MFC: Emdedded child dialog is not showing up within parent dialog - c++

I came across a tutorial showing how to embed a child dialog within a parent dialog using MFC. I am using Visual Studio 2015. My setup is as follows. Using the Visual Studio MFC Application Wizard to create a new MFC Visual C++ Project called MFCApplication3, I select a Dialog based application where MFC is used in a Shared DLL. Using boilerplate code, I have a simple Thick Frame Dialog, no maximize or minimize box.
In my resource view, I go to my Dialog editor to edit the main dialog. I add a picture control with a blank area in the center and name it IDC_STATIC. This will simply be used as a placeholder for my child dialog that I wish to embed. It looks like:
Still in the resource view, I create a new Dialog. I call it IDD_CHILD. I add some components. It looks like this:
Now back in the Solution Explorer, I add a class using the Add Class wizard, selecting to add an MFC Class. The class name is CChildDialog, with a base class of CDialog, and I use the already generated IDD_CHILD as the Dialog ID. It generates the .cpp and associated .h file. In the constructor of CChildDialog, I add a call to the Create function so the constructor becomes:
CChildDialog::CChildDialog(CWnd* pParent /*=NULL*/)
: CDialog(IDD_CHILD, pParent)
{
Create(IDD_CHILD, pParent);
}
Now I modify the dialog code generated automatically when I created the project. In CMFCApplication3Dlg.h, I add a private member of type CChildDialog* called m_childDlg, and #include the associated header file. In CMFCApplication3Dlg.cpp, I add this to the OnInitDialog function prior to the return statement:
CRect rc;
GetDlgItem(IDC_STATIC)->GetWindowRect(rc);
ScreenToClient(&rc);
m_childDlg = new CChildDialog(this);
m_childDlg->MoveWindow(rc);
Now I build the solution, run it, but it looks like it does in the first picture. A blank placeholder spot for a child dialog, but no child dialog. What could I be doing wrong?

It turns out (while composing this question) that the answer to my problem was two properties I need to set while in the resource view. When I have the child dialog open (IDD_CHILD), within the properties pane, I need to set the following properties:
Style: Child
Visible: TRUE
(I am not sure why Visible defaults to FALSE in this case). Making those two changes, voila! I get my embedded dialog:

Related

MFC dialog-based app with tab control - Visual Studio bugs/restrictions make recommended path impossible?

