Unlocking the Power of Dockable Dialogs in MFC Ribbon-Based MDI Applications

Are you tired of dealing with clunky and inflexible dialog boxes in your MFC ribbon-based MDI applications? Do you want to take your user interface to the next level by making your dialogs behave like dockable panes? Look no further! In this comprehensive guide, we’ll show you how to create a seamless and intuitive user experience by recreating the dockable pane behavior of MFC’s CDockablePane class for your dialogs.

Understanding theConcept of Dockable Panes

In an MFC MDI application, a dockable pane is a window that can be docked or undocked from the main frame window. This allows the user to customize their workspace and work more efficiently. CDockablePane is a built-in MFC class that provides this functionality, but what if you want to achieve the same behavior with your dialogs?

Why Use Dockable Dialogs?

• Improved User Experience**: Dockable dialogs provide a more flexible and intuitive way for users to interact with your application.
• Increased Productivity**: By allowing users to customize their workspace, you can improve their overall productivity and efficiency.
• Enhanced Customization**: Dockable dialogs give users the freedom to arrange their workspace according to their preferences, making your application more user-friendly.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Dockable Dialogs

To create a dockable dialog, we’ll need to create a custom dialog class that inherits from CDialog and overrides the necessary functions to achieve the dockable behavior. We’ll also need to create a custom dock site class that will manage the docking and undocking of our dialog.

Step 1: Create a Custom Dialog Class

class CDockableDialog : public CDialog
{
    DECLARE_DYNAMIC(CDockableDialog)

public:
    CDockableDialog(UINT IDD, CWnd* pParentWnd = nullptr);
    ~CDockableDialog();

protected:
    afx_msg void On_WM_SIZE(UINT nFlags, CSize sizeNew);
    afx_msg void On_WM_NCHITTEST(CPoint point);
    afx_msg void On_WM_GETMINMAXINFO(MINMAXINFO *lpMMI);
    afx_msg void On_WM_WINDOWPOSCHANGING(LPWINDOWPOS lpwndpos);
    afx_msg void On_WM_WINDOWPOSCHANGED(LPWINDOWPOS lpwndpos);

private:
    CRect m_rcDialogRect;
};

Step 2: Implement the Dockable Behavior

In the above code, we’ve overridden the necessary functions to achieve the dockable behavior. Now, let’s implement these functions:

void CDockableDialog::On_WM_SIZE(UINT nFlags, CSize sizeNew)
{
    CDialog::On_WM_SIZE(nFlags, sizeNew);

    // Update the dialog's rect
    m_rcDialogRect.SetRect(0, 0, sizeNew.cx, sizeNew.cy);
}

void CDockableDialog::On_WM_NCHITTEST(CPoint point)
{
    // Check if the user is clicking on the dialog's caption
    if (point.y <= 30) // assuming the caption height is 30 pixels
    {
        return HTCAPTION;
    }

    return CDialog::On_WM_NCHITTEST(point);
}

void CDockableDialog::On_WM_GETMINMAXINFO(MINMAXINFO *lpMMI)
{
    // Set the minimum and maximum size for the dialog
    lpMMI->ptMinTrackSize.x = 200;
    lpMMI->ptMinTrackSize.y = 100;
    lpMMI->ptMaxTrackSize.x = 400;
    lpMMI->ptMaxTrackSize.y = 300;

    CDialog::On_WM_GETMINMAXINFO(lpMMI);
}

void CDockableDialog::On_WM_WINDOWPOSCHANGING(LPWINDOWPOS lpwndpos)
{
    // Update the dialog's rect based on the new window position
    m_rcDialogRect.SetRect(lpwndpos->x, lpwndpos->y, lpwndpos->cx, lpwndpos->cy);

    CDialog::On_WM_WINDOWPOSCHANGING(lpwndpos);
}

void CDockableDialog::On_WM_WINDOWPOSCHANGED(LPWINDOWPOS lpwndpos)
{
    // Notify the dock site that the dialog's position has changed
    CDockSite* pDockSite = GetDockSite();
    if (pDockSite)
    {
        pDockSite->OnDialogPosChanged(this);
    }
}

Step 3: Create a Custom Dock Site Class

class CDockSite : public CWnd
{
    DECLARE_DYNAMIC(CDockSite)

public:
    CDockSite();
    ~CDockSite();

    void AddDockableDialog(CDockableDialog* pDialog);

protected:
    void OnDialogPosChanged(CDockableDialog* pDialog);

private:
    CRect m_rcDockSiteRect;
    CMap& m_mapDialogs;
};

Step 4: Implement the Dock Site Class

Now, let’s implement the dock site class:

void CDockSite::AddDockableDialog(CDockableDialog* pDialog)
{
    // Add the dialog to the map
    m_mapDialogs[pDialog->GetSafeHwnd()] = pDialog;

    // Set the dialog's parent to the dock site
    pDialog->SetParent(this);
}

void CDockSite::OnDialogPosChanged(CDockableDialog* pDialog)
{
    // Update the dock site's rect based on the dialog's new position
    m_rcDockSiteRect.SetRect(pDialog->GetDlgRect());
}

Using the Dockable Dialog in Your Application

Now that we’ve created our custom dockable dialog and dock site classes, let’s see how to use them in our application:

// Create a dock site
CDockSite* pDockSite = new CDockSite();
pDockSite->CreateEx(0, NULL, 0, CRect(0, 0, 400, 300), pParentWnd, 0, NULL);

// Create a dockable dialog
CDockableDialog* pDialog = new CDockableDialog(IDD_MY_DIALOG, pParentWnd);
pDialog->Create(IDD_MY_DIALOG, pParentWnd);

// Add the dialog to the dock site
pDockSite->AddDockableDialog(pDialog);

Tips and Tricks

Handling Multiple Dockable Dialogs

To handle multiple dockable dialogs, you can create a list of CDockableDialog objects and iterate through it when the user interacts with the dock site.

Customizing the Docking Behavior

You can customize the docking behavior by overriding the On_WM_NCHITTEST function in the CDockableDialog class.

Using CDockableDialog with Other MFC Controls

You can use the CDockableDialog class with other MFC controls, such as CMFCVisualManager, to create a more visually appealing user interface.

Conclusion

In this article, we’ve seen how to create a dockable dialog in an MFC ribbon-based MDI application. By following these steps and implementing the necessary functions, you can provide a more intuitive and customizable user experience for your users. Remember to experiment with different customization options and handle multiple dockable dialogs to take your application to the next level!

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References:

• Microsoft MFC Documentation: CDockablePane Class
• CodeProject: MFC Docking Framework
• CodeGuru: MFC Docking Windows

Frequently Asked Question

Are you tired of dealing with dialogs that don’t quite fit in with your MFC ribbon-based MDI application? Want to give your dialog a makeover to make it behave like a dockable pane? Look no further! We’ve got the answers you’re looking for.