C / C++ / MFC

7-Dec-11 8:51

This is my first form in c++ win32, and I want to get the tab key rolling for testing my program code, so when I fill in the edit boxes, I can just tab to the text box.

I put this form in a mdi child window, and all the samples I found use a dialog box. GetDialogItem was quite popular.

With the create window, I added the WS_TABSTOP.

If I can figure out the message generated by having focus in the textbox, and pressing the tab key, I think I can get the message in the wndProc, and set the focus to the next textbox.

txt_Manage_CreateAccount_LastName_Field = CreateWindow(TEXT("edit"),
TEXT(""),
WS_TABSTOP | WS_CHILD | WS_VISIBLE | WS_BORDER | SS_LEFT,
winWidth - 205,
92,
180, 20,
hManage_CreateAccount,
(HMENU) IDC_MANAGE_CREATEACCOUNT_LASTNAME,
GetModuleHandle(NULL),
NULL
);
		SendMessage(txt_Manage_CreateAccount_LastName_Field, WM_SETFONT, (WPARAM)hFont_txt, FALSE);
ShowWindow(txt_Manage_CreateAccount_LastName_Field, SW_SHOW);

David Crow7-Dec-11 9:34

David Crow

7-Dec-11 9:34

jkirkerx wrote:
...so when I fill in the edit boxes, I can just tab to the text box.

What are you saying here? I consider edit boxes and text boxes to be one in the same.

jkirkerx wrote:
If I can figure out the message generated by having focus in the textbox...

WM_SETFOCUS is sent to a window after it has gained the keyboard focus.

jkirkerx wrote:
...and set the focus to the next textbox.

Have you looked at GetNextDlgTabItem()?

jkirkerx7-Dec-11 10:56

7-Dec-11 10:56

DavidCrow wrote:
What are you saying here? I consider edit boxes and text boxes to be one in the same.

I call them textboxes, was not sure of the exact nomenclature used by Pro's

DavidCrow wrote:
Have you looked at GetNextDlgTabItem()?

I did, but read too much into it indicating it would not work on a regular window, because the tab message would never be sent. It had to be a dialog box sending the message. I sort of tried it, but it was hard to test in the wndProc. If I put a F9 in the loop, I could not set the focus in the textbox and press tab key, because the loop kept stopping at the breakpoint.

Let me try it again.

jkirkerx8-Dec-11 8:49

8-Dec-11 8:49

I had to move a lot of dirt to get the lowdown on that advice, but overall in the end, it will work soon today

I Added the DS_CONTROL, and the WS_EX_CONTROL_PARENT, which is suppose to extend dialog messaging to my MDI Child Window, and added a method to see the message from the tab key, and a intercept.

I loaded this in my form load function. Can't get a handle back from GetNextTabItem, so I will go back and check my window settings.

I'm not sure if what I wrote is sane or not, but it's a start.

// Intercept the Messages I want to hear
BOOL bReturn = FALSE;
while (GetMessage(&msg, NULL, 0, 0)) {
    if (bReturn == -1) {
    // handle the error and possibly exit
    }
    else { 
        TranslateMessage(&msg); 
	DispatchMessage(&msg);

	WCHAR szMessage[50];
	wsprintf(szMessage, L"msg=%u wparam=%u lparam=%u", msg.message, msg.wParam, msg.lParam);
	SetWindowText(lbl_Manage_CreateAccount_Status, szMessage);

	if (msg.message == WM_CHAR) {
		if ( msg.wParam == 9) {
			if ( msg.lParam == 983041 ) {
				HWND nextTab;
				nextTab = GetNextDlgTabItem(gManage, lbl_Manage_Label, FALSE);
		                DWORD errorCode = GetLastError();				
				SetFocus(nextTab);
			    }
			}
		}
	}		
    }

Stephen Hewitt8-Dec-11 2:16

8-Dec-11 2:16

Try reading this.

Steve

jkirkerx8-Dec-11 6:14

8-Dec-11 6:14

I read the blog, good information, I just need to let it soak in for awhile.

I thinking that I need to abandon the whole gui part of my program and start again. Maybe I really blew it and should of used Dialog boxes for all my forms. Coming from Visual Basic, in that world, there pretty much all called forms, and you can assign a value to them to change the type they are.

I put this in my form load function of my MDI child Window, but I need to figure out what the message is when I press the tab key, and where to listen for that specific message so I can issue the go to next textbox. It's suppose to be some sort of message pre-processor, that will fork out the message to 2 different types of listeners.

