[OmegaBundle 2021] What's New

[Sam_Rowlands]

OWStackView 2021

Demo video - OWStackView 2021 quick overview - YouTube
Demo application - https://ohanaware.com/appkit/OAK2021_demo.zip

Stack Views are a great way to build dynamic interfaces. Simply append a bunch of container controls into a stack view and you’ve now got a scrollable UI, which supports collapsing (and expanding) elements.

The OWStackView was designed and written specifically for Xojo made applications, such as our App Wrapper, yet still providing macOS theme consistency and scrolling that customers expect from a Mac application.

• Improved Smooth Scrolling with support for Momentum & Elasticity ( macOS only ).
• Background styles including Normal and Alternating rows ( Using System colors ).
• Collapsible and expandable rows with animation.
• New Floating headers, which stick at the top of the list.
• New Animation model, providing cleaner & more connected animations.
• New Control over the collapse animation timing function.
• New Way of handling the alternating wallpaper tinting support row backgrounds.
• New Animation for displaying the stack view as if it’s being filled.
• New Insert row or append row animation options.
• New Elastic animation timing function and speed can now be controlled.

The OWStackView is an integral part of App Wrapper, it provides the scrollable UI in the document window for various “panes” of settings, including the results pane, the files list in the “Bundle Contents” and the certificate list in the identity seletor.

The Ohanaware App Kit 2021 includes code and objects like this that will help you to build better Mac apps using the Xojo development tool. Get the new 2021 version as part of the Omegabundle 2021.

To see what else is new for 2021, check out App Kit 2021 - Building Better Mac Applications or What's Included

[Christian_Schmitz]

Check the blog post about embedding links in DynaPDF:

Embedded links with MBS and DynaPDF in Xojo

You can create PDF with links using the starter license included in OmegaBundle.

[Sam_Rowlands]

App Wrapper 4.3.1 Update now available

Download Update - https://ohanaware.com/appwrapper/release/appWrapper.dmg
More information - App Wrapper 4

Version Changes

• Fixed a crash that could occur on re-opening several windows a second time.
• Fixed a bug where the “Pack” action menu item wouldn’t have an icon.
• View → Clear Results is no longer enabled when AW is busy.
• Changed the way how AW sends passwords to Apple API to avoid complications with KeyChain.
• Fixed an error that can occur when dragging in DMG images to be Notarized.

App Wrapper is part of this years Omegabundle where you can score a best value Xojo add-ons for a great deal.

App Wrapper 4.3.1 is a FREE update to all participants of the Omegabundle 2021, and to customers with a valid Update Plan. App Wrapper 4.3.1 is also available from the Ohanaware Website. App Wrapper 4.3.1 offers a no-obligation 14 Day trial. The RRP of App Wrapper 4.3.1 is $49.99 (USD) for a single user 1-Year Update Plan. Customers with a valid Update Plan can upgrade to App Wrapper 4.3.1 at no additional cost. Customers with expired Update Plans can extend their plans for $39.99 (USD). Ohanaware currently uses FastSpring to handle payments on the Ohanaware website.

[Anthony_G_Cyphers]

GraffitiDrillMenu

GraffitiDrillMenu is a beautiful, animated alternative to tree-style UI components.

Features

• Animated traversal
• Infinite number of levels
• Per-item notification counts
• Global custom styling properties
• Per-item custom styling properties
• Coming soon: Improved Keyboard Navigation

[Lynn_Fredricks1 (Lynn Fredricks)]

Valentina Reports ADK for Xojo is your ultimate reporting system. Generate reports from MS SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite and Valentina DB sources.

Deploy your Xojo applications on Windows, MacOS and Linux - all three platforms are supported and included in Omegabundle for Xojo 2021. The Linux version is even supported for Raspberry PI deployment (Debian, Linux, ARM 7).

