Q131992: HOWTO: How to Create a Property Sheet That Has Scrolling Tabs in

Article: Q131992
Product(s): Microsoft C Compiler
Version(s): winnt:2.0,2.1,4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbcode kbMFC kbPropSheet KbUIDesign kbVC152 kbVC200 kbVC210 kbVC400 kbGrpDSMFCATL
Last Modified: 06-MAY-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- The Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC), used with:
   - Microsoft Visual C++ for Windows, 16-bit edition, version 1.52 
   - Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Editions, versions 2.0, 2.1, 4.0 
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SUMMARY
=======

This article explains how to create a property sheet (tabbed dialog box) that
uses a scrolling-tabs style instead of the default stacked-tabs style.

MORE INFORMATION
================

A property sheet is created using the CPropertySheet class. This class uses an
internal class (CTabControl) to manage the actual tabs appearing along the top
of the property sheet. When there are more tabs than will fit across a single
row, the default behavior is to display the tabs stacked in multiple rows.

In an application where this will cause layout problems or where screen space is
at a premium, a scrolling-tab style may be preferred. The CTabControl can show
its tabs in a single row with small scroll arrows on the ends. When a user
clicks the arrows, the tabs which were not visible are scrolled into view. The
CPropertySheet class uses its m_bStacked member variable to determine which
style to use when creating the CTabControl. If it is set to TRUE (the default),
the tabs are created stacked; when FALSE, the scrolling tab style is used. You
can use the inline member function EnableStackedTabs() to set the value of
m_bStacked.

The simplest approach is to call EnableStackedTabs(FALSE) on the property sheet
variable just before calling DoModal or Create on it. This requires that you
call the EnableStackedTabs function whenever you create a modal or a modeless
property sheet. To incorporate this style in a CPropertySheet derived class, you
need to write a message handler for WM_CREATE. In the overridden version of
OnCreate(), call EnableStackedTabs(FALSE) before calling the base class
implementation:

  int CMyPropertySheet::OnCreate(LPCREATESTRUCT lpCreateStruct)
  {
        // Set for Scrolling Tabs style
        EnableStackedTabs(FALSE);

        // Call the base class
        if (CPropertySheet::OnCreate(lpCreateStruct) == -1)
              return -1;

        // TODO: Add your specialized creation code here

        return 0;
  }

Be aware that CPropertySheet::EnableStackedTabs() is declared in the
"Implementation" portion of the CPropertySheet class declaration (for Visual C++
version 4.0, see AFXDLGS.H). It is entirely likely that this function will
change with the next release of MFC. If at all possible, do not design your MFC
application to depend upon any object's methods or data that are declared with
an Implementation section.

REFERENCES
==========

For more information, refer to the "MFC: Using the MFC Source Files" topic of
"Programming with MFC:Encyclopedia" in Visual C++ 4.2 Books Online.

Additional query words: 1.52 2.00 2.10 4.00

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Keywords          : kbcode kbMFC kbPropSheet KbUIDesign kbVC152 kbVC200 kbVC210 kbVC400 kbGrpDSMFCATL 
Technology        : kbAudDeveloper kbMFC
Version           : winnt:2.0,2.1,4.0
Issue type        : kbhowto

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