[...]... pretensions and strict criteria I wouldn’t wish to deter anyone who is keen to learn and willing to try; all are welcome here What This Book Covers From concept to completion I illustrate the design, implementation, and testing of a full-formed user interface using DirectX, providing suggestions and rationales for good planning and sound coding Such important mechanisms as message handling and hierarchical... Loading a File 13.8 Playing a File 13 .9 Catching Media Events 13.10 Reading Media Events 13.11 Handling Media Events 13.12 Cleaning Up 13.13 Conclusion 291 292 294 295 297 297 298 299 301 301 302 305 306 306 Chapter... Text Width and Height 11.5.3 Setting Text 11.5.4 Text Box Caret 225 226 226 227 228 2 29 2 29 230 230 231 231 232 233 234 235 236 236 186 187 190 193 198 198 199 199 200 201... from a list needs to be selected and needs to be visible, drop-down lists typically provide a more convenient solution 10 Part I Chapter 1: User Interfaces 1.2.6 Drop-Down Lists Figure 1.10 Drop-down list controls At first glance, drop-down lists appear to be like text boxes, except for a downward arrow anchored to their far right-hand side In reality, however, drop-down lists are more like list boxes,... appears and is structured similarly — appears when a user clicks the right-hand mouse button over specific areas inside a window This is called a pop-up menu Part I Chapter 1: User Interfaces 13 The Foundations 1.2 .9 Page Controls/Tab Controls Figure 1.13 Page controls Page controls are like folder dividers for interfaces, dividing controls into separate screen pages Their greatest asset to a user is... blank Chapter 1 User Interfaces There are a great number of books available that discuss user interfaces and DirectX individually, but there are only a few that address these issues together Hence, it’s primarily for this reason that I’ve chosen to pen this title This book is structured into three parts: The first discusses foundational knowledge that underpins both interfaces and DirectX as a whole;... diagrams? n What is interface design? n Why is interface design important? n Which interface design guidelines are recommended to follow? 1 2 Part I Chapter 1: User Interfaces 1.1 User Interfaces — What Are They? Conceptually, a user interface is a surface forming a common border between two regions of an application; on one side of the border is the user and on the other side is a computer program The only... Application Windows 9. 7 Using CXWindow — Sample Application 9. 7.1 Overview 9. 7.2 Desktop Initialization 9. 7.3 Window Initialization 9. 7.4 Windows Message Posting 9. 7.5 Deleting an Interface 9. 8 Conclusion Chapter 10 Labels and Buttons 10.1 Labels and Buttons ... 9. 4 Implementing the Parent Window 9. 5 CXWindow as a Child Window 9. 6 Implementing Child Windows 9. 6.1 Child Windows — Loading the Canvas 1 79 180 181 181 183 183 184 185 x Contents 9. 6.2 Painting Application Windows 9. 6.3 Dragging Application Windows 9. 6.4 Minimizing and. .. book and there are no time-critical sections, so you can take this at your own pace, going from one chapter to the next For those new to the topic of user interfaces or DirectX, I recommend reading through this book from cover to cover and working on practical code as advised Conversely, there are no rules governing what should or should not be read for those already familiar with DirectX or user interface . Cataloging-in-Publication Data Thorn, Alan. DirectX 9 user interfaces : design and implementation / by Alan Thorn. p. cm. ISBN 1-5 562 2-2 4 9- 1 (pbk.) 1. User interfaces (Computer systems). 2. DirectX. . class="bi x0 y0 w0 h0" alt="" DirectX ® 9 User Interfaces: Design and Implementation Alan Thorn This page intentionally left blank. DirectX ® 9 User Interfaces: Design and Implementation Alan Thorn Wordware. Application Windows 190 9. 7 Using CXWindow — Sample Application 193 9. 7.1 Overview 198 9. 7.2 Desktop Initialization 198 9. 7.3 Window Initialization 199 9. 7.4 Windows Message Posting 199 9. 7.5 Deleting