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Working with ARC Files

Overview​

This section covers working with ASCII Resource files (ARC or .arc files).

Concepts Covered in This Section​

  • Modifying an existing .arc file to use a flow layout in the DWC

ARC Files in DWC​

You have learned in the previous sections that DWC is able to execute GUI programs with their pixel-based layouts. The same applies to .arc files: they will work directly in DWC with the same limitations that apply to the other samples.

Important Limitation

The most important limitation is probably the need to refactor BBj Grid code to use the BBjGridExWidget or something else.

Changing a Window in an .arc File to Use Flexible CSS-based Layout​

We have seen that the window creation flag $00100000$ tells DWC to drop all pixel-based position and size instructions. For an .arc file, the same can be achieved by adding the GRAVITY flag to the source of the arc file.

Key Points​

  • Adding the GRAVITY flag has no impact in GUI or BUI
  • In DWC, it enables the window to receive layout instructions by CSS code
Add Order Matters

The add order of elements in the .arc file will result in the same order of controls in the DOM. That means that - regardless of their prior visual order that was a result of the pixel positions - the order that the controls appear on the screen may differ.

Solutions for Control Order​

You can address control ordering in two ways:

  1. Change the order of controls in WindowBuilder
  2. Use CSS to position the elements on the screen as desired

Example​

The following shows how a button that is added first in the arc file appears as the first control in the window when using GRAVITY.

ARC File Example - Before

The DWC version of the program in the course material demonstrates how the button can be positioned at the end using CSS grid layout instructions.

ARC File Example - After CSS

Source Code​

See the ArcFiles folder in the course materials for complete examples.