BCGControlBar Pro for MFC includes Application Wizards for the following Visual C++ environments:
- Visual C++ 6.0
- Visual C++ .NET/2003
- Visual C++ 2005-2017
You can use BCGAppWizard to generate a new, fully functional application based on BCGControlBar Library for MFC framework.
In this article we'll describe how to create a new application in Visual C++ 6.0 and Visual C++ 2005-2017 environments (the most common development environments for today).
BCGControlBar Pro Application Wizard for Visual C++ 6.0:
- Run Visual C++ 6.0.
- Choose "File | New..." menu item.
- Switch to the "Projects" tab and choose "BCGCBPro AppWizard" item. This will start the regular MFC AppWizard (with some extra steps) that creates the executable. On the 7-th step you will be asked for the BCGControlBar-specific settings:
- Application Type. Specifies your application UI type: it can be either "classic" (with toolbars and menu bar) or Office 2007/2010-style with the ribbon bar.
- Hi-color toolbar images. If you check this item, all toolbars will be created with high-color (24bpp) bitmaps.
- Backstage View. Check this item if you wish to create your Ribbon bar with Backstage view.
- Use Ribbon Designer. If this item is checked, the project will be created with Ribbon Designer resources. Otherwise, the Ribbon bar will be initialized in source code.
- MDI Tabs. Your MDI application will be created with MDI Tabs. If your application is SDI, this option will be disabled.
- MDI Tab Groups. Your MDI application will be created with MDI Tab Groups. If your application is SDI, this option will be disabled.
- Visual Theme. Choose the Visual Theme (such as Office 2010 or Visual Studio 2010) that will be initially applied to your application.
- Application Look can be changed by user. Check this option if you wish to allow the user modifying the application look at run-time. If your application is toolbar/menu based, "Application Look" menu item will appear under the "View" menu. In the Ribbon bar, "Style" menu will be placed on the right side.
- Statically Linked Library. Your project will be linked with BCGControlBar Library statically. This option cannot be used in Evaluation version!
- Click "Next" button and go to the Step 8:
- Shortcuts ("Outlook"-style) bar. Check this option if you want to add a Shortcuts Bar.
- Embedded Control. Shortcuts bar will be create with an embedded control.
- Caption Bar. Check this option if you want to add a Caption Bar.
- Docking "Workspace" bar (left side). Adds an example of a workspace bar with detachable tabs.
- Docking "Output" bar (bottom side). Adds an example of an output bar.
- Task Pane (right side). Adds an example of the tasks pane.
- Property Grid (right side). Adds a Visual Studio-style property grid.
- AutoHide Bars. Enables "Auto Hide Window" feature for all docking panes.
- Docking Style. Choose control bars docking style. You can select:
- Visual Studio.NET style
- Visual Studio 2005-2017 style
Click "Next" button and go to the Step 9. If you application is toolbar/menu-based, this page includes toolbar customization options:
- Alternative customization ("Alt+Drag"). Allows to drag and drop toolbar/menu items without invocation of the customization dialog.
- User-defined toolbars. Adds an ability to create custom toolbars at run-time.
- User-defined images. Allows to associate toolbar buttons with user-defined bitmaps.
- Keyboard customization. Adds to your project keyboard shortcuts customization.
- Mouse customization. Adds to your project customization of the mouse events.
- Context menus customization. Adds to your project a context menu customization.
- Recently used menus (Office 2000 style). Shows recently used menu items first. If you do not choose this option, all menu items will be shown.
- User Tools. Adds an ability to customize user-defined (usually external) tools at run-time.
If your application is Ribbon-based, the "Customization" page will include the Ribbon customization options:
- Add "Customize" page to "Options" dialog. Check this option is you want to enable Ribbon QAT customization dialog.
- Add Ribbon Customization. Check this option is you want to enable Ribbon Customization.
BCGControlBar Pro Application Wizard for Visual C++ 2005-2017:
- Run Visual C++ (Visual Studio) developer environment.
- Choose "File | New | Project..." menu item.
- Select "Visual C++ Projects" Project type, 'BCGPAppWizard' folder and then choose the "MFC Application" icon. This will start the regular MFC AppWizard (with 2 additional pages) that creates the executable.
- Specify your general MFC application settings and switch to "BCGControlBar General" page. Please note, that this page is not available for a dialog-based MFC application.
- Toolbars/menu interface. Choose this option if you wish to create an application with "classic" (toolbar/menu-based user interface).
- Hi-color toolbar images. If you check this item, all toolbars will be created with high-color (24bpp) bitmaps.
- Ribbon-based interface. Choose this option if you wish to create Office 2007/2010-style application with the ribbon bar.
- Backstage View. Check this item if you wish to create your Ribbon bar with Backstage view.
- Use Ribbon Designer. If this item is checked, the project will be created with Ribbon Designer resources. Otherwise, the Ribbon bar will be initialized in source code.
- MDI Tabs. Your MDI application will be created with MDI Tabs. If your application is SDI, this option will be disabled.
- MDI Tab Groups. Your MDI application will be created with MDI Tab Groups. If your application is SDI, this option will be disabled.
- Visual Style. Choose the Visual Theme (such as Office 2010 or Visual Studio 2010) that will be initially applied to your application.
- Add "Application Look" menu. Check this option if you wish to allow the user modifying the application look at run-time. If your application is toolbar/menu based, "Application Look" menu item will appear under the "View" menu. In the Ribbon bar, "Style" menu will be placed on the right side
- Alternative customization ("Alt+Drag"). Allows to drag and drop toolbar/menu items without invocation of the customization dialog.
- User-defined toolbars. Adds an ability to create custom toolbars at run-time.
- User-defined images. Allows to associate toolbar buttons with user-defined bitmaps.
- Keyboard customization. Adds to your project keyboard shortcuts customization.
- Mouse customization. Adds to your project customization of the mouse events.
- Context menus customization. Adds to your project a context menu customization.
- Personalized Menus. Shows recently used menu items first. If you do not choose this option, all menu items will be shown.
- User-defined Tools. Adds an ability to customize user-defined (usually external) tools at run-time.
- "Windows..." dialog. Check this option is you wish to replace the standard "Windows..." dialog by enhanced (MDI applications only).
- Statically Linked Library. Your project will be linked with BCGControlBar Library statically. This option cannot be used in Evaluation version!
Click "Next" button and switch to "BCGControlBar Advanced Settings" page:
- Shortcuts ("Outlook"-style) bar. Check this option if you want to add a Shortcuts Bar.
- Embedded Control. Shortcuts bar will be create with an embedded control.
- Caption Bar. Check this option if you want to add a Caption Bar.
- Docking Workspace bar. Adds an example of a workspace bar with detachable tabs.
- Docking Output bar. Adds an example of an output bar.
- Docking Property Grid. Adds a Visual Studio-style property grid.
- Enable AutoHide. Enables "Auto Hide Window" feature for all docking panes.
- Docking Type. Choose control bars docking style. You can select:
- Visual Studio.NET style
- Visual Studio 2005-2017 style