Android visual designer

[Erel]

Java developer? Checkout the new Designer4android tool: http://www.b4x.com/android/designer4android.html

Writing XML is not required in Basic4android...

The visual designer is made of two components. The first is part of the IDE and the second runs on the emulator or a real device.

From the IDE side you can add views (controls), change their properties and so on. On the device side you will see the result which will look exactly the same when you run your program.

You can also move and resize the views directly on the device (or emulator).

Support for multiple screens

Each layout can include multiple "variants". This allows you to easily support different screens (and different orientations). The variants differ by the views position and size. All other properties are shared between the variants. Which means that if you change the text of a button it will be changed in all variants.

Also note that the layout is automatically scaled as required. Most applications will only need to have two variants, one for 320x480 (vertical orientation) and one for 480x320 (horizontal orientation).

Layouts are saved as files with "bal" extension. At runtime you use the LoadLayout method to load a specific file. The most fitting variant will be loaded based on the current screen size and orientation.

 

[SarahWard]

Sweet!

 

[Erel]

Thanks. See this tutorial for more technical information about the Visual designer.

 

[ELVESIS]

Hi EREL;

Visual editor Basic4android ready ? or are we now can write code for Android
? Because I am very excited for it...:sign0060:

I installed the Android SDK and emulator.It works fine...

I am waiting for visual editor.

 

[Erel]

The visual designer is ready and is included in the first version.
There is a tutorial about it here: http://www.b4x.com/forum/basic4andr...2-guess-my-number-visual-designer-events.html

The first version will be released in about two weeks.

 

[Cor]

screen sizes

If you want to show all the items on the screen

use the 240x320 layout of the sdk

then you will know everything fits on the screen

for the most android phones

grCor

 

[gjoisa]

Symbian

Hi Erel ,
Very nice To see Basic4Android . Is there any plan for Symbian ? Then an app can run on Nokia Device also .

 

[Erel]

Is there any plan for Symbian ?

Not in the near future, I'm afraid.

 

[jansen]

Designer generating XML?

Hi,

since there doesn't seem to be any other decent visual designer around for developing Android apps (droiddraw.org not quite there yet), did you ever consider implementing an Export-to-XML feature so that one could use that output for his Eclipse ADT projects?
Maybe even create a standalone Designer that could be sold as a separate product to those who prefer Java over Basic?
I sure would pay the current $39 for just such a GUI designer without the rest of the B4A IDE (as nice as it is).

 

[Erel]

This is an interesting idea which crossed my mind. However such a tool is not planned for now.

Note that Basic4android syntax is somewhere between VB6 to VB .Net. It is not based on the "classic" basic.

Basic4android generates Java code. You can choose to write some of your code in Basic4android and then take the Java code, and further develop it with Eclipse.
This is usually not recommended but it is possible.

 

[jansen]

You can choose to write some of your code in Basic4android and then take the Java code, and further develop it with Eclipse.

Ahh yes. But the UI I'd have to recreate with Eclipse, or hand-code the XML, right? Wich is exactly what I was hoping to avoid.