Simple Window Mode

In simple window mode MenuBox works as a stand-alone graphical front-end, compatible with all versions of Windows (Windows 95 and higher), without requiring any additional components to display its content. The text-based menu approach is powerful, yet lightweight and easy to master. A window can be normal, borderless or full screen, featuring a background and icon graphics, sounds, fade-in, fade-out and translucency effects (rendered on systems supporting this feature) and separate rectangular regions for menu texts and mouseover information texts. Each menu item can independently make use of the same sophisticated application and document handling options as those of the [Windowless] section.

The simple window mode is configured via a [SimpleWindow] section, which describes window attributes, and additional sections to define the coordinates and fonts of the menu and information text regions. The actual menu items and their menu and information texts and actions are defined in one or more [Link] sections.

MenuBox uses three main file formats for the multimedia content used in simple window mode:

• Windows bitmap format (BMP), used for the window background;
• Windows icon format (ICO), used in the window title, on the toolbar when the software is in use or minimized, as well as in the ALT+TAB selection window;
• Windows wave format (WAV), used when the window is opened or closed and for mouseover and mouse click effects.

BMP files may be palette-based or true color. True color images are automatically color-reduced to palette-mode if the display does not support true color, however we recommend that you try to color-reduce true color images to 256 colors (palette-based), and use the smaller 256-color bitmap file if your graphics software is able to produce a high quality result.

ICO files should include at least the 16x16 format. Depending on the operating system version and icon size settings, the 32x32 and 48x48 formats are used mainly in the ALT+TAB selection window (the 16x16 icon is automatically resized for this purpose if other formats are not available).

For maximum compatibility with older versions of Windows (including Windows 95), WAV sound files should be saved using either the Windows PCM (uncompressed pulse code modulation) codec or the Microsoft ADPCM (slightly lossy 4:1 compression) codec.

All coordinates are expressed in pixels from the top-left edge of the usable window area (i.e. excluding the title bar and window borders, if present), counting from position 0:0. By default, the usable size of the window automatically matches the size of the background image set via the BackgroundBitmap key. Objects are referenced relative to their top left corner.

All keys referencing image, icon and sound files may optionally include path information, relative to the directory containing the configuration file.

A single, optional [SimpleWindow] section may appear anywhere in the MenuBox configuration file. If the [Windowless] section is also present, [Windowless] is always executed first, before a window is opened. If one or more [ApplicationCheck] sections are present, then the [SimpleWindow] section is processed only if no [ApplicationCheck] section has disabled the [SimpleWindow] section as a result of its ProceedSuccess or ProceedFailure keys. Although it would in most cases not be practical to open both a simple window and a browser window, if both [SimpleWindow] and [BrowserWindow] exist in the same configuration file and remain enabled following all [ApplicationCheck] conditions, then the menu window is opened first and the browser window is opened after the first window has been closed.

Title = String

This key indicates the window title text. The same text is also used on the toolbar when MenuBox is in use or minimized.

This key is optional.

Icon = File Name

This key indicates the file name of the icon, in Windows icon format (ICO), used in the window title, on the toolbar when the software is in use or minimized, as well as in the ALT+TAB selection window.

This key is optional. If no icon file is provided, the built-in default icon is used.

Width = Number

This number indicates the width of the window, excluding borders.

This key is optional. The default value is the width of the image referenced by BackgroundBitmap.

Height = Number

This number indicates the height of the window, excluding the title bar and borders.

This key is optional. The default value is the height of the image referenced by BackgroundBitmap.

BackgroundColor = Red Value, Green Value, Blue Value

These three values represent the Red, Green and Blue components of the window background color, in a range from 0 to 255 (0, 0, 0 is black, 255, 255, 255 is white, 255, 0, 0 is red, etc.)

This key is optional.

BackgroundBitmap = File Name

This key indicates the file name of the background image to be used for the window. If no Width and Height keys are used, the window size is automatically adjusted to the width and height of the image.

This key is optional.

FullScreen = Boolean

If this key is set to True, the window is opened in full screen (ignoring the Width and Height keys).

This key is optional, and is usually combined with the Borderless key.

Borderless = Boolean

If this key is set to True, the window is opened without title bar or borders. Since such a window has no close button it is important to include an appropriate [Link] section to close the window (i.e. with the Exit flag enabled).

This key is optional.

AlwaysOnTop = Boolean

This option ensures that the MenuBox window is always displayed on top of other windows. In full screen mode this effectively hides all other windows, even if opened by user action or by system events occurring after the launch of MenuBox.

This key is optional.

OnLoadSound = File Name

This key indicates the file name of the sound file, in Windows wave format (WAV), to be played when the window is opened.

This key is optional.

OnUnloadSound = File Name

This key indicates the file name of the sound file, in Windows wave format (WAV), to be played when the window is closed.

This effect can be disabled in by a [Link] section which closes the window, e.g. to open a new instance of MenuBox displaying a different menu level.

This key is optional.

OnMouseoverSound = File Name

This key indicates the file name of the sound file, in Windows wave format (WAV), to be played when the mouse pointer passes over a menu item.

This key is optional.

OnClickSound = File Name

This key indicates the file name of the sound file, in Windows wave format (WAV), to be played when a menu item is opened.

This key is optional.

OnLoadFade = Milliseconds, From Value, To Value

This key defines the duration, initial translucency and final translucency of the transition effect applied when the window is opened. In the translucency values 0 indicates complete transparency, and 100 complete opacity. If the final translucency value is smaller than 100 the window remains in a partially translucent state.

Not all versions of Windows support translucency. Where translucency is not supported MenuBox opens the window normally, without transition effect.

This key is optional. By default the window appears normally (no fade-in effect). If a single value is set in this key, the fade effect defaults from 0 to 100.

OnUnloadFade = Milliseconds, From Value, To Value

This key defines the duration, initial translucency and final translucency of the transition effect applied when the window is closed. In the translucency values 0 indicates complete transparency, and 100 complete opacity. To avoid any undesired flickering, the initial translucency value should be the same as the final translucency of the OnLoadFade effect.

This effect can be disabled in by a [Link] section which closes the window, e.g. to open a new instance of MenuBox displaying a different menu level.

Not all versions of Windows support translucency. Where translucency is not supported MenuBox closes the window normally, without transition effect.

This key is optional. By default the window is closed normally (no fade-out effect). If a single value is set in this key, the fade effect defaults from 100 to 0.

This sections defines the rectangular region (text column) in which menu texts are displayed.

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