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Another Splitter Control for Dialog

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4.87/5 (68 votes)
12 Jul 20022 min read 288.4K   10.7K   130   58
A very simple splitter control for dialogs

Sample Image

Introduction

I'm a student and very interested in VC++. I often come to this web site to get free source code. I was in need of a splitter in a dialog. I downloaded one but it was very complex and I felt it was difficult to use the control (although it's very powerful) so I made one for myself. Maybe, it's not useful for you, but if there's only one person who thinks it's useful, I will be very happy. Sometimes, you don't need good skill, just a good idea, and in this simple way, a useful piece of code will be produced. My splitter control is one of this kind.

How to Use the CSplitterControl Class

First of all, add two files, SplitterControl.h and SplitterControl.cpp to the project. Remember to add <tt> #include "splittercontrol.h"</tt> to the header file of the class which uses it.

Add member variable to the dialog class:

C++
protected:
   CSplitterControl     m_wndSplitter1;

Now, we create the control by calling its create function. This code would appear in the OnInitDialog or OnCreate function.

C++
BOOL CSPDemoDlg::OnInitDialog()
{ 
	...
	pWnd = GetDlgItem(IDC_SPLITTER1);
	pWnd->GetWindowRect(rc);
	ScreenToClient(rc);
	m_wndSplitter1.Create(WS_CHILD | WS_VISIBLE, rc, this, IDC_SPLITTER1);
	m_wndSplitter1.SetRange(50, 50, -1);
	...

There is a tip here. Instead of calculating the rect for the splitter, we add a static control on the dialog (by resource editor), give it an ID (IDC_SPLITTER1) and make it invisible. Size it and locate in the resource editor, and then call the function GetWindowRect(rc) to move the m_wndSplitter1 to the rect.

Image 2

And here is the code for resizing controls on the dialog when the user moves the splitter control.

C++
//
// LRESULT CSPDemoDlg::DefWindowProc(UINT message, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam) 
{
	if (message == WM_NOTIFY)
	{
		if (wParam == IDC_SPLITTER1)
		{	
			SPC_NMHDR* pHdr = (SPC_NMHDR*) lParam;
			DoResize1(pHdr->delta);
		}
	}
	
	return CDialog::DefWindowProc(message, wParam, lParam);
}
//
void CSPDemoDlg::DoResize1(int delta)
{
	// Change the width for m_wndType, m_lstItem, m_txtContent	
	CSplitterControl::ChangeWidth(&m_wndType, delta);
	CSplitterControl::ChangeWidth(&m_lstItem, -delta, CW_RIGHTALIGN);
	CSplitterControl::ChangeWidth(&m_txtContent, -delta, CW_RIGHTALIGN);
	Invalidate();
	UpdateWindow();
}

About the Class CSplitterControl and Its Functions

Here's the interface for the class CSplitterControl.

C++
class CSplitterControl : public CStatic
{
	// Construction
public:
	CSplitterControl();

	// Attributes
protected:
	BOOL m_bIsPressed;
	int m_nType;
	int m_nX, m_nY;
	int m_nMin, m_nMax;
	int m_nSavePos; // Save point on the lbutton down

public:
	// ClassWizard generated virtual function overrides
	//{{AFX_VIRTUAL(CSplitterControl)
	//}}AFX_VIRTUAL

	// Implementation
public:
	static void ChangePos(CWnd* pWnd, int dx, int dy);
	static void ChangeWidth(CWnd* pWnd, int dx, DWORD dwFlag = CW_LEFTALIGN);
	static void ChangeHeight(CWnd* pWnd, int dy, DWORD dwFlag = CW_TOPALIGN);

public:
	void SetRange(int nMin, int nMax);
	void SetRange(int nSubtraction, int nAddition, int nRoot);
	int GetStyle();
	int SetStyle(int nStyle = SPS_VERTICAL);
	void Create(DWORD dwStyle, const CRect& rect, CWnd* pParent, UINT nID);
	virtual ~CSplitterControl();

	// Generated message map functions
protected:
	virtual void DrawLine(CDC* pDC, int x, int y);
	void MoveWindowTo(CPoint pt);
	//{{AFX_MSG(CSplitterControl)
	afx_msg void OnPaint();
	afx_msg void OnMouseMove(UINT nFlags, CPoint point);
	afx_msg BOOL OnSetCursor(CWnd* pWnd, UINT nHitTest, UINT message);
	afx_msg void OnLButtonDown(UINT nFlags, CPoint point);
	afx_msg void OnLButtonUp(UINT nFlags, CPoint point);
	//}}AFX_MSG
	DECLARE_MESSAGE_MAP()
};

