Outlook 2003 - Add an icon column to a View? - outlook

I want to add a custom column to the Inbox which is a Yes/No column. I want an icon to show in the Yes case. How can I do this?
Everything I've looked up is either about adding a column through the View.XML property, through UserProperties.Add with addToFolderFields = true, or through Field Chooser.
There are also a lot of forums where Dmitry from dimastr.com just tells people it's not possible to set an icon with no real explanation.
It's pretty frustrating - why would Outlook's UI support creating Icon fields if you can't set an icon for them?! Won't they just always be blank columns?!
Some alternative questions that would also help if they were answered:
What is the "bitmap" element in the View.XML of a <column>?
How can I set a userproperty as the value of a column using the "prop" element of a <column>?
Where can I find a description of the View.XML definition? Microsoft articles all have bad links.

Icons in the Header and icons in the column itself aren't possible without some kind of Windows API hacks on the column cells.
If someone has a good one, I'll mark it as an answer. Otherwise, I'll mark this ("Impossible") as the accepted answer.
EDIT: I looked with Spy++. Outlook's view is a "SUPERGRID" that is manually painted. You don't have access to individual cells. So that makes it a lot harder. A hack would have to like subclass the SUPERGRID and override some internal method or something. Then replace Outlook's SUPERGRID with the subclassed one. Or something equally terrible. I'm thinking impossible is the only real answer...

may you check that thread, therer might be an solution via form
http://www.outlookcode.com/threads.aspx?forumid=3&messageid=31897

Related

Xcode's Accessibility Label vs Hint vs Id

I searched but could not find an up-to-date question, so here goes:
Could someone let me know what Xcodes Accessibility Label vs Hint vs Id are used for? I think it might be label and hint are used for voiced navigation and Id's are only used for automation, but not sure if that is right?
You are correct.
The 'Label' property will be used in voice over representing the element itself. If Labels are not set manually, they will be filled in at runtime based on the content of the element. IE: "Comment Delete Button"
'Hints' are also used in voice over assistance but are a more descriptive representation of the element. IE: "This button allows users to delete a comment."
'identifier' is used for automation and quick query of the UI element.
IE: "CommentDeleteButton"
The Label and Hint can be localized and therefore will vary between languages while the identifier remains the same.
https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/iPhoneAccessibility/Accessibility_on_iPhone/Accessibility_on_iPhone.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40008785-CH100-SW1

ViewControl always categorized? Xpages/Notes

im having a bit of a problem with the viewcontrol in Domino Designer 9.0.
Im working on an Application that was NOT created by me. I cant ask the original developer but i have made some good expierence here so i hope for help again.
I have a view control that is categorized. At least i think its categorized but you can expand and collapse some values so i guess its categorized. And i simply dont want that. I already went in the View(not the Control) and configurated every column to "none" sorting. However the control is still categorized. I have already been googling for ages but everybody is talking about a "expandLevel" property which is simply cannot find. I know i have given you very litle information on my problem but thats all i know. I hope someone can help me. Thanks in advance.
PS: Sorry for the bad english im not a native speaker.
Sincerly, Brugen.
I have no idea whats wrong with your application: As the helper- text in the column- properties of a view states on the Display Tab:
"Expand image" and "Collapse image" can only be defined when a column is categorized, or its responses are intented.
To categorize this column open the View design element to which this is bound, and choose to categorize any columns that you wish to categorize
I just checked with an example database to be absolutely sure: The view in xpage is categorized, when the underlying view is and it is sorted only when I change the column- property. No voodoo in xpage involved.
There might be some caching issues (serverside or clientside) that prevents you from seeing the changes, but basically it should work.
The expandLevel property that you found is basically just there to tell the xpage which categories to expand / collapse by default. If can be found in the All Properties- Pane of the xpage, opening data - data - dominoView.
If this does not work for you, then the guy who made this xpage did something special. Then we need the source- code of your xpage to tell WHAT he did.

Is there a SetText message for the Win32 ListBox control?

