Is there some sort of shortcut key that I am missing here for swapping panels around in the form editor of vs2010?
I have numerous panels which are swapped at runtime according to an enum "toggle" value and the only way I seem to be able to move them back and forth is to make one panel smaller than another and right click it. Half the time I end up selecting some other object in the action of trying to right my panels.
I figured there must be something i'm missing here.
there are icons on the layout toolbar for this task. I pick the panel in properties and move it around with those. Way easier than right clicking and hoping for the best.
edit: although sometimes the buttons are not enabled when you need them to be. Still right clicking a resize handle adorner dot will pop up the context menu where you can then choose to move back/forward.
I still wish there was some key combo I could press. Hitting the 4px of display area that the adorner dot occupies on my screen is sort of a dexterity test of sorts and slows me down.
Related
I am using x/motif for the GUI. I have context menus which pop up when right-clicking a certain area.
When the right-click is too close to the right edge of the display, and therefore the menu itself is too close to the display edge, the sub-menus do not have enough room to pull out next to the primary menu. In this situation, when the sub-menus do not have any more room to the right, they start taking up the same space as the primary menu. This makes the menu system difficult to use close to the right edge of the display.
I have seen people ask this question for other UI systems, such as for web design, but I cannot find anything about it for x/motif. I am experimenting right now to see if it is possible or reasonable to display the menu somewhere other than the location clicked (ex: you click near the edge of display, the menu shows up X number of pixels to the left of where it normally would, so there's still space), but I am not sure if that will work out, and making the cascade menus cascade out to the left in this situation would be preferable to such a workaround.
I have checked many places on the web and have checked in the Motif Programming Manual and the Motif Reference Manual. If it's there, I haven't found it.
I am hoping for a resource to set with XtVaSetValues, or something similar, so that I can do something like the following:
XtVaSetValues(menu, XmNsomething, please_go_left, NULL);
Is this something that is reasonable, or even possible at all, to do with the resources available (ie: without creating an entirely custom menu system to reinvent the wheel)?
The question: How do I cascade a context menu's sub-menus to the left instead of having them attempt to pop out to the right when too close to the edge of the display?
Simple version
Is there any way to maintain focus on menu after clicking a menu command?
Detailed version
Specifically, I've made a menu with some menu item with checked property. The problem is that each time I click checked menu item the menu lose its focus. It can be pretty annoying when there is a number of menu item with checked property and I want to manipulate them at once.
The most elegant solution for the problem would be maintaining focus on menu, but I can't find a way to apply it. Is it possible? And if so, what's the way to do that?
Even if there would a solution for it, sooner or later you will enter a situation in which a numerical or string property is changed via the menu, and then it becomes even impossible to keep the focus on the menu (while the dialog requesting the number or string is on the screen).
The first, simple alternative would be to put the checkable menu items on a toolbar or ribbon (just like Word does with Bold, Italic, Underline, ...). Numerical/string properties can then also be added on the toolbar or ribbon.
A second alternative could be to have a more complete configuration dialog in which the user can change all the configuration items. The configuration dialog can co-exist with the current checkable items, so users simply changing one check and users changing many properties all get a quick way of doing what they want.
You might also pose this question on https://ux.stackexchange.com/ (this sibling site is more oriented towards good user interface practices).
This may not be the kind of question one should ask on StackOverflow, but here's a frustration that I've been trying to find a work-around for.
When using the form designer, suppose the entire form does not fit in the space allotted to the form designer, and I have a control say, down near the bottom of the form.
If I try to re-size that control, or move it using the mouse, the work area will auto-scroll to the top of the work area. This essentially pulls my control to the top of the screen. It isn't possible to scroll with the scroll wheel while "holding" a control, and even ScrollLock does nothing for me.
Is there any way to just turn the auto-scrolling off? That way I can at least work on my form without guessing numbers to type into the properties window.
Can't you just turn off autoscroll for the form?
I think it's off by default.
Form.AutoScroll = False
VS2008 seems to have a new feature that allows one to split a website into the source code and design aspects on the same page. This feature seems great, however it defaults to having the design part on the bottom half of the screen and the code part on the top half.
Unfortunately, my brain doesn't work this way and it ends up being more of a hassle than to just continue switching back and forth when needed like I've done in the past.
Is there a way to swap them so that the design part is on the top and the code part on the bottom? Most other tools in VS are drag and droppable, so I can't see why not, but I'm not finding the setting anywhere. I did a quick google search and found a way to make the split vertical, but thats not what I'm looking for. I'm just looking for the same horizontal split with the design part on top.
Thanks
Here's an alternative approach that may help. If it's a traditional .aspx page (one that has a codebehind), you can open both documents simultaneously. Then right click one in the tab area at the top and select New Horizontal Tab Group. You can manipulate it so that the design window is on top of the code window.
I would be very surprised if this possible, since I have never seen a window configuration that changes the vertical alignment of the Objects and Events drop-down-lists.
I could be wrong, though.
It does seem rather strange - in the xaml designer you can split the screen whichever way you want as there is a button to switch the position of the panes. The options for the html designer only seem to allow a vertical or horizontal split though, there isn't anything in there specifying whether to have code or design at the top, it does seem a little backwards as I imagine most people find it more natural to have the visual designer at the top with the code below.
I am working in Visual Studio 2005. I have multiple splitters on the screen. I have set the splitters IsFixed and I have also set fixed panel sizes. In addition to this I have locked the control. For some reason, when I switch into debug mode the splitter distance value is changing entirely on its own. These changes do not take place with any consistency, the vary in distance changed. Other components, which are also locked, are moving all on their own as well.
Anyone with similar experience? Any ideas?
The settings will stick to either mode you are in. But sometimes plugins or parts of VS does mess it up :(
I recall seeing a plugin written to save 'views', but when I tried it, it didnt work.
I couldn't tell you what is causing this. The way that the windows forms splitter works is through the Docking property. There should be no need to lock the controls. All of the controls on the form should be docked. (Including the splitter)
For example, if you want to split vertically, you have your first panel docked left. Then the splitter (Orientation set to vertical) is also docked to the left. The second panel is docked to fill. The width of the first panel (which is docked left) will determine the location of the splitter. It should not change now.
The z-order is important here for layout purposes. If you want a more detailed look of how the controls are laid on on your form, open the Document Outline. This will list the controls in a tree, and you can see where they are in the z-order.