In this chapter, you will create a simple application to demonstrate the Nexacro Platform application development environment and Nexacro Studio. The application will display the message "Hello, Nexacro Platform!" When you click the message text, "Nexacro Platform 14" will display in the Alert window.

Starting Nexacro Studio

Start Nexacro Studio by:

• Double-clicking the Nexacro Studio icon on your Windows desktop. or

• Double-clicking on the Nexacro Studio executable in the installation directory. The default installation path is C:\Program Files\nexacro\14\nexacrostudio14.exe

Immediately after installation, the Nexacro Studio UI displays the following screen without an open project.

Creating a Project

Before creating a Nexacro Platform application, you must create a project. The project defines how the application will appear and run on the user’s screen. You can create a new project or reuse an existing template project. In this chapter, you will learn how to create a project.

Select the New Project Wizard from the menu:

[Menu] File > New > Project

1 Type the project's name in the "Name" field. 2 Set the location where the file will be saved in the "Location" field.

In this example, the settings will be as follows.

As the project is created, the project component will be displayed in the project explorer window.

Creating an Application

Nexacro Platform applications run based on forms. While a project presents the "stage" for an application, a form decorates the stage, arranges movements, and add effects.

Creating a Form

Form Dimensions

The default form size is (1024x768), which will be used for this example. To modify the size and layout, you will need to access the Dimension tab. For now, you can skip this.

Run the Wizard

To create a new form, run the New Form Wizard and follow these steps.

[Menu] File > New > Form

Component Assignment

Once a new form is created, the form design window and toolbars are activated.

Screen Layout

[Need to add info about the callouts in the figure]

Write Letters

You can use Static components to write text in Nexacro Platform applications. Click the Static component on the "Objects" toolbar, and then click where you want it placed in the Form Design window. The Static component is displayed in the default size.

Assign a Component in a Different Size

You can assign a component to the Form Design window in a different size than the default. Select the component, and instead of clicking the place where you want it in the design window, press and drag the left mouse button to the size you want.

Need to verify this works.

Revise Static Component Text

To revise a static component’s text, select the component in the Form Design window, click its text area to switch to edit mode, and make your changes.

To modify a component's properties, select it in the Form Design window, then edit the properties in the Properties window.

Generate Path

Nexacro Platform applications don't execute the code created on Nexacro Studio directly. The JavaScript code needs to be generated, which can be used in any environment based on the integrated framework. You need to specify the Generate Path to designate the folder where the generated JavaScript files are written. You can do this using QuickView or the Options menu as described in this section.

Using QuickView to Specify Generate Path

Access QuickView:

[Menu] Build > Quick View > Quick View

Using Options Menu to Generate Path

Another way to specify the Generate Path is by accessing: [Menu] Tools > Options > Environment > General > Generate Path. 1.

A new folder with the project name is created under the designated folder, and the JavaScript files will be created.

Generating the JavaScript Code

Nexacro Studio creates the JavaScript files and stores them at the Generate Path location.

As the converted JavaScript files are created, you can see QuickView executed.

Adding Events

Let's create an event that displays an Alert window when the user double-clicks the Static component, "Hello, Nexacro Platform."

Double-click the component on the Form Design window. The function will be created automatically as soon as the design window switches to the Form Script window, as shown here:

this.Static00_onclick = function(obj:Static,  e:nexacro.ClickEventInfo)
{

}

Declare a task in this function by adding code that displays "Nexacro Platform 14" in the Alert window.

this.alert("Nexacro Platform 14");

The corresponding code for the form we have created here (frm_hello.xfdl) is listed below:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<FDL version="1.5">
  <TypeDefinition url="..\default_typedef.xml"/>
  <Form id="frm_hello" classname="frm_hello" left="0" top="0" width="1024" height="768" titletext="New Form">
    <Layouts>
      <Layout>
        <Static id="Static00" text="Hello, Nexacro Platform!" left="50" top="50" width="160" height="70" onclick="Static00_onclick"/>
      </Layout>
    </Layouts>
    <Script type="xscript5.0"><![CDATA[
this.Static00_onclick = function(obj:Static,  e:nexacro.ClickEventInfo)
{
 this.alert("Nexacro Platform 14");
}
]]></Script>
  </Form>
</FDL>