Here are some of the improvements since last year:

• Improved formatting for line ends in reports (what happens when X isn’t there?)
• Improved positioning of Report Objects, including fixed and relative positions
• Improved Reporting Examples, esp for display on iOS
• Support for MacOS on ARM
• Meaningful Printer Errors. Now you can catch errors coming back from the printer.
• Recursive Reports.Displaying hierarchical data is now possible
• Expanded Zoom to x4 in Reports Editor (Valentina Studio Pro)
• Reports and subreports now use the same JS context (global variables, etc)
• SVG picture can now can be stored in a textual field. You can now specify such a field as a data source for the picture control
• Alpha and Opacity properties are now supported for text and borders
• New HTML Rendering Engine. Most HTML/CSS features are supported including text formatting, tables, floating elements, absolute positioning, anchors, embedded styles, CSS classes, most CSS selectors. Embedded and external CSS files supported.
• HTML Rendering Vectorized. Printing a report to PDF, Postscript, or directly to a printer, rendered HTML is vectorized. TEXT is scalable and selectable in generated files and can be printed with the maximum printer resolution.
• Support for SVG images in the Picture controls. When printing to vector formats (PDF, Postscript, SVG) SVG images are embedded in the document in vector form perfect for zooming and printing. SVG images can be stored in the report, database, external file, or even auto-generated

The same report projects can be viewed and “played back” within the free Valentina Studio and can include parameters to allow end users to customize the output. And they can be uploaded to Valentina Server and served across your network.

[Sam_Rowlands]

Ohanaware App Kit 2021 Release 2

I’m very pleased to announce the latest update to our popular Xojo Add-On for making better Mac Apps, which includes 47 additions and 17 Improvements.

Watch Video - The Ohanaware App Kit 2021 Release 2 demo - YouTube
Download the demo - https://www.ohanaware.com/appkit/OAK2021_demo.zip
More Info / Buy Now - App Kit 2021 - Building Better Mac Applications

Every customer of the Omegabundle 2021 automatically gets a license to this huge toolkit, which includes a demo application allowing customers to see the objects in action, tinker with the settings, but also figure out how to include these elements into their own Mac applications. Starting with Ohanaware App Kit 2021 we also include a “Mac App Template” which is preconfigured with the Ohanaware App Kit 2021 and awaiting your next exciting Mac Application.

HEADLINE FEATURES

OWFlexView makes it easier to create more dynamic scrolling interfaces, by stacking items or varying sizes, left to right in rows.

• Smooth scrolling, with momentum and elastic support.
• Row justification options.
• Vertical alignment within view.
• Insets and padding support.
• Background options.
• Floating headers.

OWWallpaperConcealer is an easy to add control that will allow customers to make the background and toolbar of the in-focus window opaque, ignoring wallpaper tinting, helping to quickly identify in-focus windows. It can be forced on and includes support for customizing the toolbar color, like Microsoft apps do.

OWSwitch is a replacement for the NSSwitch control. On macOS 10.15 it will use the NSSwitch, but on older versions it will simulate the control, making it easier to adopt the “Switch” control in Mac UIs (native Xojo code, so should work on Windows too).