// this struct is sent as lparam in WM_NOTIFY message 
typedef struct SPC_NMHDR
{
	NMHDR hdr;
	int delta;      // delta : the different position of the splitter before and 
                    // after being moved.
} SPC_NMHDR;

Conclusion

Well, that's all about my code. Maybe the explanation is not very clear, but I hope you'll find it easy to use. No special skill, you see. Very simple. Thanks for reading my article. Please give your ideas as to whether you like it or not.

License

This article has no explicit license attached to it, but may contain usage terms in the article text or the download files themselves. If in doubt, please contact the author via the discussion board below.

A list of licenses authors might use can be found here.


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Comments and Discussions

 
QuestionSplitter for MDI Pin
Leloh Almah15-Feb-24 14:47
Leloh Almah15-Feb-24 14:47 
QuestionScreen scale Pin
Dieter Hammer19-Nov-21 2:13
Dieter Hammer19-Nov-21 2:13 
NewsUpdated to VS2017 / VS2019 with full UNICODE support Pin
Michael Haephrati26-Aug-20 8:52
professionalMichael Haephrati26-Aug-20 8:52 
QuestionThank you for your help Pin
iishero17-Mar-12 0:59
iishero17-Mar-12 0:59 
QuestionAny License attached with this code Pin
GreatestMaverick13-Dec-11 21:55
GreatestMaverick13-Dec-11 21:55 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
Xiangism27-Oct-11 19:14
Xiangism27-Oct-11 19:14 
GeneralMy vote of 3 Pin
helloworldbomb9-Dec-10 3:45
helloworldbomb9-Dec-10 3:45 
Generalvery simple,thanks Pin
jacksp28-Apr-10 22:49
jacksp28-Apr-10 22:49 
GeneralNice work! Pin
jcleung6-Nov-09 15:35
jcleung6-Nov-09 15:35 
GeneralI want to display a Bitmap on the splitter Pin
lan_63738369-Aug-09 17:22
lan_63738369-Aug-09 17:22 
GeneralOne problem Pin
mxs8102-Apr-09 0:19
mxs8102-Apr-09 0:19 
Generalnice code Pin
yusc198626-Feb-09 15:48
yusc198626-Feb-09 15:48 
GeneralGood source code Pin
ziguowen27-Nov-08 14:15
ziguowen27-Nov-08 14:15 
General[Message Removed] Pin
immetoz6-Oct-08 7:51
immetoz6-Oct-08 7:51 
Questionno idea Pin
MaryVeranis20-Mar-08 4:04
MaryVeranis20-Mar-08 4:04 
GeneralVery nice work. I found a bug and my solution Pin
timyin2-Feb-08 21:17
timyin2-Feb-08 21:17 
GeneralVery nice work Pin
Andrea Cacciarru21-Nov-07 0:31
Andrea Cacciarru21-Nov-07 0:31 
GeneralNgu bo me Pin
To Quang Hiep6-Jun-07 23:08
To Quang Hiep6-Jun-07 23:08 
Doi voi Dialog thi can gi phai sung Splitter
Chi can ve cac control la giai quyet duoc roi
GeneralSlight fix Pin
ChrisHowe19-Feb-07 0:31
ChrisHowe19-Feb-07 0:31 
Questionhow can i make Splitter bar to be not allowed move Pin
kiranin31-Oct-06 0:28
kiranin31-Oct-06 0:28 
AnswerRe: how can i make Splitter bar to be not allowed move Pin
Nvng YA27-Nov-06 23:04
Nvng YA27-Nov-06 23:04 
AnswerRe: how can i make Splitter bar to be not allowed move Pin
sharki198711-Aug-10 15:54
sharki198711-Aug-10 15:54 
QuestionHow to use your code in SDI application? Pin
Bhushan198014-Jul-06 11:54
Bhushan198014-Jul-06 11:54 
Generalmoving out of dialog Pin
mirex25-Aug-04 4:00
mirex25-Aug-04 4:00 
GeneralRe: moving out of dialog Pin
atripathi3-Aug-05 1:05
atripathi3-Aug-05 1:05 

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