ShowDialog Issue

[Jim Frazer]

Hi,

I'm developing a C# application that will function like the SIP. I'm doing
this because our platform is a CEPC with touchscreen and we'll need a large
keyboard that is "finger friendly". The application can be invoked by any
other application in the system.

My problem is that I cannot figure out a way to display the SIP form in such
a way that forms behind it are truly disabled. The SIP form doesn't fill
the whole screen so some buttons from forms beneath it are visible to the
user. While these exposed buttons don't respond to while the SIP form is
displayed, they will respond after the SIP form is closed. Setting the
underlying form's enabled property to false and then back to true or
disabling individual controls on the underlying form doesn't help. As soon
as the form or the controls are enabled, they will respond to any touches
that occured while the SIP form was displayed. I could make the SIP form
full screen, but it's pretty ugly when the SIP form is in numeric keypad
mode. If I hide any underlying forms then the main window icons (i.e. My
Computer) become visible and active.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm guessing there's a simple
solution...I just haven't found it yet.

Thanks,

Jim Frazer

 

[Paul G. Tobey [eMVP]]

If what you want is a SIP with large buttons, you're much better off just
writing one. There's even one *with* large buttons available in Platform
Builder, already, if you are building the device hardware yourself...

Paul T.

 

[Jim Frazer]

Paul,

Thanks for the reply. To date, I've not been able to get a C# application
to display the standard SIP without getting a "Not Supported" exception. If
I don't find a simple work-around I may revisit that strategy, though I'm
not thrilled with it.

Jim

 

[Jim Frazer]

Paul,

I just looked at the large keyboard SIP .bmp on our 800x600 display and it's
keys are too small to be finger friendly, especially in the shop floor
environment where our systems are typically deployed. It's also way too
busy for our typical users. The "SIP" app that I did is completely
operational except for the issue mentioned in the original post. I'll find
a way - perhaps making it a control rather than a separate application.

Jim

 

[Paul G. Tobey [eMVP]]

That's fine, but you can relatively easily change a lot of things about the
SIPs and they will work with all applications, not just your one, single
application (better decoupling).

You said that you had some problem with getting the InputPanel to pop up.
I'd address that, as it's not a problem that everyone is having...

Paul T.

 

[Chris Tacke, eMVP]

Just out of curiosity, why not just write a real SIP so you get actual SIP
behavior?

-Chris

 

[Jim Frazer]

Chris,

We have been using a CEPC platform for several years for machine control
applications. Early on, we didn't have Platform builder available to us and
probably didn't have the skills to revise the SIP even if we did. As a
result, we chose to write a custom ActiveX control that was tailored to our
user base. The machine operators who use our control systems frequently
have minimal computer skills and the input control was designed with that in
mind. If we want a 2 digit integer number we show a 10 key pad with a
description and an icon representing what the number is for along with the
allowed range. The control ensures that the number entered is within limits
before returning it to the application.

As time progressed, our skills have improved and we now do our own
platforms. We probably could learn what's necessary to do a custom SIP, but
I'm not convinced it would be any better than what we have. I backed off my
idea of having a separate application that would serve as an input provider
and went with a C# control. It does everything we need and maintains the
look and feel of earlier systems.

Jim

 

[Chris Tacke, eMVP]

Makes sense if you're using it for data validation.

-Chris

 

[Jon Brunson]

AFAIK you cannot use the SIP in WindowsCE, so I would guess going down
the "write your own SIP" route would be a futile endeavor. You would
need to write a whole custom form; which, by the sounds of it, you are.

 

[Daniel Moth]

Who told you that you cannot use the SIP in WinCE? They were wrong.

Cheers
Daniel

AFAIK you cannot use the SIP in WindowsCE, so I would guess going down
the "write your own SIP" route would be a futile endeavor. You would
need to write a whole custom form; which, by the sounds of it, you are.

That's fine, but you can relatively easily change a lot of things about the
SIPs and they will work with all applications, not just your one, single
application (better decoupling).