OTHER NEW FEATURES OF THE 2021R2 UPDATE

• Add XojoCanvasDelegates can now be used with ContainerControls.
• Add XojoCanvasDelegates now offers appearance and backingScale events.
• Add OWSourceList now supports row “Badges”.
• Add OWMakeBadge to make badge graphics for Source Lists and other controls.
• Add OWSourceList options to demo app including: Source List customization and Badge Making.
• Add OWWindowSplitter now has the “dimple” visual indicator option.
• Add Icons demo including: Using SF Symbols in a Xojo App, NSImage constants, Classic Icons and Colorizing icons.
• Add Graphics demo including: Support gesture rotation, Marching Ants, On-demand Drag handles and Repeating patterns.
• Add Toolbar demo including: Big Sur Toolbar styles, Standard Toolbar options, Colorize the Toolbar like Microsoft apps, Bottom bar insets, @neilsaresai’s “Catalina” style toolbars on Big Sur.
• Add Fast image preview code.
• Add Design model for perceived fast icon generation, during loading.
• Add operatingSystemisAtLeastMojave global property.
• Add OAK.appearanceFunctionSelector for faster detection of Dark mode.
• Add OAK.pinstripesShouldDraw property to improve drawing time.
• Add AppKit.​NSColor_seperatorColorToUse for better version compatibility.
• Add AppKit.​NSTextFieldBezelStyleValue.
• Add AppKit.​NSTextFieldCell_​bezelStyle & AppKit.NSTextFieldCell_setBezelStyle.
• Add AppKit.​NSWindow_​autorecalculatesContentBorderThickness​ForEdge.
• Add AppKit.NSWindow_isKeyWindow.
• Add AppKit.​NSWindow_​removeFrameUsingName.
• Add AppKit.​NSWindow_​setAutorecalculatesContentBorderThickness​ForEdge.
• Add AppKit.​NSWindow_​setContentBorderThicknessForEdge.
• Add CoreGraphics.​CGImageSourceClosestMatchingSize.
• Add Foundation.​NSUserDefaultsColorForKey enables reading of NSColors from the NSUserDefaults (Mac OS Preferences system).
• Add Foundation.​NSUserDefaultsSetColorForKey enables writing of NSColors to the NSUserDefaults (Mac OS Preferences system).
• Add Foundation.​NSKeyedArchiver_​archivedDataWithRootObject​RequiringSecureCoding​Error.
• Add Foundation.​NSKeyedUnarchiver_​requiresSecureCoding.
• Add Foundation.​NSKeyedUnarchiver_​unarchivedObjectOfClassFromDataError.
• Add NSWindowDelegates.​windowDidBecomeMain.
• Add NSWindowDelegates.​windowDidResignMain.
• Add ListBoxForScrollView.​updateHeightDenied.
• Add OWSourceList.addItem( inLabel as string, inTag as variant, inIcon as picture = nil, inBadge as picture = nil ).
• Add OWPartialToolbar.toolbarBackgroundNSColor
• Imp XojoCanvasDelegates structure allows easier project sharing.
• Imp OWSidebar - Top can consistently be used to move window.
• Imp Label demo.
• Imp GUI Cheat Sheet layout.
• Imp NSColorWell, OWDestructiveButton, OWSidebar, NSSearchField, NSVisualEffectView now adhere to Xojo’s .enabled property.
• Imp NSWorkspaceSharedWorkspace is now a global property for faster access.
• Imp NSApplicationSharedApplication is now a global property for faster access.
• Imp OAK.reportHardwareInformation should now return correct CPU frequency on M1 Macs.
• Imp AppKit.NSImageClone now respects the template property.
• Imp NSObjectToXojoMap.register will now warn of trying to register an invalid object.
• Imp NSObjectToXojoMap.unregister will now warn when trying to unregister an object more than once.
• Imp OWPartialToolbar.​configureWithToolbar(Toolbar) now supports wallpaper concealment.
• Imp NSVisualEffectView.Open() is now faster
• Del Removed OAK.drawWindowBackground, use OWWalpaperConcealer instead.
• Del Removed windowTintingShouldBlock, use OWWalpaperConcealer instead.
• Del Removed windowTintingUpdate, use OWWalpaperConcealer instead.

Ohanaware App Kit was built with Xojo, and the demo application was wrapped with App Wrapper.

COMPATIBILITY

• macOS 10.13.6 High Sierra, macOS 10.14 Mojave, macOS 10.15 Catalina or macOS 11.0 Big Sur.
• Xojo 2019r3 or newer, it should work on previous versions.

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

Ohanaware App Kit 2021r2 is a FREE update to all participants of the Omegabundle 2021and is exclusively being sold as part of the Omegabundle 2021, which includes App Wrapper 4 and the best Xojo Add-ons available today.

[Anthony_G_Cyphers]

GraffitiColorPicker

GraffitiColorPicker is an advanced color selector class for Xojo that allows your users to pick exactly the color they need, whether that be by name, selection with the mouse, or directly entering a value. This cross-platform picker also ensures that, no matter which platform your app is on, the experience is always the same.

Features:

• Named Colors
• Recent Colors (per user)
• System Colors
• Custom Selection with RGB Sliders
• Custom Selection by Hex Value
• Color Wheel Selector
• Color Spectrum Selector
• Alpha Channel Support

[Marc_Zeedar]

xDevLibrary Announces New Xojo Database Collection Ebook

July 2020 – xDevLibrary is delighted to announce the release of a massive new book targeted at Xojo database users. The “Xojo Database Collection” is a 400-page ebook that gathers 18 years of xDev Magazine database columns into one volume.

