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I've put a couple of hours in trying to create an application. The code in the libraries and ide looks very powerful.

I'm going keep attempting to make my application, and post problems that I have along with suggestions on what I feel would be better. Please take this in the way it is intended. Not as critisium but as hopefully useful suggestions.

To give an example
I want to make an application with a picture on it. I want to use the layout manager and also have a file menu on it.

After some playing I discover which of the templates do this. (First guess is Basic CtrlLib Application, which is wrong).

As a suggestion make the template names more descriptive. This is difficult for experience users since they already know what they want. But I'm looking at it from the new user point of view.
"Basic CtrlLib Application (with manual layout)" might be better.
"CtrlLib application with main window" might be better as
"CtrlLib Application using Layout Manager"

I found using the layout manager is REALLY difficult. The alignment buttons don't seem to actually do anything. Adding a menu is totally non-intuitative. (It needs a template)
I added an image which broke the compile.
I did something which converted it to text, and now I can't edit it anymore using the layout manager.

This might just be the nature of the beast. But after using Borland or Microsoft or Kdevelop or ... it seems confusing. Perhaps my assumptions are tripping me.

suggestions:
Buttons which are not implemented should be made invisible for now, or perhaps have a hint which says "not working yet".  (I'm thinking of the alignment buttons).
Adding a ctrl should put it into the .h file shouldn't it?
Allow the image to call the image editor.
Allow the .lay file to be edited by the layout manager after compiling. (After recreating the project with the same name, it still wouldn't edit using the layout manager).

Right now I'm getting an error for Image class that looks buried inside the .lay file. I really don't know if I messed it up, or it's a bug. Removing the line dealing with the image allows it to compile, but I'm still not able to edit the .lay file except as text.

The code for my little application is short so I'll stick it in here. Maybe someone can see what's going on.

main.cpp

#include "Conquest.h"

#define IMAGEFILE <Conquest/Conquest.iml>
#include <Draw/iml_source.h>

Conquest::Conquest()
{
	CtrlLayout(*this, "Window title");
}

GUI_APP_MAIN
{
	Conquest().Run();
}

Conquest.h

#ifndef _Conquest_Conquest_h
#define _Conquest_Conquest_h

#include <CtrlLib/CtrlLib.h>

#define LAYOUTFILE <Conquest/Conquest.lay>
#include <CtrlCore/lay.h>

#define IMAGEFILE <Conquest/Conquest.iml>
#include <Draw/iml_header.h>

class Conquest : public WithConquestLayout<TopWindow> {
public:
	typedef Conquest CLASSNAME;
	Conquest();
};

#endif

Conquest.lay

LAYOUT(ConquestLayout, 542, 368)
	ITEM(MenuBar, Menu, LeftPosZ(2, 140).TopPosZ(0, 19))
	ITEM(Image, Galaxy, HSizePosZ(-1, 2).VSizePosZ(47, -4))
END_LAYOUT

and a Conquest.iml

I get the following errors when I compile.

main.cpp
C:/MyApps/Conquest/Conquest.lay: In function `void InitLayout(Ctrl&, L&, D&, ConquestLayout__layid&) [with L = Conquest, D = Conquest]':
C:/upp/uppsrc/CtrlCore/TopWindow.h:207:   instantiated from `void CtrlLayout(T&) [with T = Conquest]'
C:/upp/uppsrc/CtrlCore/TopWindow.h:215:   instantiated from `void CtrlLayout(T&, const char*) [with T = Conquest]'
C:\MyApps\Conquest\main.cpp:9:   instantiated from here
C:/MyApps/Conquest/Conquest.lay:3: error: 'class Image' has no member named 'HSizePosZ'
C:/MyApps/Conquest/Conquest.lay:3: error: no matching function for call to `Ctrl::Add(Image&)'
C:/upp/uppsrc/CtrlCore/CtrlCore.h:965: note: candidates are: void Ctrl::Add(Ctrl&)
1 file(s) compiled in (0:03.07) 3078 msec/file

There were errors. (1:14.00)

I feel like I'm whining, but I'm only trying to point out where new users (like me) will fall flat on their faces.

Edit by fudadmin: Topic title.