The MFC Answer Book

As a veteran computer engineer who has been developing professional Windows applications with MFC since 1992, Eugène Kain is attuned to the needs of Windows programmers. His extensive experience includes directing software projects, consulting, and designing and delivering advanced MFC training sessions for professional developers. He has written five books on Windows programming. 0201185377AB04062001

Foreword by Scot Wingo.


Preface.


Acknowledgments.


Terminology and Conventions.


Terminology Used in This Book.



Conventions Used in the Sample Code in This Book.



1. Document/View Architecture Backgrounder.


FAQ 1.1 What is the document/view architecture?



FAQ 1.2 What are the benefits of the document/view architecture?



FAQ 1.3 What components make up the document/view architecture, and how do they relate to each other?



FAQ 1.4 What is the role of the document?



FAQ 1.5 What is the role of the view?



FAQ 1.6 What is the role of the view’s frame window?



FAQ 1.7 What is the role of the document template?



FAQ 1.8 What is the role of the document template resource ID?



FAQ 1.9 How do the document/view architecture component objects get created?



FAQ 1.10 How does MFC route command messages?



FAQ 1.11 How does MFC implement the standard menu commands?



2. Documents and Document Templates.


Managing Document Templates.



FAQ 2.1 How should I create and reference multiple document templates in my application?



FAQ 2.2 How do I manage multiple document templates without having a dialog box pop up each time the user tries to create a new document?



FAQ 2.3 How do I create the resources associated with a new document template resource ID?



FAQ 2.4 How does MFC select the document template object to use when opening a file?



FAQ 2.5 How do I associate multiple file extensions with the same document or view class?



Managing Documents.



FAQ 2.6 How do I prevent an MDI application from opening a new (empty) document at start-up?



FAQ 2.7 How do I programmatically create a new (empty) document?



FAQ 2.8 How do I programmatically open an existing document file?



FAQ 2.9 How do I make my application remember the last active document and automatically reopen it?



FAQ 2.10 How do I make my documents autosave themselves without prompting the user?



FAQ 2.11 How do I implement a “Save all documents” menu command that does not prompt the user before saving each modified document?



FAQ 2.12 How do I programmatically close a document?



FAQ 2.13 How do I implement a “Close all documents” menu command?



Managing the Recent Files List (MRU).



FAQ 2.14 How do I customize the number of recent files shown in the “File” menu?



FAQ 2.15 How do I programmatically add a specific string to the Recent Files list?



FAQ 2.16 How do I intercept the selection of a Recent Files item by the user?



FAQ 2.17 How do I make my application automatically open the document that is at the top of the Recent Files list?



Miscellaneous Items.



FAQ 2.18 How do I get a pointer to the currently active document?



FAQ 2.19 How do I iterate through the list of all the currently opened documents?



FAQ 2.20 Why doesn’t my application register its document files with Windows Explorer, and how do I correct this situation?



3. Views and Frame Windows.


General Topics.



FAQ 3.1 How do I add a new kind of view or frame window to my application?



FAQ 3.2 How do I choose between implementing a specific behavior in the view class or in the view's frame window class?



Opening and Closing Views and Frame Windows.



FAQ 3.3 How do I programmatically open a view based on a specific document template?



FAQ 3.4 How do I open two (or more) specific views each time a new document is created?



FAQ 3.5 How do I programmatically close a view?



FAQ 3.6 How do I programmatically close all the views opened on a document?



FAQ 3.7 How do I prevent a view from being closed by the user? 137



Managing Size and Positions.



FAQ 3.8 How do I programmatically resize or reposition a view?



FAQ 3.9 How do I set the initial position and size of a view?



FAQ 3.10 How do I center my main application window?



FAQ 3.11 How do I center a view?



FAQ 3.12 How do I make a frame window nonresizable?



FAQ 3.13 How do I limit the maximum or minimum size of a view?



FAQ 3.14 How do I limit the repositioning of a view?



FAQ 3.15 How do I make a view initially appear minimized or maximized?



FAQ 3.16 How do I make my application start maximized or minimized?



FAQ 3.17 How do I make my main application window stay always on top of other windows?



FAQ 3.18 How do I make one of my views stay always on top of other views?



FAQ 3.19 How do I implement a full-screen view mode like the one in Visual C++ and Word?



Managing Captions, Icons, Cursors, and Background.



FAQ 3.20 How do I customize the captions of my views?



FAQ 3.21 How do I show a “modified” indicator in the captions of the views associated with a “dirty” document?



FAQ 3.22 How do I modify the icons associated with each kind of window in my application?



FAQ 3.23 How do I dynamically change the icon of my main application window ?



FAQ 3.24 How do I dynamically change the cursor for a view?



FAQ 3.25 How do I display an hourglass cursor during a lengthy operation?



FAQ 3.26 How do I change the background color of a view?



FAQ 3.27 How do I draw on the main application window background?



Form Views.



FAQ 3.28 How do I keep my form views synchronized with my other views?



FAQ 3.29 How do I make a form view initially appear with the exact size of the associated dialog resource?



FAQ 3.30 How do I use the UPDATE_COMMAND_UI mechanism in form views?



FAQ 3.31 How do I change the background color of a form view?



FAQ 3.32 How do I add ToolTips to the controls in a form view?



Splitter Windows.



FAQ 3.33 How do I program a window with both horizontal and vertical static splitter panes (three-way splitter)?



