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To get us started doing something useful with [http://www.trolltech.com/products/qt/features/designer Qt Designer], we are going to build a simple program that will show you the power of Qt Designer and [http://www.kdevelop.org/ KDevelop]. I hope that this will help you to create your first "real" KDE application.
[http://www.kdevelop.org/ KDevelop] will help you to build a complete KDE application. The KDE project uses the autoconf and automake tools for KDE 3.x, and [http://www.kdevelop.org/ KDevelop] will provide you with all the necessary files (admin directory, Makefile.cvs, Makefile.am,...).
Qt Designer is part of the qt-3.2.x package and above. If you have an older Qt on your system, you should get at least this version. At the time of writing, Qt latest version is 3.3.2.
Please remember to check if you have all the qt-related packages installed. You need the qt headers in order to compile this tutorial application. These headers usually come in the ''devel'' package. You also need to be sure you have designer. In some distributions, it comes in a separate package.
If you get something like ''/usr/lib/qt3/include/qstring.h'' then you can set your ''QTDIR'' variable to ''/usr/lib/qt3/''. In bash environment, this is done by typing:
You can download the tarball from the [http://www.trolltech.com/download/qt/x11.html Trolltech website], or get the ''qt-copy'' module from SVN. Please note that Qt for [http://www.kernel.org/ Linux] is [http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GPL].
For an explanation for how to use anonymous SVN, get the ''qt-copy'' and ''kde'' modules and compile them, please see a great documentation at [[Special:myLanguage/Getting_Started/Sources/Using Subversion with KDE|Using Subversion with KDE]].
You must then set the ''QTDIR'' environment variable. This should point to the directory into which you installed Qt. In bash, for example, you would type <code>export QTDIR= /usr/local/qt</code>
provided that ''/usr/local/qt'' is the directory into which you installed Qt. Please read the INSTALL file for more details.
Qt Designer is located in the ''bin'' directory of your Qt installation directory. You can run it by typing:
<code>/usr/local/qt/bin/designer</code>
in a console.
To compile Qt from source, please see [http://www.trolltech.com/ Trolltech]'s [http://www.trolltech.com/developer/downloads/qt/x11 Qt/X11 Open Source Edition] page.
KDevelop 3 should be part of your distribution. Pre 3 versions of KDevelop were nicknamed Gideon, but they are obsolete now.
KDevelop can be downloaded from the [http://www.kdevelop.org KDevelop website], under the '''Quick download''' heading.
To compile KDevelop 3, you need qt-3.1.0 or higher and kdelibs-3.1.0 or higher. The environment variables ''QTDIR'' and ''KDEDIR'' should point to those directories.
Don't forget to set up the KDE and Qt paths. The most common errors while using KDevelop come from the environment variables not set up properly. Check in a console by issuing the command <code>set</code> to see all your environment variables. You should set your ''PATH'' variable as follow as well as your ''LD_LIBRARY_PATH'':
{{Input|1=export PATH=$QTDIR/bin:$KDEDIR/bin:$PATH
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$QTDIR/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH}}
If you have any problem getting KDevelop running, please refer to the [http://www.kdevelop.org/phorum5/ KDevelop Forum] to find the answer to your problem.
If you never used KDevelop before, try to create a new project and to compile it to get used to the interface and the icons.
Please refer to [http://www.kdevelop.org/index.html?filename=3.4/download.html Downloading KDevelop 3.4] and [http://www.kdevelop.org/index.html?filename=3.4/branches_compiling.html Compiling KDevelop 3.4].
* '''Widget''': a widget is an element of an graphical interface such as a container window, a button or a field for entering text.
* '''Layout management''': this term describes the way in which widgets are arranged in a window. In its simplest form, an element may be placed at a specific position and given a specific height and width. But when the user resizes the window, the widgets should stay in their position and change their size accordingly. Linux allows to do that by using layouts to place the widgets in.
* '''Signal and Slots''': Signals and slots are used for communication between objects. The signal/slot mechanism is a central feature of Qt. Signals are emitted by objects when they change their state in a way that may be interesting to the outside world. Slots can be used for receiving signals, but they are normal member functions. You can connect as many signals as you want to a single slot, and a signal can be connected to as many slots as you desire. Please see the [http://doc.trolltech.com/3.3/signalsandslots.html TrollTech documentation on signals and slots] for more details. In the excellent online documentation that comes with Qt, you'll find the signals and the public slots that go with each class. You can then implement your own slots.
