Targetware: Customizing the User Interface

Widget Type: Button

Buttons are rectangular shapes that when clicked by the user, will cause a certain function to be performed. Buttons can be made simply programmatically, by the game drawing a rectangle of the size and color you tell it to, with a text label you supply, or you can create a texture for each button state (normal, mouse-over, disabled), and that will be displayed instead. If a button label is supplied, it will be drawn in the color specified, whether or not a texture is being used. So if your texture has the label on it, do not include a text label as well.

Sample Button Code

This is the code controlling the "QUIT" button on the default Targetware User Interface's Main Menu. Notice that the "label =" line is left blank, since the textures we are using have "QUIT" drawn on them with pixels. We have specified textures for all three buttons states; the button does not start off disabled, it uses no emboss (really only useful for non-textured items), and when pressed will cause function #1001 to take place (quit app).

Button Functions

All Buttons can (and should) have functions assigned to them. As long as the button is not disabled, clicking on it will cause the corresponding action to be taken. More than one fucntion can be assigned per button, simply separate the function numbers with commas.