FAQ 3.34 How do I lock a splitter window so that the user cannot move the divider line?



FAQ 3.35 How do I programmatically resize the panes in a splitter window?



FAQ 3.36 How do I visually show the user which splitter pane contains the active view?



Switching Views.



FAQ 3.37 How do I dynamically switch the view displayed in an MDI child window or SDI main application window?



FAQ 3.38 How do I dynamically switch the view displayed in a splitter window?



Miscellaneous Items.



FAQ 3.39 How do I get a pointer to the active view?



FAQ 3.40 How do I get a pointer to the active frame window?



FAQ 3.41 How do I iterate through the list of all the views associated with a document?



4. Dialog Boxes.


General Topics.



FAQ 4.1 How do I set the initial position of a dialog box?



FAQ 4.2 How do I center a dialog box in relation to another window?



FAQ 4.3 How can a dialog box access the active document (or view) object?



FAQ 4.4 How do I control the background color of a dialog box?



FAQ 4.5 How do I add a preview area to (draw inside) a dialog box?



FAQ 4.6 How do I add an icon to a dialog box?



FAQ 4.7 How do I implement an expanding dialog box?



FAQ 4.8 How do I add a toolbar to a dialog box?



Managing Controls on a Dialog Box.



FAQ 4.9 How do I choose the control that will initially have the focus when a dialog box is displayed?



FAQ 4.10 How do I implement custom validation rules in a dialog box?



FAQ 4.11 How do I change the font and color of controls on my dialog box?



FAQ 4.12 How do I use the UPDATE_COMMAND_UI mechanism in dialog boxes?



FAQ 4.13 How do I add ToolTips support to the controls in a dialog box?



5. Property Sheets.


General Topics.



FAQ 5.1 How do I build and use a property sheet?



FAQ 5.2 How do I manage the Apply button in a property sheet?



FAQ 5.3 How do I programmatically change the active page in a property sheet?



FAQ 5.4 How do I customize the standard property sheet buttons?



FAQ 5.5 How do I control the size of my property sheet window?



Managing Tabs.



FAQ 5.6 How do I choose between a stacked row of tabs and a single row of scrolling tabs?



FAQ 5.7 How do I change the captions of the tabs of my property pages?



FAQ 5.8 How do I add icons to the tabs of my property pages?



Embedding Property Sheets.



FAQ 5.9 How do I embed a property sheet inside a dialog box?



FAQ 5.10 How do I embed a property sheet inside a form view?



FAQ 5.11 How do I embed a property sheet inside a splitter window pane?



FAQ 5.12 How do I embed a property sheet inside a miniframe window?



6. Toolbars and Status Bars.


Toolbars.



FAQ 6.1 How do I add one or more toolbars to my main frame window or to a view’s frame window?



FAQ 6.2 What are the various options available for controlling the position, orientation, and general behavior of my toolbars?



FAQ 6.3 How do I programmatically dock a toolbar next to another one?



FAQ 6.4 How do I add a combo box to a toolbar?



FAQ 6.5 How do I add text labels to my toolbar buttons?



FAQ 6.6 How do I implement a menu that allows users to select the toolbars they want to see?



FAQ 6.7 How do I allow users to choose the toolbar they want to see by selecting it in a popup menu that appears when they right-click on a docking zone?



FAQ 6.8 How do I dynamically switch between different toolbars?



Status Bars.



FAQ 6.9 How do I add a custom status bar to a view's frame window?



FAQ 6.10 How do I update the text of my status bar panes?



FAQ 6.11 How do I customize my status bar font?



FAQ 6.12 How do I draw in a status bar pane?



FAQ 6.13 How do I maximize the message pane when displaying menu prompts?



FAQ 6.14 How do I display a progress indicator in a status bar?



General Control Bar Topics.



FAQ 6.15 How do I programmatically show or hide a control bar?



FAQ 6.16 How do I set the caption of a floating control bar?



FAQ 6.17 How do I save and restore the position and state of my control bars?



FAQ 6.18 How do I create custom control bars?



7. Menus.


FAQ 7.1 How do I handle several distinct menu commands with a single function?



FAQ 7.2 How do I implement a right-button popup menu (context menu)?



FAQ 7.3 How do I display a popup menu when the user clicks a button on a toolbar?



FAQ 7.4 How do I display a popup menu when the user clicks a button in a dialog box?



FAQ 7.5 How do I implement an owner-drawn menu?



8. Printing and Print Preview.


FAQ 8.1 What is the MFC printing architecture?



FAQ 8.2 How do I implement printing and print preview in my MFC application?



FAQ 8.3 How do I print a document whose page length is not known in advance (on-the-fly pagination)?



FAQ 8.4 How do I predict page breaks as Microsoft Word does?



FAQ 8.5 How do I programmatically change the printing orientation (portrait versus landscape) on-the-fly?



FAQ 8.6 How do I print without prompting the user with the standard Print dialog box?



FAQ 8.7 How do I customize the standard Print dialog box and retrieve the options selected by the user?



FAQ 8.8 How do I customize the Printing . . . dialog box?



FAQ 8.9 How do I stop or abort a print job?



FAQ 8.10 How do I implement print preview in shades of gray for a monochrome printer?



FAQ 8.11 How do I distinguish between drawing, print preview, and actual printing in my code?



Appendix A Utility Functions and Classes.


Appendix B Bibliography and Additional Resources.


Index. 0201185377T04062001