The framework in which our program will sit in (i.e. the main window) can be done easily and quickly by using KDevelop. Start KDevelop and select <menuchoice>New Project</menuchoice> in the Project menu. The Application Wizard appears then. Choose a <menuchoice>C++ -> KDE -> Simple KDE Application</menuchoice>. Fill in the blank lines with the project name ''SigCreate'', your name as author, and your email. Refer to the following screenshot as a reference:
Click on ''Next''. Have a look to the CVS option and the header templates. Then click on ''Finish'' on the last screen. KDevelop creates all the files that you need to compile your project. You can use the file selector to view the code of the 3 files, which are main.cpp, sigcreate.cpp and sigcreate.h, as shown here:
Once the ''Application Wizard'' has created your application, compile it to ensure that everything is fine. To do that, select <menuchoice>Build -> Run automake & friends</menuchoice> then <menuchoice>Build -> Run configure</menuchoice>. The ''Messages output window'' should say
so you can run <menuchoice>make with Build -> Build Project</menuchoice> (or using the F8 shortcut). Then <menuchoice>Build -> Install</menuchoice>. Then <menuchoice>Build -> Execute program</menuchoice> (or F9). The result is shown here: [[Image:KDevelop-SigCreate.png|center|thumb|350px]].
{{Note|1=If KDevelop does not recognize your ''QTDIR'' and ''KDEDIR'' variables, you can set them in <menuchoice>Configure Optiona... -> Project -> Project Options...</menuchoice>, as shown:
Qt Designer is a tool for designing and implementing user interfaces. It helps you arranging your widgets on a form and adding a proper layout so your interface can be resized properly. I recommend that you read the [http://doc.trolltech.com/3.3/designer-manual.html Qt Designer manual] to know everything about Qt Designer. Qt Designer includes a code editor but we'll use KDevelop to edit and modify all code.
We will now create the interface of our application using Qt Designer. A form from Qt Designer is saved with a .ui extension because it is then processed by the uic program to generate a .h and .cpp files. KDevelop takes care of that, the only thing we need to do is to create the form.
{{Note|1= Each time you add or remove a file (now we will add a .ui file) in your KDevelop project, the Makefile.am will be changed. KDevelop does that itself but you will need to ''Run automake & friends'' after such changes.}}
In KDevelop, click on <menuchoice>File -> New</menuchoice> and fill the dialog window that appears. First write the file name: ''sigcreatedlg'' and select what new file you want in the combobox: here we want a <menuchoice>Widget (.ui)</menuchoice>. Please be sure that <menuchoice>Add to project</menuchoice> is checked, as this ensures that the Makefile.am is updated. Refer to this screen shot:
If the new file ''sigcreatedlg.ui'' is not open in Qt Designer, open the <menuchoice>Automake Manager</menuchoice>, right-click on the file and select <menuchoice>Open With -> Qt Designer</menuchoice>. Qt Designer will open.
{{Tip|1=About the names: it is a good idea to finish a dialog name or a form name by ''dlg'' to ensure a nice visibility for people who want to have a look at the code. ''sigcreatedlg'' says that it is a dialog, i.e an interface class, only.}}
On the left is the ''toolbox'', where you can select your widgets. On the right, several dialogs can be selected. I'll keep only the ''Property Editor'' dialog (I close the 2 others). Your widgets can be fine tuned to behave how you want them to. You can choose the size of the widget, its background color (palette), and so on. Between those 2 windows is the ''Form'', your program window, within which you will design your user interface.
{{Note|1=After adding the ''sigcreatedlg.ui'' file, you will have to run <menuchoice>Automake & friends</menuchoice> and <menuchoice>Run configure</menuchoice> before building the program. This ensures that the updated ''Makefile.am'' is now read. }}
Each time you want to use Qt Designer, you should have a precise visual idea of the design of your interface. You can see in the following picture what the program will be like.
It is a window with a number of different items (or widgets) on it, designed so that the user puts the right information in the right boxes. You should always design your program from the user's point of view, as it must be easy to use.
This application creates an email signature, which is then displayed on the screen. The user should enter her/his name, email address, and then select one of three comments. When you click the <menuchoice>Create!</menuchoice> button, the generated signature is shown in a ''MultiLineEdit''. When you click <menuchoice>Cancel</menuchoice>, the program quits.
{{Note|1=Note that this project is meant as a tutorial, so this is somewhat far away from practical use.}}
Go back to the Qt Designer window with the new dialog open. You will see that the property editor has been filled with details about the form you have created. The first line in the ''Property Editor'' shows the name of the form which is Form1.
Click on the field with this name to change it and type SigCreateDlg. This will form the class name of the dialog so you should name it something useful.
