HMG Integrated Development Environment is a comprehensive and highly sophisticated tool for projects management, form design in development and is extremely easy to use.
HMG IDE works with following 4 windows:
Control Panel (main window)
Project Browser
Object Inspector
Form Design
1.Control Panel (main window)
The main window is constituted on a menu bar and a tool box, having many command buttons with descriptive tool tips. This tool box may consider two sections: project management and form designer which this last one is divided into a "controls" and "builders".
2.Project Browser
The Project Browser window has four tabs:
Modules. All your sources files (.PRGs).
Forms. All your components for screens (.FRMs).
Resources. Embed images files (icons, mouse pointers, pictures) saved in .RC file.
Reports. Formatted print list files (.RPTs)
Configuration. Compilling settings (see hbmk2 options) saved in .HBC file.
Includes. Headers files (.ch).
Tables. All your databases files (.DBFs).
You can view, select and inspect all project elements in this window. Whenever you add or exclude any module (source files, forms, or reports), IDE automatically updates the project browser.
3.Object Inspector
The Object Inspector window is for view and change properties and events of GUI elements in your forms.
You can observe and modify properties and events value of graphical elements of your form in the Object Inspector window. Some commonly listed properties: BackColor, Col, Cursor, Height, Icon, MaxButton, MinButton, Row, Sizable, SysMenu, Title, TopMost, Visible, Width, WindowType
Common Events: OnInit, OnRelease, OnInteractiveClose, OnMouseClick, OnMouseDrag, OnMouseMove, OnSize, OnMaximize, OnMinimize, OnPaint, OnNotifyClick, OnGotFocus, OnLostFocus, OnScrollUp, OnScrollDown, OnScrollLeft, OnScrollRight, OnHScrollBox, OnVScrollBox, Action, OnChange, OnDisplayChange, OnSelect, OnEnter, OnVScroll, OnDblClick, OnHeadClick, OnQueryData
4. Form Design
The form window is a chalkboard for designing forms and directing its graphical elements. New or existing, when you open a form, this windows also opened by IDE. With just a double-click you can easily place controls on your form: the first on desired button of control in form design"™s tool box and the second one is anywhere in form you like. After placed, you can resize and change its place by dragging.
When you placed a control in your form, IDE assign default values to its properties and events. Whenever you change these values interactively on the form, IDE also updates them internally. You can observe and modify them in the Object Inspector window.
HMG forms are designed "two way" manner. Saved in a readable format; in fact they are pure HMG source codes, neither binary nor cryptic. You can separately open, inspect and modify it too. When opened by IDE will automatically converted to visual form.
Form design is somewhat WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), i.e. it looks quite like its associated window, but a form always has a title bar, an active close box and minimize button, and a border, and are always resizable while the associated window may not have those features. These features are provided for forms to make them easy to design.
You can try to start with this sequence for form creation:
Define Window type and change all properties to your liking. · Click for any control at Control Panel and click inside de form design to be placed. · You can change positions, sizes and it properties as well events too. · When finished you must save it. This could be done at any time also during building process.