// Main message loop:
    BOOL bReturn = FALSE;
    while (GetMessage(&msg, NULL, 0, 0)) {
        if (bReturn == -1) {
            // handle the error and possibly exit
        }
        else {
            TranslateMessage(&msg);
            DispatchMessage(&msg);
        }
    }

    ReleaseDC(NULL, hdc);

Stephen Hewitt9-Dec-11 15:02

9-Dec-11 15:02

Forget all this manually handling keys like you're doing below. Even if you succeeded you'll have all this messy code that's already built into the OS. Also, there's more to the dialog keyboard interface than tab, like the arrow keys. The answer is the IsDialogMessage function. Change you message pump so it looks something like this:

MSG m;
while(GetMessage(&m, NULL, 0, 0))
{
	if (!IsDialogMessage(hManage_CreateAccount, &m))
	{
		TranslateMessage(&m);
		DispatchMessage(&m);
	}
}

Steve

jkirkerx9-Dec-11 15:23

9-Dec-11 15:23

I built on it even more today, and made it bigger, and thought I optimized it a bit more.

My thinking is saying only translate and dispatch DialogMessages?, and then run the rest of my code as is. Or wrap my new code in the if statement.

// Intercept the Messages I want to hear
    while (GetMessage(&msg, NULL, 0, 0)) {
        TranslateMessage(&msg);
        DispatchMessage(&msg);

        //WCHAR szMessage[50];
        //wsprintf(szMessage, L"msg=%u wparam=%u lparam=%u", msg.message, msg.wParam, msg.lParam);
        //SetWindowText(lbl_Manage_CreateAccount_Status, szMessage);

        switch (msg.message)  {
            case WM_LBUTTONDOWN:
            {
                WCHAR *szTempData[150];
                int iLength = SendMessageW(GetFocus(), WM_GETTEXT, (WPARAM)150, (LPARAM)szTempData );
                if ( iLength > 0 ) {
                    SendMessage(GetFocus(), EM_SETSEL, 0, -1);
                }
            }
            break;

            case WM_CHAR:
                short ks = GetKeyState(VK_SHIFT);
                if (msg.wParam == VK_TAB) {
                    if (ks >= 0) {
                        // Tab motion forward >>
                        SetFocus(GetNextDlgTabItem(hManage_CreateAccount, GetFocus(), FALSE));
                    }
                    else {
                        // Tab motion backward <<
                        SetFocus(GetNextDlgTabItem(hManage_CreateAccount, GetFocus(), TRUE));
                    }

                    // If text exist, select it
                    WCHAR *szTempData[150];
                    int iLength = SendMessageW(GetFocus(), WM_GETTEXT, (WPARAM)150, (LPARAM)szTempData );
                    if ( iLength > 0 )
                        SendMessage(GetFocus(), EM_SETSEL, 0, -1);
                }
                break;
        }
    }

Stephen Hewitt9-Dec-11 15:39

9-Dec-11 15:39

Dump all the code above and replace it with mine.

Steve

jkirkerx9-Dec-11 16:34

9-Dec-11 16:34

So I spent a whole day writing all that for nothing?

Why does all the functionality that I wrote still works?

Stephen Hewitt9-Dec-11 19:42

9-Dec-11 19:42

Firstly, have you tried the code I posted and does it work for you?
"Nothing" is a bit strong, you no doubt learnt something.
As to why it works, that's better explained in the original link I posted, in short it's because that's what the function is for.

Steve

jkirkerx9-Dec-11 20:18

9-Dec-11 20:18

All the functionality that I wrote works with 4 lines of your code.

Just upset because time is finite, and yes I did learn something, but at what price?.

Don't take it personally if I don't sound grateful. Give me a day to cool off.

I was so proud of myself for figuring it out, only to find out that I could of just bent time and space instead of traveling a great distance across the universe.

Stephen Hewitt9-Dec-11 21:22

It works, now but how to detect shift tab <<

9-Dec-11 21:22

No offense taken. Every programer as had that experience.

Steve

jkirkerx8-Dec-11 12:40

Re: It works, now but how to detect shift tab <<

8-Dec-11 12:40

Yeah it works now, but I want to backwards to.

How to detect shift + tab, or pull it out of the message

// Intercept the Messages I want to hear
    while (GetMessage(&msg, NULL, 0, 0)) {
        TranslateMessage(&msg);
        DispatchMessage(&msg);

        if (msg.message == WM_CHAR) {
            // Tab motion forward >>
            if (msg.wParam == VK_TAB) {
                SetFocus(GetNextDlgTabItem(hManage_CreateAccount, GetFocus(), FALSE));
            }
            // Tab motion backwards <<
            else if ((msg.wParam == VK_TAB) && (msg.lParam == VK_SHIFT)) {
                SetFocus(GetNextDlgTabItem(hManage_CreateAccount, GetFocus(), TRUE));
            }
        }
    }

Graham Breach8-Dec-11 13:06

Graham Breach

8-Dec-11 13:06

Obviously wParam can't be both VK_TAB and VK_SHIFT at the same time, so you'll have to check if shift is being held down when tab is pressed. Try using GetKeyState()[^]

Room for improvement let me know.

jkirkerx8-Dec-11 13:16