You said that you had some problem with getting the InputPanel to pop up.
I'd address that, as it's not a problem that everyone is having...

Paul T.

Paul,

I just looked at the large keyboard SIP .bmp on our 800x600 display and
it's keys are too small to be finger friendly, especially in the shop
floor environment where our systems are typically deployed. It's also way
too busy for our typical users. The "SIP" app that I did is completely
operational except for the issue mentioned in the original post. I'll
find a way - perhaps making it a control rather than a separate
application.

Jim
"Paul G. Tobey [eMVP]" <ptobey no spam AT no instrument no spam DOT com>
wrote in message
If what you want is a SIP with large buttons, you're much better off just
writing one. There's even one *with* large buttons available in Platform
Builder, already, if you are building the device hardware yourself...

Paul T.


Hi,

I'm developing a C# application that will function like the SIP. I'm
doing this because our platform is a CEPC with touchscreen and we'll
need a large keyboard that is "finger friendly". The application can be
invoked by any other application in the system.

My problem is that I cannot figure out a way to display the SIP form in
such a way that forms behind it are truly disabled. The SIP form
doesn't fill the whole screen so some buttons from forms beneath it are
visible to the user. While these exposed buttons don't respond to while
the SIP form is displayed, they will respond after the SIP form is
closed. Setting the underlying form's enabled property to false and then
back to true or disabling individual controls on the underlying form
doesn't help. As soon as the form or the controls are enabled, they
will respond to any touches that occured while the SIP form was
displayed. I could make the SIP form full screen, but it's pretty ugly
when the SIP form is in numeric keypad mode. If I hide any underlying
forms then the main window icons (i.e. My Computer) become visible and
active.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm guessing there's a simple
solution...I just haven't found it yet.

Thanks,

Jim Frazer

 

[Jon Brunson]

No-one, but I always get a run-time error when trying to use the
InputPanel in CE

Who told you that you cannot use the SIP in WinCE? They were wrong.

Cheers
Daniel

AFAIK you cannot use the SIP in WindowsCE, so I would guess going down
the "write your own SIP" route would be a futile endeavor. You would
need to write a whole custom form; which, by the sounds of it, you are.


Paul G. Tobey [eMVP] wrote:

That's fine, but you can relatively easily change a lot of things about

the

SIPs and they will work with all applications, not just your one, single
application (better decoupling).

You said that you had some problem with getting the InputPanel to pop

up.

I'd address that, as it's not a problem that everyone is having...

Paul T.



Paul,

I just looked at the large keyboard SIP .bmp on our 800x600 display and
it's keys are too small to be finger friendly, especially in the shop
floor environment where our systems are typically deployed. It's also

way

too busy for our typical users. The "SIP" app that I did is completely
operational except for the issue mentioned in the original post. I'll
find a way - perhaps making it a control rather than a separate
application.

Jim
"Paul G. Tobey [eMVP]" <ptobey no spam AT no instrument no spam DOT com>
wrote in message

If what you want is a SIP with large buttons, you're much better off

just

writing one. There's even one *with* large buttons available in

Platform

Builder, already, if you are building the device hardware yourself...

Paul T.



Hi,

I'm developing a C# application that will function like the SIP. I'm
doing this because our platform is a CEPC with touchscreen and we'll
need a large keyboard that is "finger friendly". The application can

be

invoked by any other application in the system.

My problem is that I cannot figure out a way to display the SIP form

in

such a way that forms behind it are truly disabled. The SIP form
doesn't fill the whole screen so some buttons from forms beneath it

are

visible to the user. While these exposed buttons don't respond to

while

the SIP form is displayed, they will respond after the SIP form is
closed. Setting the underlying form's enabled property to false and

then

back to true or disabling individual controls on the underlying form
doesn't help. As soon as the form or the controls are enabled, they
will respond to any touches that occured while the SIP form was
displayed. I could make the SIP form full screen, but it's pretty

ugly

when the SIP form is in numeric keypad mode. If I hide any underlying
forms then the main window icons (i.e. My Computer) become visible and
active.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm guessing there's a simple
solution...I just haven't found it yet.

