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Text File | 1991-06-03 | 19.1 KB | 393 lines

╔═══▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ Welcome to ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒════╗ ║ ║ ║ ┌──────────────────────────────────┐ ║▒▒ ║ │ EZ-WINDOWS Pulldown Menu System │ ║▒▒ ║ └──────────────────────────────────┘ ║▒▒ ║ Version 3.0 ║▒▒ ║ ║▒▒ ║ A complete mouseable Pulldown Menu System ║▒▒ ║ ║▒▒ ║ ┌───────────────────────╨──────────────────┐ ╚░░░░░░░▒░░░░░░░░░░░░│ │ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒│ For... │▒▒ │ │▒▒ │ Microsoft QuickBASIC 4.5 │▒▒ │ │▒▒ │ Microsoft Professional Development │▒▒ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄│ System 7.0 │▒▒ █ │ │▒▒ █ └──────────────────────────────────────────┘▒▒ █ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ █ StrongSoft Engineering █▒▒ █ █▒▒ █ 3155 SW 178th Ave █▒▒ █ Aloha, OR 97006 █▒▒ █ (503) 649-7251 █▒▒ █ █▒▒ █ Documentation written and prepared █▒▒ █ by John C. Strong █▒▒ █ █▒▒ █ █▒▒ █▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ A few customer comments -- "Terrific, a beautiful piece of programming!" - Duiven, Holland "I am very impressed with EZ-WINDOWS. It is exactly what I was looking for..." - Ontario, Canada "It's incredible, I just love your routines to death...I'm going to impress the hell out of those smart 'C' programmers..." - Houston, Texas ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ OVERVIEW This routine is intended to allow a programmer to present the user with options in an organized and esthetic way. The PullDown Menu System was indeed modeled after the very pulldown menu used in the QuickBASIC 4.x environment. I wrote this routine out of frustration, actually. I didn't want to take the time to write a pulldown menu routine, yet none of the commercially available libraries offered the options that I needed. So I just sat down one day and wrote it (over several days), and here it is. The Pulldown Menu System is very easy to integrate in a QB program, yet offers all the options someone might expect in a commercial software package. To use this routine in a program, all that is required is a few arrays containing formatting information for the pulldown menu and an array containing the actual text used. Then a simple CALL statement will take care of the rest! Don't worry -- loading the arrays required for the routine is very straightforward and uncomplicated, and the results are definitely worth it! The advantages of using this routine are both numerous and obvious, but there is one disadvantage: the code size is rather large. But the programs that need such a pulldown menu routine are the ones that need to present a multitude of options to the user -- such a program will naturally be large anyway, so the relative code size of the Pulldown Menu System shouldn't make a big difference. REQUIREMENTS The Pulldown Menu System requires QuickBASIC 4.5 compiler. It will also work with QB40, but you'll need to purchase & recompile the source code in QB40. I think the better investment would be to buy QB45! But I don't know if it will work with versions eariler than 4.0. I believe earlier versions of QuickBASIC modify the stack a bit differently when passing parameters to assembler routines, which would definitely cause problems. So if you don't have version 4.0 or later, you would be doing yourself a great favor by upgrading if for no other reason than to enjoy the benefits of a superior programming environment provided by QB45 or PDS 7.0. You can use this routine inside the QB environment or in a compiled .EXE file. Two Quick Libraries are provided for program development inside QB and two libraries are provided for compiled programs. USING THE PULLDOWN MENU SYSTEM Using this routine requires the dimensioning and loading of several arrays and the actual call to the routine. When calling the routine, several conventions must be observed: 1) All non-string variable arguments must be the integer type, denoted by the percent sign %, i.e., ITEMSLCT%. Alternativ- ely, the DEFINT statement can be used at the beginning of your program which will take care of this automatically. You can also pass literals instead of integer variables, but only for arguments that are not modified by the routine. The best thing to do is just pass variables, which requires less stack space than literals. 2) The arguments passed must be in proper order or the routine will not work, possibly locking up your system. 