then the Groupbox Component and all the Components contained within it will be excluded from the UI.
Location Properties
Use these Properties to define the position of a Groupbox Component within the UI and to define the width and height of its displayable window area.
Specialised Properties
In addition to the above, Groupbox Components also inherit the following specialised Properties:
Groupbox Properties
Use these Properties to set the scroll speed and scroll control size.
Default Property Values
The following default Property values are defined for Groupbox Components:
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Property Name
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Default Value
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Visible
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true
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X
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undefined
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Y
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undefined
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Width
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undefined
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Height
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undefined
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BufferWidth
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undefined
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BufferHeight
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undefined
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ScrollSpeed
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10
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ScrollControlSize
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10
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Example
The following Custom XML snippet describes a typical Groupbox Component. The Groupbox displayable window area is defined as being 200x300 pixels. The Groupbox buffer area is defined as being 200x800 pixels. Because the height of the displayable window area is less than the height of the buffer area, a set of vertical scroll controls will be created by the system. External bitmaps for mouse-up and mouse-down events have been defined for each of the vertical scroll controls via their relevant <VScrollTop>, <VScrollBottom> and <VScrollBar> XML tags.
Two additional child XML tags are defined within the <Groupbox> XML tag: <ResourcesPanel> and <GenericTextbox>. These tags define the Resources Panel Component and a Generic Textbox Component respectively. The location of these two Components is relative to the Groupbox buffer area.
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You can also click here to see a working example that uses a Groupbox Component.
