Fields Have Labels

[Richard Gaskin]

Peter Haworth wrote:

 > All that would be great but I'd be happy if the label of a field
 > could be displayed just as the label of a group can be displayed,
 > coupled with making the new iconGravity property (or perhaps a
 > more descriptive synonym for it like labelPosition) apply to a
 > field but relative to the text of the field instead of the icon
 > of a button. No need for showName, just set the label of the field
 > to empty if you prefer to carry on using separate label fields.
 >
 > I know nothing of the complexities of the engine but this seems
 > like it just makes use of existing properties and the existing
 > logic for group labels and icon labels. Plus it enables you to
 > carry on using separate label fields if you prefer. Off to the QCC.

If RunRev were to implement this they probably wouldn't do it in C++, 
but in LiveCode: they'd make it as a Widget.

This is exactly the sort of thing Open Language/Widgets was designed to 
do, allowing things that used to require C++ the option of being done in 
LiveCode at a savings every bit as significant as the reason we write 
our apps in LiveCode rather than C++.

You could add it to the request queue, but given their need to finish 
the rest of the items on the Road Map it would be months before you'd 
have it.

Or you could have it today in just a couple hours as a custom control.

V8's Widgets will make this a little nicer in some respects, but this 
one is, as you suggest, so relatively simple that you could build is as 
a custom control this morning and enjoy it this afternoon.

This isn't nearly as complex as the DataGrid, which is also just a 
custom control, independent of any goodies coming up in v8.

When Widgets later become available it may be worth revising to take 
advantage of some of the new things there, but just like the DataGrid 
there are many useful things that can be done with custom controls right 
now so there's no need to wait.

In fact, with this proposed object the bigger challenge is design; 
implementation is pretty straightforward.   So you can work out the 
design today, have it today, and if you choose to update it later for v8 
it only gets better.

-- 
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World Systems
  Software Design and Development for the Desktop, Mobile, and the Web
  ____________________________________________________________________
  Ambassador at FourthWorld.com                http://www.FourthWorld.com