Winteracter Example

These screenshots are from the DOS (using INTERACTER) and Windows (using Winteracter) versions of the Chalmlite exterior lighting program, using exactly the same example data set. The DOS graphics are perfectly clear (and in the case of the yellow line, probably better than for the Windows version where we have used the "standard Windows" look of a grey background). However, the two menus highlight a DOS problem that I haven't mentioned so far. This program has to run on small screens and so the text, and consequently the area of the menus, is very large despite the length of the menu items' text being severely restricted. While it would be possible to write code that allows the user to select his required text size, it's much easier under Windows where the operating system deals with the size of the menu text for you. This also occurs in the child windows where the DOS version used abbreviations for almost everything in order to fit the descriptions in. For the Windows version we've used much fuller text. On a small screen the child windows may overlap, but the user can pull them around to see whatever he needs, and once again this is handled by the operating system. There's no need for you to write anything apart from the code to be called when the system tells you a window needs to be redrawn.

The top right-hand child window is an example of a modeless dialog being used instead of a window. This allows us to use a standard Windows grid control for information which is well suited to it, and has the added advantage that the grid knows how to redraw itself so we don't need to write any expose/resize code.

You'll have noticed that these child windows aren't resizable. This is entirely up to you, and is trivial to change. If you do allow the user to resize a window, you will have to decide whether the contents resize with it or whether when it shrinks you will only see a part of its contents.

I could go on about this all day, but I suspect you're all ready for a coffee by now. Here are the pictures; please let us know if you'd like to hear more. And if you're thinking there's very little difference between them other than the Windows port, remember what I said about customers having lots of ideas for version 2...

Article written by Catherine Rees-Lay

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