Organization of the Front Panel Definition

The Front Panel is built by assembling definitions for its components. Each of these components has required syntax that defines where the component is placed in the Front Panel, what the component looks like, and how it behaves.

Front Panel Components

Figure 15–1 Front Panel components

The Front Panel is assembled from the outside inward:

• The PANEL is the top-level container, or parent, for the entire Front Panel.

• The PANEL is a container for one or more BOXes.

• A BOX is a container for one or more CONTROLs.

  There are two special types of containers:

• A SUBPANEL is associated with a particular control (the control is the container for the subpanel). Subpanels “slide up” from the control with which they are associated.

• The SWITCH contains the buttons for changing workspaces plus additional controls.

General Syntax of the Front Panel Definition

Each component in the Front Panel is defined separately using the syntax:

COMPONENT name
 {
   KEYWORD       value
   KEYWORD       value
   …
 }

Some keywords are required, others are optional. For more information, see the dtfpfile(4X) man page.

PANEL Definition

The PANEL is the top-level component. Its definition includes:

• The Front Panel name

• Fields describing the general appearance and behavior of the entire Front Panel

   PANEL front_panel_name
   {
   	KEYWORD				value
   	KEYWORD				value
       …
   }

  The front_panel_name is a unique name for the Front Panel. The default name is “FrontPanel.”

BOX Definitions

A BOX definition describes:

• The BOX name

• Which PANEL the box is in (CONTAINER_NAME)

• The position of the box in the PANEL (POSITION_HINTS)

• Fields describing appearance and behavior that apply to the entire box

  BOX box_name
   {
   	CONTAINER_NAME					front_panel_name
   	POSITION_HINTS					position
   	KEYWORD						value
   	KEYWORD						value
   	…
   }

CONTROL Definitions

A CONTROL definition describes:

• The CONTROL name

• Whether the control is in a box, subpanel, or switch (CONTAINER_TYPE)

• Which box, subpanel, or switch the control is in (CONTAINER_NAME)

• The position of the CONTROL in the BOX (POSITION_HINTS).

• Fields describing appearance and behavior of the control

  CONTROL control_name
   {
      CONTAINER_TYPE        BOX or SUBPANEL or SWITCH
      CONTAINER_NAME        box_name or subpanel_name or  switch_name
   TYPE        control_type
   POSITION_HINTS        position
      KEYWORD        value
       	KEYWORD        value
   	…
   }
  

SUBPANEL Definitions

A SUBPANEL definition describes:

• The SUBPANEL name

• The name of the control to which the subpanel is attached (CONTAINER_NAME)

• Fields describing appearance and behavior specific to the subpanel

  SUBPANEL subpanel_name
   {
   	CONTAINER_NAME				control_name
   	KEYWORD					value
   	KEYWORD					value
      …
   }

SWITCH Definition

The SWITCH definition describes:

• The SWITCH name

• Which BOX the SWITCH is in (CONTAINER_NAME)

• The position of the SWITCH within the BOX (POSITION_HINTS)

• Fields describing the appearance and behavior of the SWITCH

  SWITCH switch_name
   {
   	CONTAINER_NAME				box_name
   	POSITION_HINTS				position
   	KEYWORD					value
   	KEYWORD					value
      …
   }