Thanks,

Jim Frazer

 

[Daniel Moth]

Assuming you are trying this on a device and not the emulator, and the OS
version is 4.1 or higher...it must be something specific with your image and
not the OS in general. This has always worked on our 4.1 and 4.2 custom
units.

Cheers
Daniel

No-one, but I always get a run-time error when trying to use the
InputPanel in CE

Who told you that you cannot use the SIP in WinCE? They were wrong.

Cheers
Daniel


message

AFAIK you cannot use the SIP in WindowsCE, so I would guess going down
the "write your own SIP" route would be a futile endeavor. You would
need to write a whole custom form; which, by the sounds of it, you are.


Paul G. Tobey [eMVP] wrote:


That's fine, but you can relatively easily change a lot of things about
the

SIPs and they will work with all applications, not just your one, single
application (better decoupling).

You said that you had some problem with getting the InputPanel to pop
up.

I'd address that, as it's not a problem that everyone is having...

Paul T.



Paul,

I just looked at the large keyboard SIP .bmp on our 800x600 display and
it's keys are too small to be finger friendly, especially in the shop
floor environment where our systems are typically deployed. It's also
way

too busy for our typical users. The "SIP" app that I did is completely
operational except for the issue mentioned in the original post. I'll
find a way - perhaps making it a control rather than a separate
application.

Jim
"Paul G. Tobey [eMVP]" <ptobey no spam AT no instrument no spam DOT com>
wrote in message

If what you want is a SIP with large buttons, you're much better off
just

writing one. There's even one *with* large buttons available in
Platform

Builder, already, if you are building the device hardware yourself...

Paul T.



Hi,

I'm developing a C# application that will function like the SIP. I'm
doing this because our platform is a CEPC with touchscreen and we'll
need a large keyboard that is "finger friendly". The application

can

be

invoked by any other application in the system.

My problem is that I cannot figure out a way to display the SIP form
in

such a way that forms behind it are truly disabled. The SIP form
doesn't fill the whole screen so some buttons from forms beneath it
are

visible to the user. While these exposed buttons don't respond to
while

the SIP form is displayed, they will respond after the SIP form is
closed. Setting the underlying form's enabled property to false and
then

back to true or disabling individual controls on the underlying form
doesn't help. As soon as the form or the controls are enabled, they
will respond to any touches that occured while the SIP form was
displayed. I could make the SIP form full screen, but it's pretty
ugly

when the SIP form is in numeric keypad mode. If I hide any underlying
forms then the main window icons (i.e. My Computer) become visible and
active.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm guessing there's a simple
solution...I just haven't found it yet.

Thanks,

Jim Frazer

 

[Paul G. Tobey [eMVP]]

I have three SIPs installed on our Windows CE devices and they all work
fine: small keyboard, large keyboard, and null keyboard (if the guy wants to
use a real keyboard and doesn't want to use the screen real estate).

Paul T.

Assuming you are trying this on a device and not the emulator, and the OS
version is 4.1 or higher...it must be something specific with your image
and
not the OS in general. This has always worked on our 4.1 and 4.2 custom
units.

Cheers
Daniel

No-one, but I always get a run-time error when trying to use the
InputPanel in CE

Who told you that you cannot use the SIP in WinCE? They were wrong.

Cheers
Daniel


message
AFAIK you cannot use the SIP in WindowsCE, so I would guess going down
the "write your own SIP" route would be a futile endeavor. You would
need to write a whole custom form; which, by the sounds of it, you are.


Paul G. Tobey [eMVP] wrote:


That's fine, but you can relatively easily change a lot of things
about

the

SIPs and they will work with all applications, not just your one, single
application (better decoupling).

You said that you had some problem with getting the InputPanel to pop

up.

I'd address that, as it's not a problem that everyone is having...

Paul T.



