separator in Windows

General
#1

Hello,
twenty years ago, when I started using RealBasic, following the tutorial I built my first app.
I remember that the tutorial said that for Windows builds a separator should be put at the top of the window.

Years have passed, and I mainly develop for Mac
Yet I have a couple of apps for Windows, so I looked at the Tutorial in the User Guide, but I do not see any mention of separators to be added for Windows.

Hence my question:
are separators still used for all windows in Windows builds?
Or are they no more needed?

Thank you.

PS: I have an idea that I already asked this question time ago. But searching the forum I could not find this topic.
Just in case, sorry if the question was already answered. What to do, my memory is no more the same as a few decades ago…

#2

[quote=487882:@Carlo Rubini]are separators still used for all windows in Windows builds?
Or are they no more needed?[/quote]
Hi Carlo,

It would depend on where separators are used.

Menus: Separators are critically important to group sets of menus and menuitems together. Yes, separators are used, and are very important in a properly designed GUI.

Windows separator: Separators for various components are less used. Usually window-splitters are used to segregate controls along with groupboxes. Separators are/can be used when there is a subsection of data.

StatusBar: This is another area were separators are very important to segregate different items and group data together.

Sorry to sound like a lawyer, and the answer seems to be ‘it depends’ :slight_smile:

#3

Eugene, thank you for the detailed answer.

So it seems that the separator at the top of (each) window is a thing of the past.

#4

[quote=487947:@Carlo Rubini]Eugene, thank you for the detailed answer.

So it seems that the separator at the top of (each) window is a thing of the past.[/quote]
Just for sake of clarity, which “separator” are you talking about? You mean the “bottom line of the title bar”?

#5

Yes, the horizontal separator streatching from left = 0 to window.width, top = 0 (or is it 1?).

#6

Ok, the line which separates the title bar and the window’s content. Any reason you don’t just let the OS handle that?

#7

No reason at all. That’s why I was asking if I could get rid of it.
Thank you.

#8

[quote=488089:@Carlo Rubini]No reason at all. That’s why I was asking if I could get rid of it.
Thank you.[/quote]
Ah, ok. Even by re-reading your original question, I don’t see you were asking to “remove” it; I thought you wanted to change the default behaviour.

On Mac, there’s exactly something for that: a function to show/hide the line separating the title bar and the window’s content. Apps like iTunes can use it to make a unified window.
On Windows, I don’t know; I’m not even seing the OS right now so I don’t recall how it looks. Both systems have a different set of functions, obviously.

#9