3D PLM Enterprise Architecture

CATDialog
  |
  +---CATDlgWindow
        |
        +---CATDlgDocument

The Application Window

The application window is the main frame window to display documents and to present to the end user the tools to edit these documents. It contains one or several windows displaying documents, whether it is set as SDI or MDI.  It usually features a menu bar, a status bar, and toolbars that can be docked to its frame sides, or undocked as independent dialog boxes.

Use the application window as a base class when you want to create the window for a new application.

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Programmer's Guide

Create the main window for your application by deriving the CATDlgDocument class. CATDlgDocument cannot be instantiated and must always be derived. This application window will make the link between your application and the different objects, that is other windows or containers, menus and controls, and the application. Your application window will then aggregate or reference your dialog objects, manage their layout, describe their behavior using callbacks to react to the end-user interactions and call the appropriate programs to match the end-user requests. A main application window includes all window capabilities of your operating system, such as move, resize, minimize, and maximize.

The Multiple Document Interface mode is specific to Windows operating systems. With MDI, the dialog windows, instances of the CATDlgDialog classes, that display documents, are within the application window, instance of the derived class of CATDlgDocument. Such an MDI application window doesn't accept CATDlgBox instances as children.

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Constructing an Application Window

Derive CATDlgDocument. A main window father is always a CATInteractiveApplication instance. A main window can be used as the parent object of the following dialog objects:

• Any types and numbers of boxes (CATDlgBox instances) except CATDlgTabPage which must have a CATDlgTabContainer instance as parent
• Any type and numbers of CATDlgBlackBox instances
• Any type and number of controls (CATDlgControl instances)
• Any number of CATDlgToolBar instances
• One instance of CATDlgBarMenu and of CATDlgStatusBar

_pAppWindow = new MainWindow(iApplication, iName)

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Retrieving the Contextual Menu, the Menu Bar, and the Status Bar

You can retrieve the contextual menu, the menu bar, or the status bar of an application window as follows:

• get the contextual menu with the GetContextualMenu method

  get contextual menu

  CATDlgContextualMenu * pCtxMenu; pCtxMenu = _pAppWindow->GetContextualMenu();

• get the menu bar with the GetBarMenu method

  get menu bar

  CATDlgBarMenu * pBarMenu; pBarMenu = _pAppWindow->GetBarMenu();

• get the status bar with the GetStatusBar method

  get status bar

  CATDlgStatusBar * pStatusBar; pStatusBar = _pAppWindow->GetStatusBar();

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Managing the MDI Mode

You can manage the MDI mode as follows:

• Retrieve whether the application window is MDI with the IsMDI method

  int MDI; MDI = _pAppWindow->IsMDI(); if (MDI) ... // main application window is MDI

• Activate a dialog window with the MDIActivate method

  CATDlgDialog * pDialogWindoToActivate = ...; _pAppWindow->MDIActivate(pDialogWindoToActivate);

• Retrieve the active dialog window with the MDIGetActive method:

  CATDlgDialog * pActiveDialogWindow; pActiveDialogWindow = _pAppWindow->MDIGetActive();

• Arrange the icons of the iconified dialog windows with the MDIIconArrange method:

  _pAppWindow->MDIIconArrange();

• Maximize a dialog window with the MDIMaximize method:

  CATDlgDialog * pDialogWindowToMaximize = ...; _pAppWindow->MDIMaximize(pDialogWindowToMaximize);

• Minimize a dialog window with the MDIMinimize method:

  CATDlgDialog * pDialogWindowToMinimize = ...; _pAppWindow->MDIMinimize(pDialogWindowToMinimize);

• Activate the next a dialog window with the MDINext method:

  _pAppWindow->MDINext();

• Activate the previous dialog window with the MDIPrevious method:

  _pAppWindow->MDIPrevious();

• Restore a minimized dialog window with the MDIRestore method:

  CATDlgDialog * pDialogWindowToRestore = ...; _pAppWindow->MDIRestore(pDialogWindowToRestore);

• Tile the dialog windows with the MDITile method. The tiling can be described using one, or a combination of the different parameters:

  CATDlgTileHorizontal	The windows are arranged horizontally, with up to three windows on the same row
  CATDlgTileVertical	The windows are arrangedvertically, with up to three windows on the same column
  CATDlgTileSkipHidden	Minimized windows are kept minimized

  For example, tile the windows horizontally, and leave the minimized windows:

  _pAppWindow->MDITile(CATDlgTileHorizontal|CATDlgTileSkipHidden);

• Cascade the dialog windows with the MDICascade method. The cascading mode can be described using the following parameters:

  default	All the dialog windows are processed, even the minimized ones
  CATDlgTileSkipHidden	Minimized windows are kept minimized

  For example, cascade the windows, but leave the minimized windows:

  _pAppWindow->MDICascade(CATDlgTileSkipHidden);

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Setting a Title to an Application Main Window

The application window title should be set by the resource file using a key built with the identifier you declare as the second parameter of the application window constructor.

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History

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