.. index:: 
	single: Form Designer; Introduction

=======================
Using the Form Designer
=======================

In this chapter we will learn about using the Form Designer.

We can run the From Designer from Ring Notepad

From the Menubar in Ring Notepad - View Menu - We can Show/Hide the Form Designer window.

.. image:: rnotefd.png
	:alt: Form Designer - Inside Ring Notepad

Also we can run the Form Designer in another window.

From the Ring Notepad - Tools Menu - Select the Form Designer.

.. image:: formdesigner.png
	:alt: Form Desigenr

.. index:: 
	pair: Form Designer; The Designer Windows

The Designer Windows
====================

* Toolbox : To select controls to be added to the window.

* Properties : To set the properties of the active window or controls.

* Design Region : To select, move and resize the window and the controls.

.. index:: 
	pair: Form Designer; The Designer Windows

The Toolbox
===========

We have many buttons.

* Lock : We can use it to draw many controls of the same type quickly.

* Select : We can use it to select a control in the Design Region

* Controls Buttons : Select a control to be added to the window.

.. index:: 
	pair: Form Designer; The Properties

The Properties
==============

* When we select the window or one control, We will have the selected object properties.

* Also In the properties window we have a combobox to select the active control.

* Some properties provide a button next to the property value. We can click on the button to get more options.

* When we select more than one control, We will have options for multi-selection

.. image:: fdms.png
	:alt: Form Designer - Multiple-Selection

.. index:: 
	pair: Form Designer; Running Forms

Running Forms
=============

When we save the form file (*.rform), The Form Designer will create two Ring files

* The Controller Class
* The View Class

For example, if the form file is helloworld.rform 

The form designer will generate two files

* helloworldcontroller.ring
* helloworldview.ring

To run the program, Open the controller class file then click the Run button (CTRL+F5)

.. tip:: When you open a form using Ring Notepad, the controller class will be opened automatically, So we can press (CTRL+F5) or click on the Run button while the form designer window is active.

.. index:: 
	pair: Form Designer; Events Code

Events Code
===========

(1) Just type the method name in the event property. 

.. image:: fdeventmethod.png
	:alt: Form Designer - Event Method

(2) Then write the method code in the
controller class.

.. image:: fdeventcode.png
	:alt: Form Designer - Event Code

In this example we write

.. code-block:: ring

	func CloseWindow
		oView.win.close()

Where inside the controller class, We uses the oView object to access the form.

Another Example : 

.. image:: fdsayhello1.png
	:alt: Form Designer - Say Hello

The Event Code

.. code-block:: ring

	func SayHello 
		oView {
			LineEdit2.setText("Hello "+ LineEdit1.text() )
		}


.. index:: 
	pair: Form Designer; Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard Shortcuts
==================

After selecting one or group of controls

* Use the Arrows (Up, Down, Left and Right) to move them around.
* Shift + the Arrows (Up, Down, Left and Right) to Resize the controls.
* Del button to delete the controls.
* CTRL+SHIFT+V to Duplicate the controls.


.. index:: 
	pair: Form Designer; Menubar Designer

Menubar Designer
================

From the Window properties we can open the Menubar Designer


.. image:: menubardesigner.png
	:alt: Form Designer - Menubar Designer

.. index:: 
	pair: Form Designer; Window Flags

Window Flags
============

From the Window properties we can open the Window Flags window.


.. image:: windowflags.png
	:alt: Form Designer - Window Flags


.. index:: 
	pair: Form Designer; Entering Items

Entering Items
==============

For some controls like the List Widget we can enter items separated by comma ','

.. image:: fdlistitems.png
	:alt: Form Designer - List Items


.. index:: 
	pair: Form Designer; Using Layouts

Using Layouts
=============

(1) To use layouts, At first add the layout control to the window.

(2) Use the window "Set Layout" property to determine the main layout.

(3) From the layout properties determine the controls and the layout type.


.. index:: 
	pair: Form Designer; More Samples and Tests

More Samples and Tests
======================

Check the folder : ring/samples/UsingFormDesigner

Online : https://github.com/ring-lang/ring/tree/master/samples/UsingFormDesigner


