Microsoft Tooltip Library
Description
This contorl template powers your Clarion applications with native Microsoft Tooltip Control from Windows Common Controls Library. You can access practically to all settings of the control. The principal of functionality of this library is based on replacing of Clarion tooltip with Windows tooltip that look more better.
Features
- Compability with both ABC and Legacy template set
- Appliable for Clarion versions: 5.x/6.x
- Full support of two tooltip shapes: rectangle and ballon
- Turning on/off of tooltip visibility at all
- Turning on/off of tooltip appearing in case if target window is inactive (is in background)
- Support tooltips with icon and/or title and vice versa
- Support multiline tooltips
Hint: If you use native Clarion multiline tooltips it is desirable to turn on MS Tooltips multiline support because our library removes all line folding to prevent of undesirable characters display. In this case correct processing of multiline tooltips take place. If tooltip includes title or/and icon then native Clarion multiline tooltip is used. Otherwise if tooltip has no title or/and icon then written above method is used.
- Visibility effects: fading, animation effect (for Windows 2000 only)
- Support colouring features. You can change tooltip text color and tooltip background color using template settings and/or at run-time
- Support tooltip text margins. You can setup all available margins (from left, right, top and bottom)
- One of the usefull and worthy of special attention features is a full support tooltips for “non-tipped” controls like PANEL, GROUP, IMAGE, REGION, PROMPT, STRING
Hint: I dare remind you that GROUP has TIP property in itself propery window but it does not works unfortunelly. With our library you can forget this “problem”. Now it works!
Hint: Our library correctly tracks DISABLE/HIDE status of above written controls. If such control disabled or hided his tooltip does not appears. - Second of the worthy of special attention features is an ability to change tooltip text of any control at run-time using regular Clarion property PROP:Tip. After you setup new value it will be displayed when mouse pointer enter to control region (not REGION).
- Support hot tooltips. It works like usual hot fields in LIST control. Some extended information can be displayed as tooltip.
- Support inplace tooltips for LIST.
- Support sounds for tooltips.
Structure
Library contents a set of two template files and source code TAVToolTip.inc, TAVToolTip.clw, TAVIncludes.inc which declares and implements class. One main template CommCtrl.tpl used only for including target ToolTip.tpw template. The target template ToolTip.tpw contents the main part - EXTENSION-template for default library functionality and few of CODE-templates which can help you in using library functions. Our library (it is mean like add-on) provides tooltip supporting for all compiling modes (with Standalone run-time, Local runtime). You only set link type and template decides which library (physical file) must be linked.
Using
Before library and template using, it needs to be registered in Clarion Template Registry. After you have finished library installation to your computer launch the Clarion IDE. Then select menu Setup and choose Template Registry item. Click Register button and you will see Open File dialog where you search for the following file CommCtrl.TPL. Click him by mouse and press button Open. For a few seconds templates will be registerd. The first stage has completed.
Hint: I want to remind you that template will be displayed in the list of available templates only in 32-bit projects.
Thus, open your application where you want to append MS Tooltips support, then choose menu Project -> Properties… or click Project button. In the Project Editor window click Properties… button then change
Target OS to Windows - 32bit. Press OK. Then choose the menu Application -> Global Properties… or click the Global button. Global Properties window is opening. Press an Extensions button. In the Extension and Control Templates press Insert button then choose the ToolTipSupport template and press Select. Template has added. After you have been finished you can see the result:
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On this window you may see some set of tabs with grouped settings. Selecting them you can customize other tooltip features. After you has finished customizing you can simply press OK button and compile your application. All native Clarion tooltips will be replaced with native Microsoft Tooltips. |
Below you can consider all tooltips settings:
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Common Settings On this tab you can setup all necessary common settings for your tooltips. Here you can change tooltip look, customizing shape, icon and title, color and some effects. |
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Hint: If multiline Clarion tooltips already presents in your application and you do not use icon and/or title than such tooltip text will be converted into single line to prevent of displaying undesirable symbols, independing of Multiline Support state. |
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Delay Settings On this tab you can setup all tooltip time interval duration. When Default Settings switched on then all interval duration are calculated by Windows using function GetDoubleClickTime and rule: initial delay (delay before tooltip will be displayed) is equal to return value of above noted function (t = 500ms); autopop delay (time when tooltip is visible) - 10 * t (5000ms) and reshow delay (delay beetween tooltip appeating when mouse moves from one control to another one) - t / 5 (100ms). If you switch off Automatic Delay Setup you can customize all delays separately. When you switch off the Default Settings checkbox you can use Automatic Delay Setup for setup all delays automatically using above written rules but on the your own base time interval. |
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Color Settings On this tab you can setup tooltip text and/or background color. By default (Default Text Color and Default Background Color switched on) all tooltip colors are Windows-defined colors. But you can easily change these defaults. Simply switch off responsible checkbox and choose prefered color. |
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Margin Settings On this tab you can setup tooltip text margins. If you switch off Default Margins you get an access to four fields where you can |
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Here the global extension template has been described. It is time to describe local template and its settings. The window of the local template is almost similar to global one. All settings of local extension template are fully identical with settings of global extension template. But the given template has some new features that will be described below.
