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From: glenn@gla-aux.uucp (Glenn Austin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: How do you make the little 'down'-arrows in pop-up menu boxes?
Message-ID: <0E010021.erbovh@gla-aux.uucp>
Date: 28 May 91 02:10:22 GMT
Reply-To: glenn%gla-aux.uucp@skinner.cs.uoregon.edu
Organization: The Pit Lane
Lines: 34
X-Mailer: uAccess - Mac Release: 1.0.4a


In article <3708@sequent.cs.qmw.ac.uk>, jeremyr@cs.qmw.ac.uk (Jeremy Roussak) writes:
> In <0E010021.sv4hwa@gla-aux.uucp> glenn@gla-aux.uucp (Glenn Austin) writes:
> 
> 
> >> I understand that the user interface guidelines for pop-up menus have
> >> been revised.  Originally, the menu box simply had a 2 pixel 'shadow';
> >> now, it is supposed to have a little arrow that points down to the
> >> right of the text in the menu box.
> >> 
> >> So how is this little arrow generated?  I suppose it wouldn't be too
> >> hard to draw it by brute force (by calling the appropriate QuickDraw
> >> routines), but this involves the hassle of calculating the string
> >> length, etc.  Is there some easier way to generate the arrow?
> 
> >The simple answer is -- use the built-in popup control definition!  It makes
> >life simpler, and makes it easier if Apple decides to change the user interface
> >of popups in the future.
> 
> Unfortunately, it won't work if the popup CDEF isn't there - under system
> 6, for example.  I use a little PICT of the arrow and draw it at the
> right-hand end of the menu's shadowed box.  Not perfect, I admit.

But (1) that is NOT part of the user interface for System 6, and (2) if
you have the Macintosh Communications Toolbox installed, you DO have the
popup CDEF.  (Just another plug for the CTB! ;-)

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