SftTabs/OCX 6.5 - New Features

SftTabs/OCX 6.5 is fully upward compatible to version 6.0 and older versions.

The following major enhancements have been made available with SftTabs/OCX 6.5 (some minor additional enhancements are not listed here):

Click here to review the online web documentation for all product enhancements, with links to the topics describing each new property, method and event in detail.

• New SftTabsTabs.Alignment property defines the alignment of all tabs within the control and is used to control the alignment of entire tab rows within the tab control.
• New SftTabsTabs.LayoutMode property to define the layout mode of all tabs within the control. This is used to control how tabs are distributed among tab rows. For resizable tab controls, the "AutoFlow" mode is particularly useful, as it dynamically adds/removes tab rows as needed.
• New SftTabsTabs.MinRows, SftTabsTabs.MaxRows properties define the minimum and maximum number of rows to allow while recalculating the tab layout, when the LayoutMode property is set to 2-AutoFlow.
• The tab styles (see Style property) styleSftTabsButtonsTop (66) through styleSftTabsButtonsDualLeftRightV (74) now allow the use of tab page colors (SftTabsTab.ClientAreaColor) even when Windows themes are used. This allows the use of themed buttons as tabs, with application-defined colors for the client area of tab pages.
• The tab styles (see Style property) styleSftTabsButtonsTop (66) through styleSftTabsButtonsDualLeftRightV (74) now allow the background to show through in between the tab buttons when UseExactRegion and Windows themes are used.
• New SftTabsTabs.Highlighted property used to determine the currently highlighted tab (due to flyby highlighting).
• New SftTabsTabs.ClippedText property to indicate whether any of the tab labels has text that doesn't fit within the available space.
• New SftTabsTabs.DroppedText property used to determine whether the tab labels have been dropped because tab text doesn't fit within the available space.
• New SftTabsScrolling.ScrollDropped property used to determine whether the scroll buttons have been temporarily dropped because they are not necessary (scrolling is not possible).
• New SftTabsTab.CloseButton property offering a tab close button for each tab.
• A second tab image has been added with the new SftTabsTab.Image2, SftTabsTab.Image2Active, SftTabsTab.Image2Disabled, SftTabsTab.Image2Hot and SftTabsTab.Image2GapPix properties. The second tab image is always displayed to the right (bottom) of the tab label.
• Additional values for the TabClicked event's TabArea argument describing which portion of a tab was clicked.
• New LayoutChanged event notifying an application that the tab layout has changed.
• Miscellaneous property page enhancements.

The following major enhancements have been made available with SftTabs/OCX 6.0 (some minor additional enhancements are not listed here):

• 9 new tab styles
• Support for new image formats, such as PNG, TIFF, JPEG, GIF, Exif, EMF+, EMF (GDI+ images) with full support for alpha-blended (translucent and semi-transparent) images.
• Support for new image types, such as check boxes, radio buttons, color samples, image lists, GDI+ images (SftPictureObject).
• New GDIPlusSupport property, LoadGDIPlusImage, LoadGDIPlusImageFromResource and DeleteGDIPlusImage methods supporting GDI+ images.
• Support for GDI+ images (GDIPlusSupport, LoadGDIPlusImage, LoadGDIPlusImageFromResource, DeleteGDIPlusImage).
• New Image, ImageDisabled, ImageHot properties defining images for the tab.
• New TabClicked event, used to handle clicking on text or image portions of a tab.
• The height/width of a tab row can now be specified using the ForcedSize (ForcedSizePix) property, allowing tab rows to be visually aligned with other items on forms or dialogs.
• Tab switching can now also take place when the mouse button is released, instead of when it is pressed (SwitchOnRelease property).
• New Next, Previous method to make the next/previous tab the active tab.
• Multiple lines of text for the Tab.Text and Tab.ToolTip properties can now be defined at design-time, not just at run-time.
• Various corrections to help file syntax.
• Enhanced property pages.