3) All arguments must be present or the routine will not work, possibly locking up your system. SPECIFYING COLORS AS ATTRIBUTES The Pulldown Menu System requires that colors be passed as attributes instead of foreground and background colors. This not only contributes to consistency between the routines internal to the library but also reduces the number of arguments needing to be passed. So what is an attribute? An attribute is a single byte, containing a number between 0 and 255, that tells DOS what foreground and background color to use. Every character on the screen has its own attribute byte in addition to the character byte, and the attribute and character byte sit together in video memory. This is why it is fast and efficient to use attributes. An attribute is the background color, multiplied by sixteen, plus the foreground color. In hexadecimal, the background is the high nibble and the foreground is the low nibble. To simplify things, here is a table that yields the attribute for a given background color and foreground color. Note that background colors go from black to white. You can use higher numbered colors for a background but the text will be flashing. BACKGROUND COLOR black blue green cyan red magenta brown white 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| black 0 | 0 | 16 | 32 | 48 | 64 | 80 | 96 | 112 | |-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| blue 1 | 1 | 17 | 33 | 49 | 65 | 81 | 97 | 113 | |-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| green 2 | 2 | 18 | 34 | 50 | 66 | 82 | 98 | 114 | F |-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| O cyan 3 | 3 | 19 | 35 | 51 | 67 | 83 | 99 | 115 | R |-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| E red 4 | 4 | 20 | 36 | 52 | 68 | 84 | 100 | 116 | G |-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| R magenta 5 | 5 | 21 | 37 | 53 | 69 | 85 | 101 | 117 | O |-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| U brown 6 | 6 | 22 | 38 | 54 | 70 | 86 | 102 | 118 | N |-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| D white 7 | 7 | 23 | 39 | 55 | 71 | 87 | 103 | 119 | |-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| C gray 8 | 8 | 24 | 40 | 56 | 72 | 88 | 104 | 120 | O |-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| L lblue 9 | 9 | 25 | 41 | 57 | 73 | 89 | 105 | 121 | O |-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| R lgreen 10 | 10 | 26 | 42 | 58 | 74 | 90 | 106 | 122 | |-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| lcyan 11 | 11 | 27 | 43 | 59 | 75 | 91 | 107 | 123 | |-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| lred 12 | 12 | 28 | 44 | 60 | 76 | 92 | 108 | 124 | |-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| lmagenta 13 | 13 | 29 | 45 | 61 | 77 | 93 | 109 | 125 | |-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| yellow 14 | 14 | 30 | 46 | 62 | 78 | 94 | 110 | 126 | |-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| bwhite 15 | 15 | 31 | 47 | 63 | 79 | 95 | 111 | 127 | |-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| CALLING THE ROUTINE This is the required format for calling this routine: CALL PULLDOWN(MENUBAR$,MenuRow%,MenuCol%,Menuattr%,Hotattr%, HiBarattr%,NVattr%,HiPos1%(),HiPos2%(), MaxSize%(),MaxItems%(),item$(),valid%(),toggle%(),ms%, Clearafter%,Seed%,SoundOn%,MenuSlct%,ItemSlct%) Arguments: MENUBAR$ - A string variable holding each pulldown menu name. The number of menus is determined by the number of names is this string, which must be separated by at least one space on each side. A space character must be the last character in the string. MenuRow% - The row on which the menu bar will be displayed. MenuCol% - The column of the leftmost character in the menu bar. For a full length menu bar, this would be set to one (1). Menuattr% - The color attribute of the menubar and menus Hotattr% - The color attribute of the "hot" letters Hiattr% - The color attribute of the text selected by the highlight bar. NVattr% - The color attribute of the "grayed out" non-valid selecions. HiPos1%() - The integer array, dimensioned to the number of menus, holding the position of the 'hot' letter in each menu name in the MENUBAR$ variable. These letters will be hilited with the color specified in the HiliteFG% variable. HiPos2%() - A 2-dimensional integer array holding the position of the 'hot' letter in each menu item for each menu. It's first dimension is the number of the menu, the second is the number of the selection in the menu. Dimension it for the number of menus and the number of items in the largest menu. For example, DIM HiPos2%(menu%,slct%) MaxSize%() - An integer array holding the length of the longest item in each menu. MaxItems%() - An integer array holding the number of items in each menu. Item$() - A 2-dimensional array holding the items for selection for each menu. It is dimensioned like HiPos2%(), DIM Item$(menu%,slct%) Valid%() - A 2-dimensional flag array that determines if an item is valid for selection or not. A value of 1 is valid; 0 means not valid, and the item is grayed-out. It is dimensioned like HiPos2%(). Toggle%() - A 