3D and Beveled Controls

[x60hz]

Hi all, I'm a Winbatch convert and let me tell you, I'm am so psyched about AutoIT. I love it so far. But I am having one annoying issue. I am using Koda to design my GUIs and I'm noticing that I can't get the controls to have that traditional beveled/3D look. I've tried playing with all the control styles (forms AND controls) and am having no luck. I've also tried it without using Koda and having the same problem. I'm hoping I'm just not doing something right. My controls - from checkboxes to buttons - all just look like rectangles. AutoIT is the one on the left and Winbatch is the one on the right

Thanks for any help!

Edited October 26, 2012 by x60hz

[Melba23]

x60hz,

Welcome to the Autoit forum.

It looks to me as if you are still in Koda in that screenshot - all my AutoIt GUIs look like the right-hand side image.

I do not use Koda, but I know that Koda is just an aid to GUI contruction, not the final product. At the moment it looks as if you are still in the GUI editor mode.

From my limited knowledge (gained over the past 2 minutes of running the app for the first time) I think you need to go to the <Tools - Run Form> menu item in Koda - then you see how the GUI will look when run. The <Tools - Generate Form Code> menu item will bring up a dialog with the actual AutoIt code to produce the GUI - copy that into SciTE and run it from there and I believe you will get what you are looking for.

Come back if you still have problems and we will find someone more experienced in Koda than myself to help.

M23

[x60hz]

Thanks for the suggestion but it looks exactly the same way when I run the script as when I'm designing it. I'm troubled that you say your GUIs look the way I want mine to. Hopefully someone will read this and have an answer for me.

[Melba23]

x60hz,

Please run this very rough code from within SciTE and tell me if you still get the funny spotted backgound and flat controls:

#include <GUIConstantsEx.au3>

$hGUI = GUICreate("Test", 500, 500)

GUICtrlCreateLabel("Prefix", 10, 10, 50, 20)
GUICtrlCreateLabel("Number/Letters", 150, 10, 200, 20)
GUICtrlCreateLabel("Suffix", 300, 10, 50, 20)
GUICtrlCreateLabel("Increment", 360, 10, 50, 20)

GUICtrlCreateInput("", 10, 40, 50, 20)
GUICtrlCreateInput("", 150, 40, 50, 20)
GUICtrlCreateInput("", 300, 40, 50, 20)
GUICtrlCreateInput("", 360, 40, 50, 20)

GUICtrlCreateCheckbox(" Automatically add new record", 100, 400, 200, 20)

GUICtrlCreateButton("Send", 180, 430, 80, 30)
GUICtrlCreateButton("Cancel", 340, 430, 80, 30)

GUISetState()

While 1
    Switch GUIGetMsg()
        Case $GUI_EVENT_CLOSE
            Exit
    EndSwitch
WEnd

M23

[x60hz]

Have a look...

By the way, the spotted background was due to the fact that I was in Koda designer mode. That much I knew but these flat displaying controls are baffling me!

[BrewManNH]

Try it with this change and let us know how it looks.

#include <WindowsConstants.au3>
#include <GUIConstantsEx.au3>
$hGUI = GUICreate("Test", 500, 500)

GUICtrlCreateLabel("Prefix", 10, 10, 50, 20, -1, $WS_EX_STATICEDGE)
GUICtrlCreateLabel("Number/Letters", 150, 10, 200, 20, -1, $WS_EX_STATICEDGE)
GUICtrlCreateLabel("Suffix", 300, 10, 50, 20, -1, $WS_EX_STATICEDGE)
GUICtrlCreateLabel("Increment", 360, 10, 50, 20, -1, $WS_EX_STATICEDGE)

GUICtrlCreateInput("", 10, 40, 50, 20, -1, $WS_EX_STATICEDGE)
GUICtrlCreateInput("", 150, 40, 50, 20, -1, $WS_EX_STATICEDGE)
GUICtrlCreateInput("", 300, 40, 50, 20, -1, $WS_EX_STATICEDGE)
GUICtrlCreateInput("", 360, 40, 50, 20, -1, $WS_EX_STATICEDGE)

GUICtrlCreateCheckbox(" Automatically add new record", 100, 400, 200, 20)

GUICtrlCreateButton("Send", 180, 430, 80, 30)
GUICtrlCreateButton("Cancel", 340, 430, 80, 30)

GUISetState()

While 1
    Switch GUIGetMsg()
        Case $GUI_EVENT_CLOSE
            Exit
    EndSwitch
WEnd

[Mat]

Probably won't work for the buttons BrewManNH...

You want controls with an old visual style? Usually to enable visual styles you add a manifest to the exe as described here. Might well be possible to remove the manifest, make a copy of AutoIt3.exe then use a tool like reshacker. AutoIts not designed to be meddled with like that, so it might not work.

[x60hz]

I'm just confused as to why others are not having this problem. I'm simply running a copy of XP SP3. It's my work PC. I'm going to try this on my home PC which has W7 on it and see what happens. By the way, thanks everyone for all your help so far.

[Malkey]

While using Koda, see if you can get the controls to have that traditional beveled/3D look, using the "Object Inspector".

The Object Inspector has three tabs at its bottom - Properties, Styles, and ExStyles.

Activate an input box or a label or any control in the Form, and click on the ExStyles tab of the Object Inspector, and then, check the WS_EX_CLIENTEDDGE, and/or the WS_EX_STATICEDGE check box in the ExStyles tab and see the resulting change in appearence to that label control, input box control, button control or any control.