To change properties, select the property you wish to change, then alter its setting on the right. Change the ''Caption'' property to "SigCreateDlg v.01". We will now begin to add widgets on our dialog.
To start, we will insert the text at the top of the program window, which can be seen here:
[[Image:KDevelop3-NewFile-Widget.png|center|thumb|350px]]
This text tells the user how to operate the program. This type of widget is called a ''Label'' and you can put one on your program like this:
# Select the dialog in ToolBox called <menuchoice>Common Widgets -> TextLabel</menuchoice>, or from the menubar <menuchoice>Tools -> Display -> TextLabel</menuchoice>
# The cursor will become a crosshair over the form. Draw a box for the label, just as you would in a paint program, and you will see that the label is created with some dummy text in it.
# To change this text, double click on the label and type in the text, instead of ''TextLabel1''. The text you should type is {{Input|1=This program will create an email signature for you. Just fill in the boxes and hit the Create! button.}} Select <menuchoice>Align Center</menuchoice> to have the text positioned nicely. Refer to this screenshot: [[Image:QtDesigner3-TextEditDialog.png|center|thumb|350px]].
# Finally, resize the widget using the handles so it is the correct size and at the top of the box. Try to center the label by moving it with the mouse. This is just a temporary measure. Later on we will look at a more elegant layout management technique. You may refer to this screenshot:
[[Image:QtDesigner3-ResizingBox.png|center|thumb|350px]].
You follow pretty much the same procedure for embedding any type of widget that is supported by Qt Designer; select it, drag it, and finally, change its properties and size.
An interesting concept in Qt Designer is that widgets can act as containers for other widgets. This will be demonstrated in our next task, which is to create the input fields inside the frame. You can see that in Picture 8 we have a bunch of labels and text boxes inside a frame. This frame is called a Group Box and acts as a container for the labels and text boxes inside it. Let's first create the frame by selecting the GroupBox in the <menuchoice>Toolbox dialog -> Containers</menuchoice> or <menuchoice>Tools -> Containers -> GroupBox</menuchoice> from the menubar. You can drag the mouse to create the box just below the Label you created before. In the ''Property Editor'' you can change the title property to alter the text in the frame. Put <code>Details</code> in the title text field. You may notice a + symbol in this entry in the ''Property Editor''. This indicates that the property has subproperties that can also be changed.
Once you have created the frame (i.e the GroupBox), create three more labels as before but when you draw them, draw them inside the GroupBox frame. You can then see in the Object Explorer box (<menuchoice>Windows menu -> Views -> Object Explorer</menuchoice>) to the right that the labels have become children of the GroupBox frame. See this image:
[[Image:QtDesigner3-EditingTheDialog.png|center|thumb|350px]].
Once you have done this you can then create the text boxes. They will allow the user to type in text like his(her) name and email address. We use the simplest type of text boxes: a widget called QLineEdit which allows the user to enter one line of text only. You have to create two QLineEdit widgets for the name and the email address. You choose the menu <menuchoice>Tools -> Input -> LineEdit</menuchoice> and you draw it beside the 'Your Name' Label. Do the same below for the address.
The witty comment will be selected by the user. We use a ComboBox which will present the user with three comments. Click on the ComboBox icon or select it via the <menuchoice>Tools -> Input-> ComboBox</menuchoice> menu. Draw it beside the Witty Comment label. Then double-click on it. You will be presented with a box into which you can add the contents of the combo box. Click on the <menuchoice>New Item</menuchoice> button and type in your comment in the text box at the right. Then click again on <menuchoice>New Item</menuchoice> for the second and third comments. Click on <menuchoice>OK</menuchoice> when you have finished.
[[Image:QtDesigner3-BeforeLayoutManagement.png|thumb|350px]] Up to now, we have not named any of the widgets that are being placed in our program. It is useful to set an internal name for widgets so we can call them after in the program. Labels don't perform any action so they don't need to be named but other widgets do. It is the case now for our text boxes. We'll need to manipulate the data from the three input widgets (i.e. read the text) so we should give them a name. Names should be easily recognized later and they should make sense. The names are assigned via the name property on the top of the Property Editor. We name the top LineEdit ''nameBox'' and the second one ''mailBox''. We name the ComboBox ''commBox''. This will allow us to access the comments. So click on each <menuchoice>LineEdit</menuchoice> and then besides <menuchoice>Name</menuchoice> in the Property Editor write <code>nameBox</code> and <code>mailBox</code>. Then click on the <menuchoice>ComboBox</menuchoice> and name it <code>commBox</code>.