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Local Common Settings You can see the checkbox at the top on the left picture Do not Generate Tooltip support code. If it will be checked code in this procedure doe not be generated. It is usefull if you want to turn off tooltips in specific procedure. |
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If you want to override some global default settings just switch on the checkbox Override Global Settings. All other settings was described above. All seen settigs are fully identical to setting of the global template and used only for overriding properties of specific procedure. |
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Extra Tips Settings Your windows contents many controls like PANEL, GROUP, IMAGE etc. With help of the given tab you can specify tooltip text for such controls. Using edit buttons you can add, change, or delete controls to which you want to “assign” tooltips. After you have pressed the button you see this form: |
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Using edit buttons you can add, change, or delete controls such a IMAGE, PROMPT, STRING, PANEL to which you want add the tip. After you have pressed the button you see this form: |
Hint: In this pre-release version you must generate a source code and on one’s own correctly define a number of browse queue field. BrowseQueue QUEUE,PRE()
Name STRING(20) - Field to Display = 1
Name_Icon SHORT
EMail STRING(65) - Field to Display = 3
Address STRING(90) - Field to Display = 4
END
Hint: If you want to display a field - not file field (just local variable) you must add this variable to Hot Fields list of appropriate browser. And you may work with such variable usually. Hint: If you want to use division of words in your tooltip text, please use a couple of symbols <13,10>, that assumes as a new line. (See the example: %ROOT%\Examples\Tooltips\Tipdemo5.exe)
Hint: All settings changed by using of template can be restored at run-time using CODE-templates which you can embed into your source code. |
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Hot Tips Settings This is a new feature allows you to expand ability of yours apllication browsers and lists. For each row of list you can specify addtional information that cannot be displayed in the list directly but can be showed in the tooltip. For example, list of customer names and them address in the tooltip. |
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Using edit buttons you can add, change, or delete list controls to which you want to give “hot” effect. After you have pressed the button you see this form: |
History
current version 1.44 (March 04, 2006)
[-]: Template bug fixed (local variable %WinTemplateOff is used in Global template section)
version 1.43 (July 15, 2005)
[-]: Template bug fixed;
[+]: Revision for C6.2 compability;
[*]: Demo recompiled and powered by List Header Customizer;
version 1.41 (January 39, 2004)
[-]: Tooltip for GROUP not appeares;
version 1.4 (December 24, 2003)
[+]: Tracking and inplace tooltips are supported;
[+]: Printable manual is availabe;
[+]: Sound for tooltips is available;
[+]: Support tooltips for BOXes and ELLIPSEs;
[+]: SUPPLIED AS SOURCE CODE!;
[*]: Help file updated;
version 1.3.4 (May 20, 2001)
[+]: Now you can use hot tooltips (like browse hot fields);
[-]: HTML help mistakes fixed and desing changed;
version 1.3.3 (May 07, 2001)
Now you can turn off tooltip fade effect and tooltip fall effect!
[+]: Two tooltip effect manipulating added - animation and fading (only for Windows 2000);
[-]: Some template bugs fixed;
[*]: Undocumented feature: method Kill has one parameter;
[*]: Template code has been optimized;
[+]: Ability to force destruction of run-time created controls. Is is usefull if you decide to reinitialize Tooltip object to change his style;
version 1.3.2 (Apr 26, 2001)
[+]: Ability to change tooltip text using native PROP:Tip added. Tracking tooltips are removed for further development and testing.
[-]: When control was DISABLE’d it HIDE’d instead;
[+]: New demonstration application file added;
[+]: Now tooltips supports charset tables;
version 1.3.1 (Apr 17, 2001)
[-]: When control layout changed (like LIST on window resizing) to bigger size then tooltip text does not appears;
[-]: When control was HIDE’d/DISABLE’d tooltip text appears but it is not good;
[*]: Template was separated to two parts: main template CommCtrl.TPL and ToolTip.TPW;
[+]: Local extension template has a checkbox that allow to turn off template code generatiog for specific procedure (like SOURCE);
version 1.2 (Apr 15, 2001)
[-]: Window “crawling out” on resizing;
[+]: Supporting of tooltips for practically all controls added;
[+]: Tooltip text margins added;
[+]: Partially supporting of tracking tooltips (in demonstrative purpose only) added;
[+]: Local extension template added. allow you to customize all tooltips features for specific procedure;
[+]: More CODE-templates added;
[+]: Support for dynamically created controls added;
version 1.1 (Mar 11, 2001)
[+]: Suppor of tooltips with title and/or icon added;
[+]: Support of multiline tooltips added;
[+]: Support of ability to setup all tooltip delay interval: initial, autopop, reshow;
version 1.0 (Jan 05, 2001)
The first released version with only default and ballon tooltip shapes supporting. One global extension template is used for customization.
[+]: Support of tooltip for REGION control
[+]: Support of tooltip text and background colors
Purchase
- $45 per license on ClarionShop