Create a dialog-based application in Visual Studio 2019. Insert a new dialog in the resources. Place a control (or two) on that dialog that you will later (try to) hook up to a variable (e.g. an edit box to enter your name).
Prepare to add that control variable by creating a class for this second dialog. If you inherit from CDialogEx (or perhaps other classes too - not tested), you can go on to add a variable for the control you added - easy, normal.
But if you had the "tab control" context from the title above in your mind, and chose to inherit from CMFCPropertyPage instead, can you add a variable subsequently? No you cannot - the class added makes no reference to the ID of the dialog resource, and so the Add Variable process has no basis to find a class to add the variable to.
I think this is a bug in Visual Studio... but I'm not 100% sure because I have always found the documentation around property sheets and property pages somewhat confusing. Specifically:
Do the classes implementing the tabs contents on a tab control "contain" the controls "on" the tab... or is the tab control really just a way to provide visual cues to show/hide sets of controls, and all of those controls and associated variables reside in one class?
I believe it's intended to be the former, but I can imagine that one uses a tab control because there are strong similarities between tab contents, and therefore potential benefits in implementing all the control variables in one place so as to avoid duplication. I just wish it was stated explicitly somewhere what the intention was.
Wider context: I'm trying to implement a dialog-based app with a tab control dominating that dialog. MS documentation says to implement a tab control using CPropertySheet and CPropertyPage to implement the tabbed dialog and tab contents. However, there is no (direct) way to create a dialog-based application whose main dialog inherits from CPropertySheet. When you look for examples of tab controls at the application level, you readily find things that deviate from the documented path considerably - using neither CPropertySheet nor CPropertyPage and using the WM_LBUTTONDOWN event instead of TCN_SELCHANGE, both without obvious reasons.
Any tips on (a) how to repair the apparent Visual Studio bug and/or (b) how to inherit from CPropertySheet for my application dialog and/or (c) where to find a clearer and more conventional example of tab control use at the top level would be greatly appreciated.
Given that there appears to be no clear and consistent way of approaching this, if (like me) you think "how hard can it be?", you might naively set out to see if you can create a new dialog-based application based on CDialog and manually convert it to CPropertyPage. You might fare better; I quickly hit a weird problem with the app compiling but not running - it could not load the window caption from the resource ID, despite the caption literally being there in black and white. Due to the weirdness, this was a red flag, and so to my mind problem (b) seems to be not worth the effort.
Without a CPropertySheet at the top level, there is no point having any kind of CPropertyPage or CMFCPropertyPage involved, making problem (a) pointless. That said, if you manually convert from (default) CDialogEx to CPropertyPage for your tab classes, it seems to have no problem compiling and running - the tabs just don't have any functionality that integrates with the main dialog.
Instead, I can now recommend working through the details of the video example even though it does strange things at first glance. You can achieve the desired result in more or less the same way as follows:
Use plain CDialogEx throughout, and so provide all the tab switching/showing/hiding/control work yourself (which the example demonstrates).
Create your main dialog and all tabs in the resource editor, adding the CDialog-based classes from there.
If you create your tab dialog resources via Insert Dialog (generic) instead of Add Resource (uses specific templates) then you will have to manually set certain dialog properties for each tab:
Border: Thin (or I preferred None)
Style: Child
System Menu: false
Title Bar: false
You can simplify the repositioning of the tabs (see below; it barely justifies the separate SetRectangle() function)
You should (probably) drive the tab changing from the TCN_SELCHANGE event instead of WM_LBUTTONDOWN
As noted, repositioning the tabs can be simplified to something like:
CRect tabRect;
m_tabControl.GetWindowRect( &tabRect );
for ( int i = 0; i < m_totalTabs; i++ )
{
m_pTabPage[ i ]->SetWindowPos( &wndTop, tabRect.left, tabRect.top, 0, 0,
i == m_currentTab? SWP_NOSIZE|SWP_SHOWWINDOW : SWP_NOSIZE|SWP_HIDEWINDOW );
}
Additional calls to ShowWindow() for each tab shown in the example are redundant.
One time, I had made on application as such. I don't remember if I used the Visual Studio new project wizard. Most probably, I did. But I will assist you on how to do it if you can not reach how to do it via the assistant.
The essential things:
Define the main dialog in the resources and the respective class in its H and CPP files.
In the YourAppClass::InitInstance you will need to have something like:
YourMainDlgClass dlg;
m_pMainWnd = &dlg;
INT_PTR nResponse = dlg.DoModal();
if (nResponse == IDOK)
{
// TODO: Place code here to handle when the dialog is
// dismissed with OK
}
else if (nResponse == IDCANCEL)
{
// TODO: Place code here to handle when the dialog is
// dismissed with Cancel
}
else if (nResponse == -1)
{
TRACE(traceAppMsg, 0, "Warning: dialog creation failed, so application is terminating unexpectedly.\n");
TRACE(traceAppMsg, 0, "Warning: if you are using MFC controls on the dialog, you cannot #define _AFX_NO_MFC_CONTROLS_IN_DIALOGS.\n");
}
Insert a CMFCTabCtrl element in your dialog for tabs, instead of using a CPropertySheet.

MFC VS2010 Can't Add CDialogEx derived class by wizard

In my MFC project I try to create dialog. So in Resource View insert Dialog.
Then double click inside dialog, to get dialog class. MFC Add Class Wizard runs, when I input Class name, and select Base class: CDialogEx. Click Finish button, wizard closes and nothing else happens. None files (cpp, h) is created.
Can You tell me what can be wrong?
As workaround I create manualy files .cpp and .h where derive class from CDialogEx, it is displayed correctly , and I can work with it (messages are handled correctly)
But I have other problems, with Add variable to controls for example.