We finish the graphical design by adding a label with ''Generated Signature'' as text. Below it, we put a TextEdit (<menuchoice>Tools -> Input -> TextEdit</menuchoice>) where the generated signature will be displayed. We name it <code>sigBox</code>. And then we add two PushButtons at the bottom ('Create!' and 'Cancel'). They don't need names but you can give them some if you want.
Save your form. You can now have a quick preview by selecting the menu <menuchoice>Preview -> Preview Form</menuchoice>. This is the form ''before'' layout management.
This section describes the layout management. If you resize the preview window you will then notice that the widgets do not adjust appropriately. They are not resized. To improve things, we need to use a feature in Qt called ''spacers''. Spacers are like virtual springs that push the widgets on each side apart.
{{Note|1= Having a good layout is essential for your application, as when the strings are translated, they might be longer than the English ones and they need to fit on your widgets. The geometry of the widgets has to be nice if the user can resize your window application. Layouts are done by trial and error so use <menuchoice>Preview -> Preview Form</menuchoice> to see the result of your layout management and to achieve the best layout.
The use of spacers and layout management is a skill that is developed through trial and error. The main thing to remember when dealing with spacers is that you work horizontally first and then vertically.
[[Image:QtDesigner3-AddingTheSpacers.png|left|thumb|350px]]
We will first use spacers to center the text in the top box. Resize your label so that it is only the size of the text. Then we add two spacers, one at each side. Choose the <menuchoice>spring</menuchoice> icon or menu <menuchoice>Layout -> Add Spacer</menuchoice>. You adjust each of the spacers horizontally. Click the space to the left of the text and the blue spacer will appear . Repeat the same procedure for the right. Then add a spacer on the right of the "Generated Signature" label, and a last one on the left of the the "Create!" pushbutton. Please use this image as a reference.
Now that we have spacers to fill blank space, we need a proper layout management. This will allow the widgets to be nicely resized whenever the main window is resized. It is really compulsory to have good layout management. Again, try to resize several times to see if everything is in place. We can use Vertical or horizontal layout or grid management. The top row of widget is horizontal (spacer + label + spacer) so we need Horizontal management. We need to select the three widgets alltogether: click on the first spring, then click on the label while holding down <keycap>Shift</keycap>, then on the second spring while holding down Shift. Then click on the <menuchoice>Horizontal Layout icon</menuchoice> or menu <menuchoice>Layout -> Lay Out Horizontally</menuchoice>. You will then see a resizable red line around the three objects to indicate that their layout is being managed. Resize the red box if it needs it.
We can now repeat this procedure for the three labels inside the GroupBox, this time using vertical layout management. The same vertical management is used for the two LineEdit and the ComboBox. It is better to use vertical management to keep the objects aligned. If we use horizontal management for each label + text box then they will not stay aligned and equally sized. Horizontal management is needed for the label with the spacer and another one for the two pushbuttons and the spacer.
To finish the layout, we need to let the form look after the laid-out boxes. We put everything in a grid. This is done by right clicking the form and selecting <menuchoice>Lay Out in a Grid</menuchoice> from the menu. The final design with layout lines should resemble something similar to this image:
[[Image:QtDesigner3-CompleteLayoutManagement.png|center|thumb|350px]]
[http://doc.trolltech.com/3.0/signalsandslots.html Signals and Slots] are used for communication between Qt objects. The signal/slot mechanism is a central feature of Qt and probably the part that differs most from other toolkits which often use callbacks. In Qt, a signal is emitted by a widget when a particular event occurs, very often triggered by the user like for example pressing a button or writing something in a LineEdit. A slot is simply a function that is called in reponse to a particular signal.
Now the widgets are implemented and the layout is arranged the final thing we need to do in the design stage of the form is to create the signal/slot connections. To do this manually requires a ''connect()'' function but Qt Designer provides a simple yet effective solution. To create the signal/slot connections we need to use the connecting tool. To do this either select the icon (it looks like a red arrow going into a green square) or select <menuchoice>Tools -> Connect Signals/Slots</menuchoice> from the menu (or use the <keycap>F3</keycap> shortcut key). To create a connection, click on the form on the widget that is going to be dealing with the slot, drag the line off the form and release the mouse button.
[[Image:QtDesigner3-CreateSlot.png|right|thumb|350px]].
Let's deal first with the Create! button. Click first on the <menuchoice>Connect Signal/Slot</menuchoice> icon or select it from the <menuchoice>Tools</menuchoice> menu or use the <keycap>F3</keycap> key. Then click on the Create! button with the crosshair and drag the line off the form completely. When you have released the mouse button you will see the connections tool shown in the image.
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