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MFOG on a mission
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09/30/11 04:20 PM (14 years ago)

Button Layout

How do I place custom bottom where I want on screen? Ie: as of now the button only pops up the where the button layout settings allow it. I would like to set the button where I desire on my page for custom fit to my background image. Does this make sense? Thanks in advance for any info...
 
MFOG on a mission
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09/30/11 05:01 PM (14 years ago)
To clarify... How do I place custom button where I want on Menu Buttons screen?
 
Parker @ buzztouch
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10/01/11 12:37 AM (14 years ago)
Hi MFOG, You're going to have to play around with the layout settings for that screen found in its Advanced Menu Properties section. First try the Button Layout>Button Layout Style settings and then also play with the options under Button Size.
 
MFOG on a mission
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10/01/11 12:49 AM (14 years ago)
Parker, hey man thanks for hitting me back. Yeah I was just doing that actually. No luck on matching up with my layout. Can I go into XCODE to fine tune it? Any forums on that process? Either that or refine my layout for the Buzz Touch template. Maybe I can get my app as far as I can and then have a programmer come in for a days work to refine it. Buzz Touch is a great tool and this open source community is great for the future...I must say.
 
David @ buzztouch
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10/02/11 08:12 AM (14 years ago)
If you want to modify the button layout....hack around in the BT_Screens > BT_screen_menuButtons.m file. Take a bit to browse that file and you'll see how the layout changes based on your control panel selections.
 
MFOG on a mission
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10/02/11 10:13 AM (14 years ago)
David, Thanks for response. Wow looks like chinese...I don't where to start or what values to enter. I may just have to sit down and complete an Xcode tutorial at some point. Is there a graphical tool in XCODE that I use to move the buttons visually (graphically)? Hope that isn't a stupid question. Cheers
 
MFOG on a mission
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10/02/11 01:59 PM (14 years ago)
Okay I have been watching tutorials on the tube. Found this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eAIbQSsW-E Referencing TC 9:09 start He mentions opening a viewcontroller.xib file to access a view edit window. I regards to my above forum scenario...Would my buttons be editable via the edit label attributes window? If this is an applicable workflow solution for my forum scenario, then I have two questions. 1. When editing in XCODE, where can I access my NIB files in my buzztouch generated source code? I cannot find it in the spot this tutorial depicts it to be. 2. When I update my revised source code via XCODE > buzztouch, do I need to update the source code on the buzztouch server manually? Any reference and answers to these questions is greatly appreciated.
 
Parker @ buzztouch
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10/02/11 04:15 PM (14 years ago)
1. There aren't any .xib files in your buzztouch project. So you won't find any. Buzztouch screens are created dynamically at the moment they are accessed in the app. 2. If you manually change the code in xcode, that projects code will be different than what is generated by buzztouch. As far as I know, there isn't any way to add this modified code to your buzztouch project, as that is created via the data/options used in your control panel. So, be sure to make some type of notation in a separate file of what and how you made any manual changes to the xcode project, so the next time you download your buzztouch project you can easily modify it in xcode again.
 
David @ buzztouch
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10/02/11 08:32 PM (14 years ago)
If you're unsure about the relationship between the Objective C code (in the .h and .m files in your project) and XIB files you'll have a hard time doing this. Like @Parker mentioned, your downloaded project does not include any XIB files. This is intentional. XIB Files are used by Xcode and designers to build screen layouts using a graphical interface layout program called Interface Builder. It's a good tool for building intefaces. However, it's difficult to include XIB files (the files created by Interface Builder) into your buzztouch project unless you have a deep understanding of the relationship between the code, the compiler, and interface builder.
 
MFOG on a mission
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10/02/11 09:24 PM (14 years ago)
Okay I will use buzz touch to as far as I can and I will hire a programmer to help move my buttons around. Does buzztouch plan on refining their tools to account for custom button placement adjustments? I feel this scenario is a good one for the forum archive. I will be nose up in XCODE and buzztouch tutorials. Thanks for the notes and reference its much appreciated! Cheers
 
David @ buzztouch
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10/02/11 10:07 PM (14 years ago)
We've talked about all kinds of button placement ideas, the challenge is the arbitrary placement idea. The solution today is to make your own class file and use a Custom Plugin (see the docs maybe?). Because there are a zillion different ways to do this it's tought to cover all the scenarios. In thinking, you could also create a local (add it to the project) Custom HTML screen with buttons positioned however you want. The challenge there (for a non programmer) would be connecting the HTML buttons, probably image, to the Objective C code so tapping then triggered native Objective C methods. Lots of folks to this to but it requires an understanding of how to marry HTML, Javascript, and Objective C. if you're interested in that approach... have a look at this: http://davinccoder.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/call-ios-method-for-html-button-click/
 
MFOG on a mission
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10/02/11 10:22 PM (14 years ago)
Okay I will study that link and scenario thanks. Let me ask you this last question that is relative to this scenario. If my (knowledgeable) programmer comes in to move buttons and make some small layout tweaks, will he be able to easily edit/adjust the buzztouch source code? I am under the impression that the buzztouch source code is completely editable once it has been generated. I want to make sure I don't double back on the work progress completed through buzztouch. Thanks again
 
David @ buzztouch
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10/02/11 11:07 PM (14 years ago)
You can edit anyting you want or need after downloading your source code. That's kind of the idea, the tools help you create a project, downloading it, compiling it, then distributing it makes it an 'app' For lots of folks this is a great way to get started, complete an finished application, or simply put together a framework they use that is consistent with the multitudes of other apps they may have previoulsy created. The best use case depends on your needs, interest, skill, etc. We've evolved the project for several years and have got it to the point where tens of thousands of folks have successfully used the tools to make thousands of apps without having to modify any code after downloading their projects. However, there are also lots of folks that modify the code heavily after using the tools to create a layout, starting point, etc.
 
MFOG on a mission
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10/03/11 09:15 AM (14 years ago)
Got it! You guys rock, thanks for all the timely responses. This info gives me a better idea on how to approach my scenario. Super grateful for the open source platform. I will update post as we make progress. Thanks!
 

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