Icetips Products – Page 2

XML help in Icetips Utilities

Arnor BaldvinssonJune 6, 2015June 6, 2015Leave a comment

One of the very cool things in the new IDE is the support for XML help. This is the information entered into .INC files using triple exclamation mark (!!!) comments. This makes a quick help accessible right in the IDE. I have been working on documenting the ITUtilities.inc file and I'm about half way through it. It doesn't replace the documentation but once I have gone through and documented the ITUtilities.inc it will be much easier for me to dig through getting the full documentation done.

Below is an example from the ITImageClass in the Utilities:

!!!<summary>
!!! Sets the position of the image withing a boundary control.
!!!</summary>
!!!<param name='pImageFEQ'>The control with the image</param>
!!!<param name='pRelativeFEQ'>The relative boundary control</param>
!!!<param name='pX'>Adjust horizontal placement</param>
!!!<param name='pY'>Adjust vertical placement</param>
!!!<param name='pJust'>Justification of the image inside 
!!! the boundary control</param>
!!! <para></para>
!!! <para>The horzontal justification can be one of:</para>
!!! <para> IT_IMAGE_JUST:LEFT</para>
!!! <para> IT_IMAGE_JUST:CENTER</para>
!!! <para> IT_IMAGE_JUST:RIGHT</para>
!!! <para></para>
!!! <para>The vertical justification can be one of:</para>
!!! <para> IT_IMAGE_JUST:TOP</para>
!!! <para> IT_IMAGE_JUST:MIDDLE</para>
!!! <para> IT_IMAGE_JUST:BOTTOM</para>

In the IDE, when you are entering the name of the method in the editor it will show you a tooltip with all the information above:

Click on the image to load a full size screenshot.

Arnor Baldvinsson

New Tip: How to add Procedure name to a window

ArnorMay 2, 2015June 4, 2015Leave a comment

I was staring at a completely unfamiliar window in a client project and had no idea what procedure it came from. It was a form, so I didn't know what the original caption was and the strings on the window were pretty generic. I needed a way to figure out what procedure this was. Instead of spending time doing searches I decided to chance tactics and use the WindowsInitCode procedure from the Icetips Utilities to do it for me. I explain the process in my latest Icetip.

What I did was to create a control on the window with the procedure name, as well as put it in the window caption and send it to DebugView with OutputDebugString (ODS method available in all Icetips classes)

Enjoy.

All product download

ArnorApril 16, 2015June 5, 2015Leave a comment

We have been asked a few times if we could make a zip with all the installs available. Now we have, and with the help of Build Automator, it is now a "one button" process that I can run as I upload new builds 🙂 The install files are in a password protected zip file that you can download. Note that you must have a Gold subscription and be logged in to be able to download. I have not made a separate download for the silver subscriptions. The current zip file from April 14, 2015 is 96,198,707 bytes in size and contains all 14 product installs that we currently have.

I have finally been able to move Build Automator up from Clarion 6.3. I was not able to compile it in Clarion 9.1 because of a "unknown compiler error" that would come up in one of the classes. However, Clarion 10 was able to compile it just fine. I've had to make some minor changes here and there - the splitting on the main window is now using a different splitter template than originally, but so far I haven't seen any problems with it.

I'm planning to get the new build of Build Automator out in April - unfortunately it just didn't make it in March! I'm not going to say anything about other plans as that's an absolutely sure way to mess them up! 🙂

Arnor Baldvinsson

Build Automator 2014 released

ArnorSeptember 18, 2014June 4, 2015Leave a comment

Build Automator 2014

We have released Build Automator 2014 build 4.9.1325

The update can be downloaded from our website at http://www.buildautomator.com/download.php or by using the "Check for Updates" option under the Help menu in the program.

There are several new features in this build, but there are also a lot of fixes behind the scene that make the program more stable than it has ever been. The new feature list includes:

Full support for Clarion 9 and 9.1
Full support for Setup Builder 8.1
Support for Code generation before build in Clarion 8, 9 and 9.1
Improvements in copy/paste and several fixes to synchronization in the project window
File and folder Drag & Drop support in actions
External text files can now be included in the "Write text to file" action
Programs can be forced to run elevated (will prompt for administrator access)
Environment variables fully supported in scripts
Search locators make finding projects and variables easy

In previous builds there was a bug in the system that could sometimes lead to the wrong action being loaded, copy/paste being fragile, duplicating the wrong action item and so on. This should be completely fixed now. For more detailed list ofnew features and fixes please check out the version history page athttp://www.buildautomator.com/onlinemanual/version_history.htm.

One of the major new feature is the updated MS-Build action which you use for Clarion compiles. It fully supports all versions of the Clarion IDE, from Clarion 7 to Clarion 9.1. It now also supports code generation in Clarion 8-9.1. Code generation was not possible in Clarion 7. There is one caveat that I don't have any solution for: Softvelocity does not allow Clarion Professional to generate code with their ClarionCL.exe, which is the tool we use to generate code. This is unfortunate as it limits the usefulness of this feature, but never the less, it is an important update for us.

Another feature that I want to highlight is the option to include external text filesin the "Write text to File" action. This allows you to generate files that include data from other sources. For example I have started using this to generate the export list for templates that need it. I generate the export list with an external tool, then write template code to a text file which has an Include statement which includes the export list. End result is a template file completely generated by Build Automator! How cool is that?!

