Using Custom Control

CustomControl is a widget that can be found on the Additional palette, as of version 3.0.44. The idea behind CustomControl is to make it easy to generate code for a widget that is not yet fully supported in wxFormBuilder. A wxPanel is used in the designer for a visual place-holder.

CustomControl exposes 5 properties, each of which corresponds to a different place in the generated code.

  • name
This is the name of the control. It is used when adding the control to its sizer.
Example: m_genericDirCtrl
  • declaration
This is the declaration of the control. It is generated inside of the containing class.
Example: wxGenericDirCtrl* m_genericDirCtrl;
  • construction
This is the call to the constructor of the control. It is generated inside the constructor of the containing class.
Example:
m_genericDirCtrl = new wxGenericDirCtrl( this, wxID_ANY, wxT("C:/"), wxDefaultPosition, wxDefaultSize, wxDIRCTRL_3D_INTERNAL|wxSUNKEN_BORDER );
  • include
This is the include statement. It is generated at the top of the header file.
Example: #include <wx/dirctrl.h>
  • settings
This is any additional setup for the control. It is generated directly after construction.
Example: m_genericDirCtrl->ShowHidden( true );

The examples for the properties above can be used to generate the correct code for wxGenericDirCtrl. Because it is not implemented in wxFormBuilder (although it will be soon), CustomControl is the best way to include it in a GUI.

Below are images of the CustomControl in the designer, and the wxGenericDirCtrl in the compiled application.

Here is the source for the example app: Attach:customControlSample.zip

Custom Control in Designer.

Custom Control in compiled application.