Re: Visually Arranging Controls in Visual Basic .NET

  • From: "dusty bray" <dusty_bray@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2007 11:43:51 -0400

Hi Jamal,
Yeah-- from what i read, your program seems like a much, much better developed version of what i was trying to do. i guess using your terminology, my application just creates the bands (whose padding depends on the height of the form) and divides the bands by the number of controls to space them across the form. So, this seems more useful than the Flow Layout Panel (since you can't really tell if related controls will be in the same band), and slightly better than Table Layout (which simply places controls in a matrix). By the way, these panels remind me a lot of Java's approach, after which i also modeled my classes.
i didn't have the extra time, but i really intended to make something that allows the user to specify more semantic relationships between the controls. i think GUI design should work more like the HTML & CSS philosophy of "separate logical structure from the visual display". For instance, an input control should have some relationship with it's label, and let an alorithm decide where they both should go. i think this would be beneficial for non-impaired users as well; just like CSS, the developer might be able to change the look-and-feel of the app on-the-fly. Sometimes labels are placed to the left of input controls; sometimes they're placed above. It would be very convenient if one could switch between the styles dynamically. This fits with my personal philosophy that the incorporation of semantic information in more aspects of computing will solve the majority of the accessibility problem. (Call me crazy.)
i'm not sure if your approach already hits on some of these ideas; i didn't have a chance to read it very thoroughly. i want to look at it in more detail when i have a chance. 

Talk to you later,

dusty.......






From: Jamal Mazrui <empower@xxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: Visually Arranging Controls in Visual Basic .NET
Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 21:49:12 -0400 (EDT)

Thanks for your efforts in this area, Dusty, as it is certainly an
important one for blind programmers.  Can you elaborate on the
heuristics your code uses to position controls?  Inthane is referring to
the FlowLayoutPanel and TableLayoutPanel containers that were introduced
in the .NET 2.0 Framework.  They can be used to good advantage for
positioning controls automatically without having to specify pixel
coordinates.  The Dock, Anchor, and AutoSize properties also help in
sizing and positioning controls in an acceptable visual manner without
either eyesight or tedious arithmetic calculations.

FYI -- Your approach seems similar to one I developed in the AutoIt
language.  "Layout by Code" is available at
http://www.EmpowermentZone.com/lbc.zip

Regards,
Jamal
On Tue, 18 Sep 2007, dusty bray
wrote:

> Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 21:39:08 -0400
> From: dusty bray <dusty_bray@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Reply-To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: Visually Arranging Controls in Visual Basic .NET
>
> Panels?? i don't understand. How can panels help? Don't you still have to > position the controls inside the panel? Is there a built-in way of dealing 
> with layout?  If so, i wish we knew about it earlier.  smile
>
> dusty.......
>
> >From: "inthaneelf" <inthaneelf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >Reply-To: programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >To: <programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >Subject: Re: Visually Arranging Controls in Visual Basic .NET
> >Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 16:43:42 -0700
> >
> >thanks, I'll take a look in the near future (as soon as I pull myself out 
> >of my RPG game writing and plunge back into the programming folder),
> >
> >the only question I have is why he didn't use the built in layout panels? 
> >
> >take care,
> >inthane
> >. For Blind Programming assistance, Information, Useful Programs, and Links 
> >to Jamal Mazrui's Text tutorial packages and Applications, visit me at:
> >http://grabbag.alacorncomputer.com
> >. to be able to view a simple programming project in several programming 
> >languages, visit the Fruit basket demo site at:
> >http://fruitbasketdemo.alacorncomputer.com
> >
> >----- Original Message ----- From: "dusty bray" <dusty_bray@xxxxxxxxxxx> 
> >To: <programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2007 10:24 AM
> >Subject: Visually Arranging Controls in Visual Basic .NET
> >
> >
> >>Hey everyone,
> >>
> >>i found this VB.NET project on my computer, and i thought maybe someone 
> >>here could find it helpful.
> >>
> >>During my last year of college, a professor asked for my help with a blind > >>student who was having trouble with his VB.NET assignments. The student > >>needed constant assistance because he was unable to arrange the controls 
> >>on the form by himself.  i threw together a set of classes to arrange
> >>controls dynamically. My method actually seems to work pretty well: it 
> >>spaces and groups together controls in a fairly attractive manner, no
> >>matter the dimensions of the form. Unfortunately, the student didn't seem 
> >>very interested in programming, and the semester ended before they
> >>actually tried using my solution.
> >>
> >>But if anyone here would like to try it, the sample project is located
> >>here:
> >>http://here-i-am.sourceforge.net/UITest.zip
> >>Just add the file UIManager.vb to any project and add code to the Form
> >>Load event similar to the sample.
> >>
> >>i'm sorry that it's very thrown together, but maybe someone will find it 
> >>useful,
> >>
> >>dusty.......
> >>
> >>_________________________________________________________________
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