Arnor Baldvinsson

Themes for Powertoolbar, Outlookbar and Taskpanel

ArnorSeptember 14, 2014Leave a comment

For the past couple of days I have been working on a theme designer for Powertoolbar, Outlookbar and Taskpanel.

The theme designer create theme files, which are basically INI files, that can be used to set the colors for the products. Each theme file has all the information to be used with all three products so the color schemes used in the products will be 100% consistent. Each product will be changed to make this work in such a way that you are either using the built-in color schemes or you use themes. There will be no mixing the built-in and external themes. However, the built-in themes will all be delivered with the new products so you can specify the theme. You will be able to use a fixed theme or you'll be able to allow user selection of themes.

The theme designer will be included as an exe but the source will probably made available for download as well. The source will require that you have all of the three products installed as well as Icetips Utilities (and perhaps other tools as well) It will only be made available as a Clarion 9.1 application, which I'm using to develop it. Currently I have no plans to provide translation of the Theme Designer, but it is pretty simple and intuitive as it is. I will post screenshots later this week to show how it looks.

This will take some time to finish, but I'm planning to get this ready to ship in October or early November. Each product will need quite a bit of work to make this happen and documentation will need to be updated.

Build Automator is coming out this week. I ran into a snag with the install that set me back a day and then I had a problem with my computer which set me back another day and I decided to push it back over the weekend.

Arnor Baldvinsson

Build Automator 2014

ArnorAugust 24, 2014Leave a comment

Build Automator 2014 is right around the corner!

I have been working hard on getting Build Automator 2014 out the door. I have some work left on the documentation and install and some final testing and I'm done! I have been able to add quite a few new things into it lately and below is a list of the major new updates in the 2014 release.

Full support for Clarion 9 and 9.1
Full support for Setup Builder 8.1
Support for Code generation before build in Clarion 8, 9 and 9.1
Improvements in copy/paste and several fixes to synchronization in the project window
File and folder Drag & Drop support in actions
External text files can now be included in the "Write text to file" action
Programs can be forced to run elevated (will prompt for administrator access)
Environment variables fully supported in scripts
Search locators make finding projects and variables easy

There are still a lot of features on my list that I have not been able to get into the 2014 release but I'm planning to make releases available every 1-3 months, depending on how things work out.

2014 will be available for download this coming week and will be available via the program update in Build Automator.

Arnor Baldvinsson

Clarion 9.1 problem resolved

ArnorJuly 2, 2014Leave a comment

Couple of weeks ago I learned about a problem with the latest couple of Clarion 9.1 builds causing a horizontal scrollbar to be drawn in PowerToolbar and Taskpanel. This seems to have been caused by changes to the IMAGE control in Clarion 9.1. After some digging around I'm happy to report that I have found a solution for this and have implemented it in PowerToolbar, Taskpanel and Outlookbar. New builds will be going out tomorrow (Thursday, July 3rd, 2014)

I not yet sure why the scrollbar is drawn, but I am able to remove it and keep it from re-appearing with the changes I have made:)

--Arnor Baldvinsson

New Utilities build on the way

ArnorApril 10, 2014Leave a comment

I have been working on a new build of Icetips Utilities and trying to finish Build Automator for a new public release.

There are a few new enhancements to the Registry Class where I have added a method to enumerate key values. You specify the key in the registry and it will give you the names of all the values, what datatype it is and the data in it. It supports all datatypes in the Registry except binary, haven't finished that one yet.

I'm also adding documentation to the Registry class and once I'm done with that, it is time to release it.

When I wrote the WriteStringToFile method in the String class, I had added an "Append" parameter, but had never added the code! That is now done, so you can use this method to append a string to an existing file. This is perfect for all sorts of logging where you want it sent directly to the file without delay.

I have improved the Preserve Variable Data template by making the condition optionally on the read or the write or both. I have also added embeds after the read and before the write so the data can be easily manipulated if needed. The help on this template has also been completed.

Icetips installs for Clarion 9.1

ArnorJanuary 29, 2014Leave a comment

We have released eight Clarion 9.1 compatible installs so far and the rest will be out today and tomorrow.

While those are mainly install rebuilds, there are some new features, updates and fixes in those new builds.

Icetips Utilities
There is a brand new Global Extension Template in the Utilities now that generates a queue with file information based on the dictionary used in the app. This can come in very handy when working with files in a generic manner, for example to do quick SQL queries against all SQL tables - to get the total number of records or whatever.

Icetips Previewer
This release contains two changes that fix compile problems caused by changes to the Report Target classes from Softvelocity. Those changes have been in beta testing for a while, while I made sure that no other problems would crop up.

Icetips PowerToolbar
There are fixes included for problems in drop buttons and drop down combos.

Icetips Magic Entries
Copy/paste error included a line from Magic Buttons causing a problem.

Icetips Magic Buttons
Added code to automatically create the project pragmas to compile and link the classes correctly.

I'm working on an update to Taskpanel and some of it may have to wait until next week, but a new build will go out today.

Every time I release new builds I streamline the build process and automate more parts of it to make the process as painless as possible. Without using Build Automator it would be daunting task for me to go through all the steps needed to get the new builds out.

Arnor Baldvinsson

Clarion 9.1 installs coming

ArnorJanuary 19, 2014Leave a comment

Clarion 9.1 has been released to third party developers for testing. It is expected to be out in public release soon.

We will need to re-build all our installs for them to be Clarion 9 compatible. I will begin that process on Tuesday, January 21st and I should have the lot rebuilt pretty quickly. Emails will go out when the builds are all available for download.

Arnor Baldvinsson