1 / 53

Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded Second Edition

Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded Second Edition. Chapter 2 Creating a User Interface. Objectives. After studying this chapter, you should be able to: Plan an application Complete a TOE chart Use a text box, table layout panel, and timer

sovann
Download Presentation

Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded Second Edition

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded Second Edition Chapter 2 Creating a User Interface

  2. Objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to: • Plan an application • Complete a TOE chart • Use a text box, table layout panel, and timer • Explain the difference between a primary window and a dialog box • Follow the Windows standards regarding the layout and labeling of controls Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  3. Objectives (continued) • Follow the Windows standards regarding the use of graphics, fonts, and color • Assign access keys to controls • Set the tab order • Designate a default button and a cancel button • Explain the difference between a modal form and a modeless form • Add a splash screen and a dialog box to an application Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  4. Planning an Application Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  5. Planning an Application (continued) • Plan the application before creating the user interface • Work jointly with the user • TOE (Task, Object, Event) chart: • Shows application’s tasks, objects, and events • Tasks, objects, and events should be identified in the first 3 steps of planning Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  6. Skate-Away Sales • Skate-Away Sales: • Sells skateboards at $100 each • Two colors: blue and yellow • Currently the salespeople calculate the order total • Develop an order-taking application for this company Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  7. Identifying the Application’s Tasks Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  8. Identifying the Application’s Tasks (continued) • First, review current user procedures and forms • Steps: • Identify the desired outputs • Identify the necessary inputs • Identify the processing needed to change the inputs into the outputs • Identify how the user will end the application • Identify the need to clear the screen between transactions Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  9. Identifying the Application’s Tasks (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  10. Identifying the Objects • Assign each task to an object in the TOE • TextBox tool: instantiates a text box control • Text box: • Used to allow the user to input information • Use buttons to initiate the calculations • Use labels to guide the user Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  11. Identifying the Objects (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  12. Identifying the Objects (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  13. Identifying the Events • Text boxes: no special events needed for user to enter the text • Labels: no special events needed to display the prompts • Buttons: • Action must occur when each button is clicked Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  14. Identifying the Events (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  15. Identifying the Events (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  16. Designing the User Interface • Follow Windows standards for: • Consistency • Ease of use • Familiar look and feel • Primary window: • The main window in an application • Dialog boxes: windows used to support and supplement a user’s activities in the primary window Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  17. Designing the User Interface (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  18. Designing the User Interface (continued) • Primary windows can be resized, minimized, maximized, and closed by the user • Primary window’s title bar includes: • Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons on the right • Control menu on the left • Dialog boxes can be closed only • Dialog box’s title bar includes: • Close button and optionally a Help button • No control menu Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  19. Designing the User Interface (continued) • Form object used to create primary window and dialog boxes • FormBorderStyleproperty: • Sets border style • Use default setting of Sizable for primary window • Use FixedDialog setting for dialog boxes • MinimizeBoxproperty and MaximizeBoxproperty control the existence of Minimize and Maximize buttons • Splash screen: • Set FormBorderStyle to FixedSingle • Set ControlBoxproperty to False to remove control menu Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  20. Designing the User Interface (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  21. Designing the User Interface (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  22. Designing the User Interface (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  23. Arranging the Controls • Guidelines: • Information should flow either vertically or horizontally • Group related controls together using white space or container controls • Container controls: • Group box control • Panel control • Table layout panel control Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  24. Arranging the Controls (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  25. Arranging the Controls (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  26. Arranging the Controls (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  27. Arranging the Controls (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  28. Arranging the Controls (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  29. Arranging the Controls (continued) • More guidelines: • Use a label with each text box • Left-align the label’s text • Position label to left of or above the text box it identifies • Labels and button captions should be 1 to 3 words only, and appear on one line • Labels and captions should be meaningful • Use sentence capitalization for labels Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  30. Arranging the Controls (continued) • Sentence capitalization: • Only first letter in the first word is usually capitalized • Book title capitalization: • First letter in each word is capitalized (except articles, conjunctions and prepositions) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  31. Arranging the Controls (continued) • More guidelines: • Maintain a consistent margin from all edges of the form • Size buttons relative to each other • Minimize the number of different margins by aligning control borders where possible • Interface should not distract the user from doing the work Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  32. Including Graphics in the User Interface • Human eye is drawn to pictures before text • Include graphics only if necessary • Use for aesthetic purposes • Use to clarify a portion of the screen Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  33. Including Different Fonts in the User Interface • Font property: used to change the type, style, and size of the font • Font: • General shape of characters in text • Size is measured in points • Point: 1/72 of an inch • Serif: a light cross stroke at top or bottom of a character • Sans serif fonts: do not have the cross strokes Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  34. Including Different Fonts in the User Interface (continued) • Guidelines: • Use sans serif fonts on screens • Use only one font type for the text in a form • 12-point font is easiest to read at high screen resolution • Avoid italics and underlining • Use bold only for titles, headings, and key terms Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  35. Including Color in the User Interface • Human eye is drawn to color before B&W • Guidelines: • Use color sparingly • Some people have trouble distinguishing colors • What is “acceptable” in colors is subjective • Color may have specific meaning in certain cultures • Use black or dark text on a white or light background • Use maximum of 3 different colors that complement each other • Do not use color as the only means of identification Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  36. Assigning Access Keys • Access key: • Allows user to select an object using Alt + access key • Appears underlined on the button caption • Is not case-sensitive • Guidelines: • Assign access keys to each control that can accept user input • Exceptions: OK and Cancel buttons Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  37. Assigning Access Keys (continued) • Advantages of using access keys: • User does not need mouse to navigate and activate controls • Allows fast typists to keep hands on keyboard • Facilitates use of the application by people with disabilities • Include & in front of the character to be used as the access key: • &Calculate Order  Calculate Order Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  38. Setting the TabIndex Property • TabIndex property: • Determines the order in which a control receives the focus when the Tab key is pressed • Starts at 0 • Focus: the state of being able to accept user input • Default TabIndex values are set according to the order in which the controls were added to the form Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  39. Setting the TabIndex Property (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  40. Setting the TabIndex Property (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  41. Designating Default and Cancel Buttons • Default button: activated when user presses Enter key • AcceptButtonproperty: • A form property • Designates the name of the default button • Cancel button: activated when user presses Esc key • CancelButtonproperty: • A form property • Designates the name of the cancel button Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  42. Including Splash Screens and Dialog Boxes in an Application Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  43. Including Splash Screens and Dialog Boxes in an Application (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  44. Including Splash Screens and Dialog Boxes in an Application (continued) • Show method: displays a form as a modeless form • Modeless form: • Can remain displayed while user uses other forms • ShowDialog method: displays a form as a modal form • Modal form: • Requires user to take action in the form • Rest of the application is not usable until the modal form is closed Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  45. Including Splash Screens and Dialog Boxes in an Application (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  46. The Timer Tool • Timer tool: instantiates a Timer control • Timer control: processes code at one or more regular intervals, specified by Interval property • Tick event: occurs after each interval has elapsed • Timer control does not appear on the form, but in the component tray • Component tray: area in the IDE that stores all controls that do not appear in the user interface at runtime Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  47. The Timer Tool (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  48. The Timer Tool (continued) Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  49. Programming Tutorial Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

  50. Programming Example Microsoft Visual Basic 2005: Reloaded, Second Edition

More Related