This is easy in .NET (not my question) but I'm trying to figure out if it is possible to simply change the text of a string in a Win32 list box control given an index.
There is a GetText function that takes an item index but nothing to change the text of an existing item/string. My workaround will be to remove it and add it back in the box (which is also a weird prospect since there is no single command to add a string + item data -- these must be done carefully by inserting the string and then setting the item data on the index of the inserted string, which is tricky (not possible?) with sorting active).
Yes, the lack of a LB_SETITEMTEXT message is a bit weird.
You should put your Delete+Insert+SetData calls between calls to WM_SETREDRAW...
At the risk of being off topic...
I tend to use the ListView control all of the time. You'll want it in report view to mimic a listbox, and, as a plus, it supports multiple columns.
Oh.. and it has a LVM_SETITEM Message :)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb761186(v=VS.85).aspx
Although this question is old, but I think this documentation presented by Microsoft will be able to answer anyone questions based on this one.
So according to Microsoft documentation which you can find here
Changes the text of a list-view item or subitem. You can use this
macro or send the LVM_SETITEMTEXT message explicitly.
void ListView_SetItemText(
hwndLV,
i,
iSubItem_,
pszText_
);
And it also presents other macros for managing the list box. You can build a wrapper around this macros to simplify handling list view controls, etc.

ToolTip while Drop Down ComboBox

I have created a combo box in my project which takes a certain amount of numbers from a file.
This Combo drops down the list of the numbers each of represents something.
That something I want to be displayed in a tooltip when the mouse hovers on the combo box.
Until now everything has gone fine.
What I want now is to see the tooltip when the mouse rolls over the list of the dop down combo.
How can I do that? Until now the internet didn't give me something to work on it.
Is there some one to assist me on that?
Is this the sort of thing you're looking for, where a tooltip appears over a ComboBox item you mouse over?
If so take a look at this article on codeproject.com:
A Windows.Forms.ComboBox with Item ToolTips for 32 bit Windows XP (SP2)
It's VB.NET and currently displays a ComboBox item's text when moused over; I'm sure you can adapt it to your specific needs.
Finally I solved the issue with Combo Box which I mentioned on this question.
Of course there is no any solution give it from Microsoft for it, but with a small trick we manage to do what we want to do from one hand, and nobody seams to understand HOW we did it from the other hand.
So if anybody wants to see this solution please set a question and I will try to answer immediately.
For "bad and worst" please put a comment on this question.
My code is in vb.net.

Descriptive label names in a desktop application

I have an application that displays a dialog when the user needs to enter information. The reason for this, is to keep the main form readonly, and only when you need to add/edit data will a dialog appear.
The problem I'm wrestling with is what to display for the label names in the dialog. The application is a WPF desktop app and traditionally desktop apps are very short on label names (usually one or two words). I want to make the dialog user friendly and be more descriptive about the information that is required. Web developers seem to be catching on to this and are much more descriptive with their label names, but most of the forms I've looked at are forms that are only filled in once, whereas I will have data that can be edited.
An example: If I had a label that asked a user if an employee smoked, in most a destop apps the label would normally be something like 'Smokes?' with a checkbox, whereas I want something like 'Does the employee smoke?'. My issue with this is, that the first time you come across this dialog and enter the data, then it seems OK, but what about when you are editing data that is already there. Does this label now make any sense. Past tense and present tense seem to be getting in my way and I was interested in what people think or ways they have approached this. The application I'm writing is a WPF app and I feel that traditional label names are a bit old in the tooth now.
Another example would be entering contact details for a person. Do I just have labels that say Phone, Fax, Email or something more descriptive. i.e. a label that appears before the textboxes stating 'Enter the contact details below' and then the single word labels?
Maybe I'm just being pedantic about all this, but I would like to take a step forward so that my application contains more than single word labels that are sometimes unclear to the user about what is required.
Why not make use of the concise labels and use Tool tips for a longer explanation.
The longer explanation is only required when a user is unfamiliar with the application anyway.
Also, you could re-word a label to make it sound more like a question such as "Is a Smoker?"
Since you are using Stack Overflow, take note of their use of tooltips, I think Jeff Attwood has a blog post or comments in a podcast about the use of tooltips in SO. I can't remember where I heard / read it.
Have you thought about creating a "quickstart" flow or wizard for entering data for the first time? This would give you the opportunity to guide the user through the process, using labels with descriptions, so that they learn to associate the description with the label you've chosen (hopefully something succinct but intuitive). Then when they need to edit data, they have learned the application taxonomy.
If you are running into issues with tenses, steer clear of using verbs or only use the present tense. I would try using nouns - "smoker?" instead of "smokes?"
When you're asking for common data like phone numbers, email addresses, you can probably assume that the user will understand what you mean. Just be clear as to whose contact information you are asking for - using a title for the field set that is explicit is a good idea ("Employee Contact Details"), adding a short description above the field set will help too.
Of course, you should always do some level of usability testing on your application before you launch it to uncover any issues with the interface.

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