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Review
MacCheckbox
Issue: 1.6 (June/July 2003)
Author: Greg Fiumara
Article Description: No description available.
Article Length (in bytes): 3,893
Starting Page Number: 9
RBD Number: 1604
Resource File(s): None
Related Web Link(s):
http://www.quantum-meruit.com
Known Limitations: None
Full text of article...
With everything from an implementation of Cocoa's NSToolbar to a new compiler, REALbasic 5 has everything anyone ever wanted, right? Think again. Aside from various bugs, REAL Software has yet to add even some of the simplest things, such as mixed state checkboxes. Over the years, there have been several attempts to implement them through plugins and canvas-based controls. One of the newest undertakings is MacCheckbox 1.0 by Quantum Meruit.
MacCheckbox is a canvas-based control for REALbasic 5. The author notes that some problems will occur if not using version 5. In addition to providing mixed value functionality, MacCheckbox offers a small mode, where in addition to changing the caption of the checkbox to the font and size of the small system font, the actual checkbox becomes proportionate to the caption.
Quantum Meruit claims MacCheckbox is more "Mac-specific" than the REALbasic provided checkbox, yet many of its features only run under Mac OS X, leaving your users who have not made the switch or who use Windows with different interfaces. In addition, the MacCheckbox class does not have a hard coded way of telling which operating system the user is running. As a result, you must use a provided code snippet so unsupported features for a platform do not get called. Furthermore, the MacCheckbox class is encrypted so you will be unable to fix any of these problems yourself nor learn from the code, as is often done with other development tools.
A problem shared by all canvas-based controls is the inability to see what you are doing in the IDE. MacCheckbox is no exception. If you provide your checkbox with a caption, you will not be able to see how the text will appear until you compile your project. One could be frantically adjusting the width for many minutes. The author should provide a method for giving a suggested width or have the canvas automatically resize itself at runtime.
Though many things may be considered "wrong" with MacCheckbox, it is still a tool worthy of praise. The "small checkbox" feature itself is worth the $5 registration fee. If you are creating an application that uses the SmallSystem font and needs a checkbox, you will want to use MacCheckbox. It will keep the interface consistent (on Mac OS X) and will be compatible with Apple's Human Interface Guidelines (HIG), which just might make the difference if they enter a software design contest. Also, MacCheckbox features the control focus ring. This is a common characteristic in many Cocoa-built applications. It allows you to tab though controls and use the space bar to click the control. This is a very powerful feature, especially if you need to appeal to users with physical handicaps.
A good application has everything working for it, right down to the checkbox. If your application needs a small checkbox to be HIG compatible or a mixed state checkbox, MacCheckbox from Quantum Meruit may be a good choice.
In Brief Product MacCheckbox 1.0 Manufacturer Quantum Meruit Price $5 Contact Info qmeruit-at-qx.net
http://www.quantum-meruit.com
Pros Provides easy access to mixed state checkbox, HIG compliant small checkboxes, Cocoa-like control focus rings Cons Encrypted class, Not platform aware Rating (1.0-5.0): 2.5
End of article.
Article copyrighted by REALbasic Developer magazine. All rights reserved.
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