2-dimension flag array that determines the toggling status of each item in each menu. 2 - exclusive toggle, on 1 - inclusive toggle, on 0 - no toggling -1 - inclusive toggle, off -2 - exclusive toggle, off If toggling is used in a menu, it must all be of one type, either all exclusive or all inclusive. Otherwise, it won't work properly. Toggle%() is dimensioned like HiPos2%(). ms% - Flag to indicate mouse support. If ms%=0, the routine ignores the mouse if one is present. ms%=1 tells the routine to use the mouse. ClearAfter% - If ClearAfter%=1, the menu will be erased after a selection is made. A value of zero will inhibit the erasing of the menu. Seed% - When PULLDOWN is first called, the menu name corresponding to the number in this variable is hilited for selection. SoundOn% - If set to zero (0), the routine will not make any sound. Itemslct% - If set to -1 prior to CALLing PULLDOWN, the item selected will blink after it has been picked Returned: MenuSlct% - The number of the menu containing the item that was selected. ItemSlct% - The number of the item selected. In addition, you can tell PULLDOWN to put in a dividing line with a simple command. All you do is insert a certain character into your ITEM$() array. For example, to put a dividing line in your first menu after the third item, your program should define ITEM$(1,4) as: ITEM$(1,4) = "~" The tilde "~" tells PULLDOWN to create a dividing line. The source code for PDDEMO is well documented and will provide a little more clarity on the function of each of these variable. I encourage you to play around will PDDEMO a bit - get a feel for it by modifying it and seeing what it does. Be sure to observe the calling conventions, though. COMPILING To create an .EXE file, follow these steps: 1) During development, use the EZQB.QLB (or EZPDS.QLB) Quick Library inside the QB environment. 2) When you're ready to compile the finished program, first decide if you want a stand-alone program or one that needs the BRUNxx.exe file to run. Then go to the DOS prompt in your QB directory and use this syntax to compile your program: BC PROGRAMNAME [/O],,nul where PROGRAMNAME is the name of your basic program (no extension), and the [/O] option tells QB to compile a stand- alone program. You may leave this option off if you want, which will result in an executable file that needs the BRUNxx.EXE file. For example, to compile PDDEMO.BAS for stand-alone program, type BC PDDEMO /O 3) Now is when you link in the EZQB.LIB (or EZPDS.LIB) library to the object code produced by the compiler. From the DOS prompt use this syntax to link your program: LINK [/E] PROGRAMNAME,,,EZQB The [/E] is the EXEPACK option which produces a smaller executable file and should be used for most every program that you may write. 4) You should now have an executable version of your QB program in the QBxx directory. Remember, if you didn't use the [/O] option, the BRUNxx.EXE must be present. HELP A BUDDING ENGINEER! If you think this pulldown menu routine will be useful to you, I would greatly appreciate a little donation to get me through graduate engineering school. A $5.00 registration fee is all that's needed to get on the mailing list and receive updates to PULLDOWN plus customer support. If you decide to register the full library (see below), the $5.00 registration is waived. MORE ROUTINES!! If you run the EZDEMO1.EXE program on your disk, you will see a collection of my favorite routines that I would like to make available to you. This is Volume 1 of the EZ-WINDOWS library. I use these routines extensively in my programs, which not only saves a lot of time but also results in a professional looking program. EZDEMO1.EXE has several command line parameters. Type EZDEMO1 /? for a list of options. Here is what you get when you register the full library: 1) the complete library of routines with full documentation; 2) free updates when they become available; 3) customer support. Included in customer support is E-mail, phone support, and the "wish list". If you have an idea for a routine, and I get enough suggestions from others for the same type of routine, I will write it up and send it out with the next update. In addition, I will be periodically updating my personal library with new routines which will be included in the next volume. Each new volume can be obtained by registered users at a discount. I know a lot of you will want my source code, and I can understand that. I'm a little reluctant to give it out, but I will release it with the library for an extra fee. For ordering info, see the REGISTER.DOC file. E-MAIL You may reach me by phone (503) 649-7251 until August 1991, or through E-mail at any time. You can reach me at the following addresses: Prodigy DVDT90A PC-Link Johnny Sky GEnie J.STRONG6 AND LASTLY... Have a ball!