MFC menu item doesn't open dialog box

I am having a proglem with the MFC application and the DialogBox. I am quiet sure I've done everything well with this tutorial: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/6wb9s9ah.aspx
but still it doesn't work...
1. I've created new project with simple menu commands.
2. I've created new menu item (+ID) and new resource DialogBox (+ID).
3. Then I've added a new class named CParameters with the Class Wizard. For the BaseClass I've typed in CDialog.
4. I've created new handler on the menu item and added the code
CParameters dlg;
dlg.DoModal();
I think this is it, and this should work... But it doesnt... What is missing??
Here is my project, you can access it freely:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/e6ajoxqk76hkuvn/AACRMY8bgcuyXguFwP240QB9a?dl=0
Additionally I want to insert TextEditors and to change parameters in my program from the dialog box.
A scan of your source code reveals that you are trying to handle the menu item event within the class that is going to display the dialog.
void CParameters::OnParam()
{
// TODO: Add your command handler code here
CParameters dlg;
dlg.DoModal();
}
I don't see anywhere else that you actually instantiate the dialog class (I may have missed it). What you are trying is incorrect. You cannot handle the menu item event within the same class that displays the dialog because that class (CParameters) has not been instantiated, so, it cannot respond to the menu event. Typically, the menu event would be handled in the mainframe class.
If you are doing this by adding a new menu item from a simple SDI application, then trying adding that part of code in
CMainFrame::OnEdit
OnEdit method used here is obtained from the Event Handler for the new menu item and Message type being COMMAND.

How to create splitter window in dialog, attach example

I am practice on splitter window, I reference to this web site,
Creating a Splitter Window in a Dialog Box in Three Easy Steps
when I build it, some thing error I cant solve it, like follow code...
Out of memory creating a splitter pane.
Error: Trying to create object which is not DECLARE_DYNCREATE
or DECLARE_SERIAL: CDialogEx.
Out of memory creating a splitter pane.
Error: Trying to create object which is not DECLARE_DYNCREATE
or DECLARE_SERIAL: CDialogEx.
the link for download this example, please rewrite the example,
splitter dialog example
the other feature, I want to create a two panel with button and static
and listcontrol item.
thanks guy.
Don't use a dialog base application. Just use the wizard. Create a SDI sample with a CFormView... integrate the splitter window later.
It doesn't make sense to me to create a dialog and to integrate all the CFrameWnd features into a CDialog...
I replaced the CDialog1 with CWnd then solved this problem.
ccc.m_pNewViewClass = RUNTIME_CLASS(CWnd);
m_cSplitter.CreateView(0,0, RUNTIME_CLASS(CWnd),
CSize(100,100), &ccc);
m_cSplitter.CreateView(0,1, RUNTIME_CLASS(CWnd),
CSize(100,100), &ccc);

How Do I Launch a Dialog in MFC?

I'm fairly new to VC++ and MFC, so bear with me. I have created a new dialog, and I want to figure out how to display it when the user clicks a button.
I have not create a class or header file for the dialog -- I tried using the class wizard, but it pretty much sucked and didn't work. That, or I was doing something wrong. Either one is equally as likely if you ask me.
So what steps do I need to take when creating the source/header files and getting the dialog to launch/display? It is a modal dialog.
CLARIFICATION: I understand that I need to create an instance of the dialog class, then just call DoModal() on it, but I'm not sure how to create the class file (with and/or without the wizard).
Right click the project and select
Add | Resource...
Select Dialog under Resource
type and click New.
Select Project | Add Class...
Enter CMyDialog for the Class
name, CDialog for the Base class
and Click Finish.
Read more: How to Make MFC Dialog Boxes
Seems to me you can make the button click just create a new instance of the dialog object and activate it. You'll probably have to keep a reference to the dialog so it doesn't get killed when the button action fxn returns it doesn't get garbage collected..