IDE Helper
Introduction
The MobiAccess IDE Helper is a support application that provides a visual designer feature for creating the mobile application forms much faster than writing the ’Initialize Component’ manually. Controls can be added by dragging from the ToolBox and dropping on the form. The same method can be used to resize or move the controls, and most of the properties can be set in the Properties pane.
The generated source can be viewed or modified on the Code Editor pane, but it is not recommended.
You should know that the application is evolving every day, but only with new functions, so you can use your applications with their newer versions as well.
The releases of the updates will probably be very random, but if you check this site every once in a while you won’t be missing anything. We will do our best to keep you updated about new features, good-to-know tips or tutorials about the application. If you have any question please do not hesitate to contact us.
Warning! This application is an unofficial helper that you can use at your own risk. Before using it, you should create a safety copy of your solution, because this application is not fully tested and can cause damage to your source files if an unexpected error occurs.
Warning! Only the default Microsoft Windows controls can be used at the moment, so after creating your forms, they can look different at runtime depending on the device platform. The platform-specific controls will be added later.
Warning! Another important fault of the application is that it can only be used with Microsoft Windows operating systems so if you’re using IOS you may have to wait a little longer for a designer.
This application is still under development and you can encounter some bugs, so if you find one or simply have a comment about its functionality, feel free to contact the MobiAccess development team at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . If you need more information about the MobiAccess controls and their properties please visit the www.mobiaccess.com/documentation website.
This document explains how to use the MobiAccess IDE (referring as IDE later on) and the IDE Helper together to create a simple application in a short period of time.
In this tutorial we will follow the next steps from creating a new project to building and deploying the application. Note that there are several other ways to create an application with the IDE and IDE Helper, this is just an example of how to get started.
The IDE Helper and User Manual can be downloaded from here: Ide_Helper.zip
The User Manual can be downloaded from here: manual.pdf
New ProjectIn this case, we will use the IDE to create a new project. As you know, the Main.class and MainForm.class are created by default in case of a new project. We willll just delete the MainForm.class and save the application as it is. It is of no consequence if it shows an error, just ignore it for now.
After saving our new project, close the IDE and open the IDE Helper application. Select the Open Project menu from the File menu or from the menu tooltip and open the project you have just created.
Right now the Main.class is the only class in our solution, open it with the Code Editor. When you are done, create a new Form by right-clicking on the Classes node in the Solution Explorer and give the name of 'MainForm' to it. Notice that the Forms Designer appears at the center of the screen. You can expand the Forms node in the Solution Explorer and check out the source of the MainForm.class file.
As you can see there are some pre-defined declarations and functions in this class, these commented sections will be modified as you add controls to your form. Please do not modify these rows manually, use the desiger instead!
Naturally you can write your own declaration between the comments and the constructor, and your own implementations after the constructor. You may also modify the constructor itself as you wish. The only thing you need to be cautious about is the InitializeComponent(); method call, you should leave that as it is.
If you are ready to create the layout of the MainForm, switch back to the Designer pane by clicking on the MainForm pane page at the top.
Note! If you deploy your application on a non-Windows Mobile device later, the look of the controls may seem different from what you see in the Designer.
To create a control, drag-and-drop it from the ToolBox onto the Form. You can use the same drag and drop methods to move or resize the controls. Use the Properties pane to set the properties of the controls.
Feel free to check out all the controls and their properties. As you may notice, some controls have a visible border here in the Designer that they do not have in runtime (Label, PictureBox, Canvas, CheckBox, Panel). This is only a comfort function so you can see the boundaries of the specific control when you're creating the form, the borders won't be visible on the devices.
If you are interested in the generated code, you can check it by switching to the Code Editor pane of the MainForm. After that Save your work and close the IDE Helper and open up the project in the IDE to write the functionality of the MainForm. You can write the code in the IDE Helper as well, but it is easier in the IDE, because the Helper does not have an Intellisense and you can not build your application there.
The only thing left is to create the event handler class for the buttons and write their functionality. We won't discuss these here, if you need information about the event handlers, please visit the online documentation at http://www.mobiaccess.com/documentation.
When you are finished, build and deploy the application.
As you can see there are some differences in the controls even on Windows Mobile but in later releases the platform specific controls will be added to the IDE Helper too.
Written by BK