Just about every issue of xDev Magazine has included a column on databases. In that column we go in-depth on many aspects of database use, from design to performance. There are tutorials on how to use key features to philosophical discussion on various techniques. There have also been articles on different databases, their advantages and disadvantages, and how to use them with Xojo.

Though many of these articles are old and some coding syntax has changed in more recent versions of Xojo, the basic concepts are timeless and invaluable.

Some of the topics covered include:

• Analyzing Performance
• Backup and Recovery Approach
• Best Backup Practices
• Big Data
• Connecting Databases
• Database Bindings
• Database Concurrency Strategies
• Database Design
• Database Rules
• Database Servers
• Database Standards
• Database Versioning
• Design Patterns
• Disaster Recovery
• Enterprise Data Modeling Tools
• Hadoop
• Multi-User Applications
• MySQL Tables
• Object Relational Mapping
• ODBC
• Party Role Model
• Path Enumeration Model
• Performance Tips
• PostgreSQL
• Prepared Statements
• Reporting
• SQL
• SQL Management Tools
• Stored Procedures
• Triggers and Views
• User Interface
• Plus Much More!

We’ve gathered nearly two decades of these database columns into a single book of over 400 pages. If you’re new to Xojo or a veteran, this is a terrific resource.

The ebook is in PDF, EPUB, and Mobi (Kindle) formats and can be purchased for $19.99 via GumRoad for instant delivery (http://gum.co/oQnsl).

Note: This book is part of the 2021 Omegabundle, a terrific collection of the top Xojo add-ons (http://www.omegabundle.net).

Interested readers can find out more and purchase this book and many others at xDevLibrary (http://www.xdevlibrary.com).

About xDev Magazine
Formerly Real Studio Developer, xDev Magazine has been publishing since 2002. xDev is an independent bimonthly publication focused on instructing users of the Xojo development environment. Each issue features over 70 pages of quality articles from top Xojo programmers and authors. xDev is renown around the world as the premiere publication of Xojo instruction, tutorials, and programming advice.

About xDevLibrary
Formerly RBLibrary, xDevLibrary is a site for à la carte purchases of books and articles about Xojo, REAL Studio, and REALbasic. Instead of waiting for a magazine issue to be published, readers can just purchase the articles they’d like immediately. The library covers a vast array of topics for Xojo beginners, experts, and everyone in between.

[Sam_Rowlands]

The Ohanaware App Kit Release 2.1

This is just a minor update as it fixes a few issues and adds a few little more things to play with an integrate within your Mac Apps.

More Information - Ohanaware App Kit 2021 Release 2.1
Download Demo - https://www.ohanaware.com/appkit/OAK2021_demo.zip
Purchase Now - https://www.omegabundle.net/

Version Changes:
• Add System options for Colorizing icons in some controls on macOS 10.14 or newer.
• Add OWWallpaperConcealer now listens to the notification of theme change.
• Add Added support for the macOS Find Panel and Find Bar.
• Add IOExceptionMessageMake tries to make a more usable errorMessage from the Exception.
• Add app.infoIsCodeSigned as boolean.
• Add clipboard.folderitemAvailable to detect if a folderitem is on the clipboard.
• Add clipboard.folderitem getter and setting for folderitems on the clipboard.
• Add Add Link… Menuitem which adds links to a TextView.
• Add Show Fonts… Menuitem allowing for the system font picker to show up.
• Imp msgBoxError function can now take a folderitem, offering the user to option to reveal the file.
• Imp folderitem.showInFinder will now show parent folder if file doesn’t exist.
• Fix Fixed a bug whereby the NSVisualEffectView would cover nested elements.
• Fix Fixed a Typo on the GUI Cheat Sheet.
• Fix Fixed a bug with Marching Antz and certain versions of Xojo.
• Fix Fixed a bug in the FileOpen menuitem handler of the Mac App Template.
• Fix OWWallpaperConcealer will now allow an update even if it is already blocking a window.
• Fix OWWallpaperConcealer no longer crashes if the window returns a canvas instead of a window.
• Fix OWPartialToolbar now has correct height with Xojo 2021r2.

