Autosizing Messageboxes??

[stanlyn]

Hi,

My code :

dim dlg_title as C
dlg_title = "This is a along Title"
ui_dlg_box("@=dlg_title",<<%dlg%
<Set Title!settitle>
%dlg%,<<%code%
if a_dlg_button = "settitle" then
    dlg_title = ui_get_text("","Set a new long description...",dlg_title)
     a_dlg_button = ""
end if
%code%)

Problem is that the message box is small and the text in both title and desc are truncated visually. Help is of no use, so maybe someone can shed some light on this...

Thanks,
Stanley

[GGandhi]

Re: Autosizing Messageboxes??

few things:
this seems to be a desktop question, may be it should be in that section, you will get more response.
I do not know what you are trying, but in the dialog you have dialog title and the button to click, there is no content. the dialog is built around the content and it adjusts its size accordingly. so if you put content after the title, then title and the description will show.
lastly, I am not an expert on desktop features like xdialog, if you want to build dynamic xdiloag you can get or set your title, content, buttons in named variables and call them to construct the xdialog, since it is only string.
for example
title = "something"
content = "another thing"
ui_dlg_box(title,content)
like that.
I am sure you can find examples in learning xdialog for more information.

[stanlyn]

Re: Autosizing Messageboxes??

Thanks Govindan,

I was able to add a literal string that was longer than the title as content and it did expand the message box to fit the content string.

If I need a long title with a short content string, then the message box gets truncated which is bad. How is that handled?

How do I add carriage returns/line feeds inside the content?

I found a property named Xsize and that will set the width if hardcoded as in {Xsize=50}. I tried using an expression like Xsize=len(dlg_title)+5, and that does not work, so how do I get expressions to work inside this?

I stumbled on the Xsize property and wondering why its not documented as part of the ui_dlg_box() control.

Also Govindan, I'm actually playing with the software and the example code I used was pasted in from somewhere, while I experimented trying this and that to mimic functionality I've used in VFP and I keep running into silly trivial issues such as the one posted where the message box size was severely truncated, no matter how long I made the title.

Is it true that this xBasic stuff is desktop only? I'm under the impression its used in both desktop and web if you need to really get at all its power and go beyond the capability of the wizards.

Thanks,
Stanley

[GGandhi]

Re: Autosizing Messageboxes??

lot of information in one single thread. hmmmm

How do I add carriage returns/line feeds inside the content?

at the end of the statement add ";" without the quotes of course.

is it true that this xBasic stuff is desktop only? I'm under the impression its used in both desktop and web if you need to really get at all its power and go beyond the capability of the wizards.

you got mixed up on the way.
xbasic is both in web and desktop, it is the xdialog resides in the desktop.

to learn more about xdialog which is what you are working with at the moment
1> please go to desktop side there are experts who can help lot more than I.
2> there is tutorial with samples in the samples part on the left hand side of the startup panel http://screencast.com/t/DCLt8pmq
take a look
3> same thing is available in alphapedia look for tutorial and then xdialog.

If I need a long title with a short content string, then the message box gets truncated which is bad. How is that handled?

add {size= } fill in with number of inches you desire

result = ui_dlg_box("this is a ve long title this is a long title",<<%dlg%
{size=10}
content;
content;
<ok><canc>
%dlg%)

still move to desktop ask others!

[Pat Bremkamp]

Re: Autosizing Messageboxes??

Stanley,

When I need a message box at the end of an AJAX callback, I return the following Javascript:

A5.msgBox.show('"+vMsgTitle+"','<div style=\'height:100px;width:300px;text-align:center;\'>"+vMsgText+"</div>',[{html: 'OK', value: 'ok'}],function(button) {if(button == 'ok') {setTimeout(function() {},10)}});"

You may be able to do something similar.

[Peter.Greulich]

Re: Autosizing Messageboxes??

Stanley,

Here is a place to learn xdialog:

http://alphafivewiki.com/Learning%20Xdialog%20Title

That also exists in the sample app that ships w. A5.

BTW, you can't use an expression inside of xdialog. If you want to dynamically change certain elements you may have to use stritran() or something putting the xdialog in a variable assignment first.

As Gandhi pointed out, although xdialog is a subset of xbasic, xdialog only works on the desktop. Xbasic proper works in either mode.

