TOOLBAR has been updated to version 0.0.10. This one fixes a serious bug in the FEEL code, described in this post, so it's highly recommended to replace your current version with this one.

TOOLBAR can be found in the Download section.

TOOLBAR can also be used to create an easy horizontal button bar at the bottom of your window. This is not a new feature, but it has not been considered tested until a few months ago (where I probably should have mentioned it ). If you are using Tester, you'll see it in a few places in the sub windows, such as in the Test List Window.

I created a separate style called BUTTON-BAR for this. The dialect largely works the same, but the access to creating the buttons is a little easier, and there are 5 predefined buttons with predefined actions in the DATA-STORE block that work similarly to what you see in ALERT and REQUEST.

In your layout, you'd create the button bar like this:

view layout [button-bar with [data: [ok-btn cancel-btn]]]


And presto:

Just like TOOLBAR, the button bar will stretch itself according to the width of your window or wherever you need it, but by default, it grows to the size of what the buttons require.

BUTTON-BAR is still not mentioned in the docs, but you can study the details of BUTTON-BAR in the source code at the bottom, along with the OK-BAR and OK-CANCEL-BAR styles. Those bars are standard bars for even easier button layouts.

Enjoy!

Having used Toolbar for a long time in my programs, I find it to be very useful, so I thought I'd use a blog post to highlight it a bit again.

However there is also a single issue that causes Rebol/View 1.3.2 to crash and I've backtracked it to be a part of some FEEL code that uses DETECT to detect when the icon should be highlighted according to mouse position. Along with this, you need to have an INFORM window open. REBOL/View crashes when you close the INFORM window. All of this has been reduced a while ago into RAMBO entry #4137.

It's rare, but the more complex your layout it, the more often it happens.

So what about changing the TOOLBAR code to get rid of the problem? I haven't yet found a solution; TOOLBAR mimics the toolbars used in MacOSX rather closely, including mouse over behaviour and the current solution using DETECT, is the only one, I've been able to find.

If you want to help, I can post a more technical note on how the FEEL code works. Leave your comments below.

I've uploaded a new version 0.0.9 of TOOLBAR. This one has a feature that will grow the toolbar size if you set the width of the toolbar initially to 0 -1. So now you can make TOOLBAR decide the size of your window, rather than only the other way around.

The default for TOOLBAR is still 100x50, but BUTTON-BAR is now set to 0x50 -1x50, so it will grow in size as it should.

You can find TOOLBAR in the Downloads section.

Finally being done with the Big June Project, I've been able to spend a few days on a pet project of mine: TOOLBAR.

TOOLBAR is a VID widget which resembles a typical MacOSX toolbar. While it's not as flexible, it adds some oomph to making toolbars with Rebol.

Yes, it's the part at the top of the window you are supposed to notice!

It can be found on the download page. Enjoy!