Salient Solutions has developed some custom dialog box items and other resources for MDL. We use these same tools in our products. You can download example applications that use these tools along with their source code at the bottom of this page. The items have their own handler and rtype, they are not hooks. They are easily incorporated into any application. The resources are extreamly easy to create and implement.
Tool |
Description |
| Items | |
| Edit Box | Edit the cells of a list box DIRECTLY! Change the contents of cells with text, option button and combo text functionality inside the list box. You can also have horizontal scrolling. |
| Drag Bar | Mimics the standard Window's "Frames", allowing the user to resize list boxes, text, multiline text and any other item within the dialog box. Very powerful, very easy to use and no hooks necessary. |
| Combo Text | Mimics the standard Window's "Combo Box" where you have text item with a button beside it to choose seed text from a list. Note that MS has one too (a bit better), but ours is supported in MicroStation V5, features text completion and you get the code! Only ours is supported by the Edit Box Item. |
| Tab Set | Here is an easy to use Tab item. Note that MS has one with more features, but our is supported in MicroStation V5 and plus you get the code. |
| Cell Box | Ever asked Bentley's how to use their cell selector item? They tell you to write your own. Here is a much better version that is actually an item (theirs is just a generic hook) with a bazillion functions to support it. It also can work with the Element Descriptor Resource. |
| Cell Option | An option button that displays element descriptors instead of text. Kinda cool. It also can work with the Element Descriptor Resource. |
| Element Picture | An item for displaying elements in dialog boxes. You can have scroll bars for when there is more detail than will fit in your box. It also can work with the Element Descriptor Resource. |
| Image Box | Looks and behaves like the cell box item but displays a selection of raster images instead. It also can work with the Image Resource. |
| Image Option | An option button that displays raster images instead of text. It also can work with the Image Resource. |
| Image Picture | An item for displaying raster images in dialog boxes. You can have scroll bars for when there is more detail than will fit in your box. It also can work with the Image Resource. |
| Resources | |
| Element Descriptor | This is kinda cool. Store element descriptors as resources. You don't have to deliver a cell library with you application, link it directly into your application. |
| Image | Store raster images in your application as resources very easily. |
| File | Store files as resources. Great for seed design files and cell libraries. |
More to come! Do you have ideas for a new item, resource or other tool? Let us know, we can teach you how to develop items (IT AIN'T EASY!!!!), give you a few pointers, develop it for you if you would like, whatever.
How Difficult Is It To Get Them To Work In My Applications?
Not difficult as all, it's just like creating any other type of item. For each item you will get a header file, a function definition file and complete source code for the item. The only special things you will need to do are compile and link the item in and call an initialization function. THATS IT!
Take A Look
Download the example applications and try them
out:
Download examples for MicroStation '95 on Windows NT/'95
by clicking here.
(mdltools.zip 165K)
Download examples for MicroStation Version 5 for Windows
NT/'95by clicking here.
(mdltools.zip 226K)
For DOS versions send us an email and we will send it
right out.
PKUnzip the file and move the .ma files to your ustation\mdlapps directory. Here is what you get:
Tool |
Example Application |
| Items | |
| Edit Box | ebtest.ma ebtestex.ma |
| Drag Bar | dbtest.ma dbtestex.ma |
| Combo Text | cttest.ma |
| Tab Set | tstest.ma |
| Cell Box | cbtest.ma cbtestex.ma |
| Cell Option | cotest.ma |
| Element Picture | eptest.ma |
| Image Box | ibtest.ma ibtestex.ma |
| Image Option | iotest.ma |
| Image Picture | iptest.ma |
| Resources | |
| Element Descriptor | drtest.ma |
| Image | irtest.ma |
| File | frtest.ma |
Try 'Em Out
This zip file contains the source code for every example above. It also contains libraries for the custom items and compilers and libraries for the other custom resources. You can alter the application and recompile, or follow the directions in mdlTools.mki to try them in your own application.
1. Download mdltools.zip
(443K) into a new directory (suggest c:\mdltools)
2. PKUnzip the file using the -d option. (Am I the only one who
wonders why -d is not on by default?)
3. Read the readme.txt and follow the instructions there.
The libraries for MS V5/'95 on Windows NT/'95 are included only. DOS developers, shoot us an email and we will send it right out.