[Anthony_G_Cyphers]

Extended through August 31st!

Take advantage of this low price while you can!

[Christian_Schmitz]

Included with OmegaBundle 2021 is a DynaPDF Starter license.

For this year we also offer discounted upgrades from the OmegaBundle to DynaPDF Lite, Pro or Enterprise versions.

Let us know if you are interested and we setup an upgrade order for you with a 20% discount.

[Anthony_G_Cyphers]

GraffitiThumbList

This product is a really neat control to display thumbnails of images in your UI and allow users to select them. It supports adding directories both single and recursively, grid view, horizontal view, vertical view, and multiselect.

[Lynn_Fredricks1 (Lynn Fredricks)]

Are you developing for the Raspberry PI platform with Xojo? Several solutions in Omegabundle for Xojo include licensing for deployment on Raspberry PI.

MBS Chart Director 7 is your real time charting and graphing solution for your Xojo applications, and it includes a Raspberry PI target.

---

And if you were frustrated about the original RaspberryPI documentation which was on Github, the RaspberryPI team has just launched a new documentation site, a useful reference when building apps using Xojo and popular 3rd party tools included in Omegabundle for Xojo 2021!

[Tim_Parnell]

GraffitiListbox

GraffitiListbox is a drop in replacement for the Xojo Listbox. Enable alternating row colors with the flick of a switch and row hover effects are just a click away. Users with older versions of Xojo will enjoy the more visible header that wasn’t available in the Xojo Listbox in 2019r1.1.

Need a live example? GraffitiListbox is featured in ExeWrapper, Plugins Pro, and VersionTracker! One might think Anthony built the control for me

Information on the GraffitiSuite Website

[Lynn_Fredricks1 (Lynn Fredricks)]

Looking forward to the coming of Windows Server 2022? With all the attention on the forthcoming Windows 11, it is easy to forget the place of Windows Server in a Microsoft focused shop.

You will be happy to learn that Valentina Studio Pro for Windows and Valentina Server for Windows have been tested on the most recent release.

Both Valentina Studio Pro and a copy of Valentina Server are included in Omegabundle for Xojo 2021, available for a limited time.

[Anthony_G_Cyphers]

GraffitiSyntaxEditor

GraffitiSyntaxEditor is a full featured code and text editor component with support for 34 themes, 142 languages (modes), and the following features:

• Annotations
• Breakpoints
• Single-Line Comment Toggling
• Block Comment Toggling
• Built-In Find/Replace
• Code Folding
• Single or Multiple Line Indent
• Print to HTML
• Selection Modification (Duplication, Lowercase, Number alterations, Move, Split, Transpose by Line, Transpose Characters, Uppercase, By Word)
• Built-In GoTo by Line Number
• Undo Stack
• Code Matching Highlight
• Autocomplete
• File Drop Loading
• Visible Margins
• Soft or Hard Tabs
• Tab Size Setting
• Optional Word Wrap

[Anthony_G_Cyphers]

GraffitiChart

GraffitiChart is a simple yet effective charting solution for Desktop applications. With support for custom tooltip formatting, image export, and full style control, GraffitiChart can enhance any project.

Supported Charts:
- Bar
- Line
- Radar
- Doughnut
- Pie
- StackBar
- Polar

[Lynn_Fredricks1 (Lynn Fredricks)]

We posted a standalone update for this, but we just updated Valentina Studio Pro with a new display feature in the data editor in release 11.4.3. Download it here.

Many databases have custom data types that for the most part, show up as ‘integers’ in database management tools. We’ve added a new feature that gives you the option to display as native type and, also select the measurement type.

[Christian_Schmitz]

Last day. Everyone got his order placed?

[Lynn_Fredricks1 (Lynn Fredricks)]

In case you missed it, the Ohanaware App Kit 2021 was just updated to R3 and is included in Omegabundle for Xojo 2021. Check out the demo and movie at the link above.