Paul,

I just looked at the large keyboard SIP .bmp on our 800x600 display and
it's keys are too small to be finger friendly, especially in the shop
floor environment where our systems are typically deployed. It's
also

way

too busy for our typical users. The "SIP" app that I did is completely
operational except for the issue mentioned in the original post.
I'll
find a way - perhaps making it a control rather than a separate
application.

Jim
"Paul G. Tobey [eMVP]" <ptobey no spam AT no instrument no spam DOT com>
wrote in message

If what you want is a SIP with large buttons, you're much better off

just

writing one. There's even one *with* large buttons available in

Platform

Builder, already, if you are building the device hardware
yourself...

Paul T.



Hi,

I'm developing a C# application that will function like the SIP. I'm
doing this because our platform is a CEPC with touchscreen and
we'll
need a large keyboard that is "finger friendly". The application can

be

invoked by any other application in the system.

My problem is that I cannot figure out a way to display the SIP
form

in

such a way that forms behind it are truly disabled. The SIP form
doesn't fill the whole screen so some buttons from forms beneath it

are

visible to the user. While these exposed buttons don't respond to

while

the SIP form is displayed, they will respond after the SIP form is
closed. Setting the underlying form's enabled property to false and

then

back to true or disabling individual controls on the underlying
form
doesn't help. As soon as the form or the controls are enabled,
they
will respond to any touches that occured while the SIP form was
displayed. I could make the SIP form full screen, but it's pretty

ugly

when the SIP form is in numeric keypad mode. If I hide any underlying
forms then the main window icons (i.e. My Computer) become visible and
active.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm guessing there's a simple
solution...I just haven't found it yet.

Thanks,

Jim Frazer

 

[Jim Frazer]

Hi,

Nobody "told" me I couldn't use it. I've just run into errors when trying
to. Frankly, I haven't done a great deal of work to figure out where the
problem is since I don't feel that the SIP fits our applications all that
well.

Jim

Who told you that you cannot use the SIP in WinCE? They were wrong.

Cheers
Daniel

AFAIK you cannot use the SIP in WindowsCE, so I would guess going down
the "write your own SIP" route would be a futile endeavor. You would
need to write a whole custom form; which, by the sounds of it, you are.

That's fine, but you can relatively easily change a lot of things about the
SIPs and they will work with all applications, not just your one,
single
application (better decoupling).

You said that you had some problem with getting the InputPanel to pop up.
I'd address that, as it's not a problem that everyone is having...

Paul T.


Paul,

I just looked at the large keyboard SIP .bmp on our 800x600 display and
it's keys are too small to be finger friendly, especially in the shop
floor environment where our systems are typically deployed. It's also way
too busy for our typical users. The "SIP" app that I did is completely
operational except for the issue mentioned in the original post. I'll
find a way - perhaps making it a control rather than a separate
application.

Jim
"Paul G. Tobey [eMVP]" <ptobey no spam AT no instrument no spam DOT
com>
wrote in message
If what you want is a SIP with large buttons, you're much better off just
writing one. There's even one *with* large buttons available in Platform
Builder, already, if you are building the device hardware yourself...

Paul T.


Hi,

I'm developing a C# application that will function like the SIP. I'm
doing this because our platform is a CEPC with touchscreen and we'll
need a large keyboard that is "finger friendly". The application can be
invoked by any other application in the system.

My problem is that I cannot figure out a way to display the SIP form in
such a way that forms behind it are truly disabled. The SIP form
doesn't fill the whole screen so some buttons from forms beneath it are
visible to the user. While these exposed buttons don't respond to while
the SIP form is displayed, they will respond after the SIP form is
closed. Setting the underlying form's enabled property to false and then
back to true or disabling individual controls on the underlying form
doesn't help. As soon as the form or the controls are enabled, they
will respond to any touches that occured while the SIP form was
displayed. I could make the SIP form full screen, but it's pretty ugly
when the SIP form is in numeric keypad mode. If I hide any
underlying
forms then the main window icons (i.e. My Computer) become visible
and
active.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm guessing there's a simple
solution...I just haven't found it yet.

Thanks,

Jim Frazer