The following major enhancements have been made available with SftTabs/ATL 5.0 (some minor additional enhancements are not listed here):

• 6 new tab styles
• New SftTabsTab.BackColorStart and SftTabsTab.BackColorEnd properties to define a tab's gradient fill background.
• New SftTabsTab.ClientAreaColorStart and SftTabsTab.ClientAreaColorEnd properties to define a client area's gradient fill background.
• New SftTabsScrolling.ButtonAlignment property to define the scroll button alignment.
• New SftTabsScrolling.ToolTipLeftButton property to define the ToolTip for the left/up scroll button.
• New SftTabsScrolling.ToolTipRightButton property to define the ToolTip for the right/down scroll button.
• New SftTabsScrolling.CloseButton property to define whether a Close button is available.
• New SftTabsScrolling.CloseButtonEnabled property to define whether the Close button is enabled.
• New SftTabsScrolling.CloseButtonAuto property to define whether the Close button automatically closes the form or a Closing event is generated.
• New SftTabsScrolling.CloseButtonFullSize property to define whether the Close button, the Minimize button and the Restore button are as large as a tab.
• New SftTabsScrolling.CloseButtonAlignment property to define the Close button, the Minimize button and the Restore button alignment.
• New Closing event signaling that the Close button was clicked.
• New SftTabsScrolling.ToolTipCloseButton property to define the ToolTip for the Close button.
• New SftTabsScrolling.MinimizeButton property to define whether a Minimize button is available.
• New SftTabsScrolling.MinimizeButtonEnabled property to define whether the Minimize button is enabled.
• New Minimizing event signaling that the Minimize button was clicked.
  New SftTabsScrolling.ToolTipMinimizeButton property to define the ToolTip for the Minimize button.
• New SftTabsScrolling.RestoreButton property to define whether a Restore button is available.
• New SftTabsScrolling.RestoreButtonEnabled property to define whether the Restore button is enabled.
• New SftTabsScrolling.ToolTipRestoreButton property to define the ToolTip for the Restore button.
• New Restoring event signaling that the Restore button was clicked.
• New SftTabsScrolling.Picture2 and SftTabsScrolling.Picture2Disabled to define pictures for the Close button, the Minimize button and the Restore button.
• The SftTabsScrolling.ButtonStyle property supports a new button display style (MDI button style with theme support).
• Mouse wheel support for scrollable tab controls.
• Easy design-time tab switching for Wizard-style controls.
• New CustomCode property to define optional product customization.
• The distinction between ANSI and UNICODE controls has been eliminated. One control is now used for all environments, which supports ANSI and UNICODE character sets.
• Support for XCOPY deployment using Registration-Free Activation on Windows XP and up.
• Enhanced online help.
• Enhancements to property pages.

The following major enhancements have been made available with SftTabs/ATL 4.5 (some minor additional enhancements are not listed here):

• 24 new tab styles
• New SftTabs.Visible property to hide individual tabs without removing them.
• New SftTabsScrolling.VisibleCount property returns the number of visible tabs.
• New ShowFocusRectangle property controls the display of the focus rectangle.
• New SftTabsScrolling.PictureDisabled property to define scroll button images for disabled buttons.
• New hover button style for scroll buttons (see SftTabsScrolling.ButtonStyle property).
• Numerous productivity enhancements to property pages, including:
  • improved help access
  • copying of values in a grid display using a context menu
  • new release and modification indicators
  • enhanced custom color selection
  • improved property editing
• New Options property page for design-time options.
• New QuickSetup property page for common tab control styles.
• New AutoUpdate feature, checking for available product updates at user-defined intervals.

To find out more about this product, download our product demo now. The demo includes working controls, so you can start using the controls today and test-drive them thoroughly in your application, before your purchase.

That's the good news. For the "not-so-good" news: If you like it, you will have to purchase the product to use it beyond the free 30 day trial. Of course, that's not all that terrible, considering all the features you'll get to use, along with the royalty-free distribution of the control with your completed end-user application.

And, don't forget, the product includes free support and all major updates for one entire year.

Please see our Product Overview page for included options and supported operating systems.