The Window-Eyes UI XML was designed so that the controls automatically
conform logically inside the dialog window, so you shouldn't have to
bother too much with how a dialog is laid out. If you're worried about
static text disappearing off the dialog, you could set the wordwrap
property so that the text will always be confined within the containing
group. When working with edit boxes, set the lines property to multiple.
You are correct that the dialog units can be affected by font type and
size. One thing that helps in reviewing your dialogs is using immed to
display them without having to do any extra coding. For example, you can
write your XML dialog, and then, in Immed, do:
dlg "c:\path\to\xml\file.xml"
Then press enter. You'll get a list of all available dialogs in that XML
file. Select one, and press enter, and you'll be able to navigate around
it. Make sure you have at least one button, as activating any button
will allow you to close the dialog. This is a nice way to work on design
without having to have any underlying code.
If you have concerns about a dialog, by all means, send me your XML
file, and I can give you some advice on how to tweak it.
Aaron
On 10/4/2012 7:28 AM, David wrote:
When creating an XML dialog, holding an Edit box, I want to enter a
number for the hight and width. Big question is, how high can that
number be, and still fit inside a window on a normal basis. I.e, is
there any way to calculate this, or is it a simple hit and miss.
Specially when designing dialogs as a blind person, I find it hard to
know whether a line or text block will fit into the window. My
experience has been, that WE will read the whole line, even if the
line is being cut off on the screen. Could there have been a method or
something in the GWToolkit, that would take a string, and return an
approximate number for the hight or width. I am not too familiar with
the screen units being used in this regard, but my guess is that one
unit might vary, depending on current font and size. Am I right on
this one? If so, I do understand there might be a challenge in giving
the exact number for the maximum hight and width to be used for a
given text to be displayed in an Edit box, but that is why, I ask that
the calculation at least could give some kind of an approximate - or
suggested number. I found little help in browsing the reference manual
on the matter, but maybe I was overlooking something. Or, does anyone
of you blind app developers, have a good way of testing whether a
dialog is properly designed.
Thanks for any feedback.
--
Aaron Smith
Web Development * App Development * Product Support Specialist
GW Micro, Inc. * 725 Airport North Office Park, Fort Wayne, IN 46825
260-489-3671 * gwmicro.com
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