%ib text position

Although I generally prefer %tb to %ib, the latter has the advantage of allowing descriptive text to be added to an icon and selected when the composite of icon and text is clicked.

A more contemporary appearance is achieved when the text is positioned to the right of the icon.

Aesthetically, positioning text to the right frees up vertical pixels (useful in a smaller display) and uses the relative width of a wide-screen display better than the underneath positioning.

My workarounds have been to position the image bar to the left of the client area if the aspect ratio is wide and to omit the text if the total available depth is small, and to use the image bar at the top if a 4:3 aspect ratio is detected, including omitting the text if necessary. I have also used %bb in a different application although the 'cartouche' outline makes the appearance non-standard.

While it is far from being a show-stopper, it would be a useful advance for me if I could have one (or more) of the following:

• A %bb without an outline
• An %ib where the text is to the right

or

• The ability to join icons and text in a sort of composite button.

Eddie

Eddie

Off hand I can't think of any easy fix for this. Have you considered using tooltips to provide the text for a button?

Yes, Tooltips are already implemented.

The issue is one not simply of aesthetics, but one of conformance to Windows ‘standards’. Making an app look familiar to users shortens the learning curve for them.

I listed my other (i.e. non-tooltip) workarounds in the original post. The one I would like to try, but can’t, is to integrate the text with the icon as a ‘super button’. I am inhibited by the behaviour of MS Paint that – although it appears to – does not allow small sized text to appear in BMPs that are relatively few pixels high. This approach would need %tb, which contrary to FTN95.CHM, is far from superceded entirely by %ib.

As it happens, the app that I have in mind for revision has a learning curve of at most 3 minutes’ length, but I would like it shorter still! It is for student use during a field course, and they will not use it afterwards. I support it as a ‘labour of love’ in my retirement. Sadly, it’s beginning to look a bit dated, as all the icons etc were drawn with the grey 3D look of Windows XP-Vista-7 rather than the flat look of 8-8.1-10. I know, from experience, that students turn their noses up at old-looking interfaces, as when this particular utility was in its DOS incarnation, they moaned at having to use it!

Perhaps I need to explore Paint-type applications designed for small bitmaps, such as icon creators.

Eddie

Eddie

It would require a lot of work to extend %ib whilst %bb is based on the Microsoft button over which ClearWin+ has no direct control.

It may be possible to extend %mb so that it uses the TBSTYLE_LIST style of the Microsoft toolbar. This should produce the desired effect. At first sight using this style currently makes no difference to the ClearWin+ result but presumably ClearWin+ can be adjusted to accommodate this.

All that I can do at the moment is to add this to the wish list.

Hi Paul,

Even for me it's a low priority, and perhaps it is better that I explore making a 'super button' BMP with the text included. Let's see where I get to.

Eddie

John,

I have a preference for straightforward Clearwin+ things, because the MSDN is sometimes difficult to follow. I've found that the 'super-image' BMP containing text can be exported from CorelDRAW! for use with %tb, so problem over, I think. The export antialiases the text, and I can combine with the original BMP in Paint.

Eddie