[Mike Wilson]

Re: Autosizing Messageboxes??

dialogs are constructed from text. Build the text for the dialog dynamically breaking the dialog body into parts breaking at the dynamic element and then compiling the body fixed elements with the dynamic elements into a text string that is the full body before the dialog is actually intiated. The code below is measuring the length of the title text and that is the dynamic element feed to a "bogus" text line in the body of the dialog that invisibly (because there is no value to the variable it is coded to show) and expands the dialog to the length of the title.

dim dlg_title as C
dim dlg_body as C
dim dlg_code as C
dim z1 as C
dim z2 as C
dim vn_title_length as N
dim vR as C

dlg_title = "This is a a long Title"
RESHOW_DIALOG:

'acquire the length of the dialog title
vn_title_length=int(len(dlg_title)^1.07)	'increase because base is 8 point and I am using 10 point

'this is the dialog body fixed string before the dynamic element of the dialog
z1=<<%dg1%
{font=arial,10}{background=#135,199,199}
{text=%dg1%

'this is the dialog body fixed string after the dynamic element of the dialog
z2=<<%dg2%
qqq};
<15Set Title!settitle>;
<15Abort>
%dg2%


'this compiles the dialog body into a complete body string
dlg_body=z1+(""+vn_title_length)+z2


'dialog code
dlg_code=<<%code%
if a_dlg_button = "settitle" then
	dim dlg_title_new as C=dlg_title
	dim vR2 as C
    vR=ui_dlg_box("TITLE",<<%dlg%
    {font=arial,10}{lf};
	Set a new long description:;
	[.90dlg_title_new];
    <OK>
    %dlg%)
    a_dlg_button = "close"
end if
%code%


'initiate the dialog
vR=ui_dlg_box(dlg_title,dlg_body,dlg_code)
	if vR="abort"
		end 
	end if
	
	'reset the prior dialog title to the new title
	dlg_title=dlg_title_new

'rebuild the dialog
GOTO RESHOW_DIALOG

[MoGrace]

Re: Autosizing Messageboxes??

Mike, it displays the full title the first time you enter a long title but if you change it a 2nd time it still truncates. I suppose that is because it isn't likely to be repeated?

[Mike Wilson]

Re: Autosizing Messageboxes??

Mike, it displays the full title the first time you enter a long title but if you change it a 2nd time it still truncates. I suppose that is because it isn't likely to be repeated?

Not so in my hands (see attached).

[MoGrace]

Re: Autosizing Messageboxes??

Set a short title again and then a longer one and you are back to truncated titles.

[stanlyn]

Re: Autosizing Messageboxes??

Mike,

I'm surprised to see that it took 40-50 lines of code to do what should be a default 0 lines of code behavior as shown in your attachment. The box should always be wide enough to properly display the title. One should never have a truncating issue...

Stanley

[Allen Klimeck]

Re: Autosizing Messageboxes??

Mike,

I'm surprised to see that it took 40-50 lines of code to do what should be a default 0 lines of code behavior as shown in your attachment. The box should always be wide enough to properly display the title. One should never have a truncating issue...

Stanley

Stanley there are only 5 lines of code in Mike's code that magically widen the dialog at run time!

vn_title_length=int(len(dlg_title)^1.07)
{text=%dg1%
z2=<<%dg2%
qqq};
dlg_body=z1+(""+vn_title_length)+z2

The rest of the code builds the dialog box & displays it!!

And lets you modify the box title from inside the box!!

I just built a small box in Visual Studio and it too will truncate the title without making the box contents wide enough picture attached!
long title.PNG

This is a small Xdialog box that is wide enough for the title

Awidebox.txt

[stanlyn]

Re: Autosizing Messageboxes??

Mike,

>> qqq};
Where did that "qqq" come from?
How would I know to use it, as intellisense make no mention of it?

Allen,

In your awidebox.txt code below:

vcdlgbody=<<%dlg%
short;
*
;
{justify=right}<15OK>;
%dlg%
vctitle = "This is a very very long Title!!!!!!?"

ui_dlg_box(vctitle,vcdlgbody)

1. What is the "short" option? where is it documented?
2. What does the <150K> do, and where is it documented?

This is the primary source of me wanting to scrap AA and move on, as looking at the help for ui_dlg_box makes no mention of all these options people are suggesting like the 150K and short as well as others. When I'm in the editor or iw, I really expect AA to offer this help thru intellisense and/or the direct F1 help.

You mentioned Visual Studio, are you using the later versions, and how often do you work in it? Do you use it with AA. if so, how? I'd really would like to hear your thoughts on the two, AA and VS...

Thanks,
Stanley

[Allen Klimeck]

Re: Autosizing Messageboxes??

Stanley did you run the code?

'short' is static text that will display in the xdialog box body. <15OK> is a button a ';' is a new line.

I and others have given you links to the documentation in this thread & the other one.

[stanlyn]

Re: Autosizing Messageboxes??

No Allen I have not run the code. My AA demo has expired and I'm awaiting for a reset to the eval...

Do you have a link to the help that discusses all the symbols such as the ;, <>, a number in front of a word such as .80Text and all that stuff.

Thanks,
Stanley