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awfDialog Wizard Documentation

awfDialog Class About

This class is designed to provide PHP developers with a highly configurable User Interface "dialog box" component that supports both a rich graphic interface and a great deal of functionality as well. It can be used to easily render a simple display box (such as this one), or a fully AJAX enabled wizard that allows you to dynamically render multiple screens of information. (See the Gradient Builder example for a Wizard-style dialog demonstration.)
Developer's Note: I'm a long-time classic ASP developer, and have only recently made the switch to PHP. This is my first real PHP project from the ground up. While I've tested this class extensively and it functions very well, I'm certain there are lots of PHP architecture best practices that could be used to streamline the underlying code. I welcome any feedback or suggestions you might have.

- A.W. Ford, flooredmusic AT gmail.com
awfDialog Class Features

Modal Forms:
  • Dialog box can be rendered modal, meaning it cannot be closed, or non-modal, in which case the Exit button is enabled.
    • Form Icons:
  • Just like in Windows forms, each control can be assigned an icon to help make it's function more intuitive. awfDialog comes preloaded with 17 icon types, or you can insert your own via the ICON_CSS icon-type constant and the SetIcon() function. See the Usage Guide for a table of included icon types and their equivalent constants.
    • Icon Sizes:
  • Icons can be rendered in standard Windows 32x32 size, or smaller at approximately 20x20. This is set using the ICON_SIZE_SM or ICON_SIZE_LG constant with the SetIconSize() method.
    • Wizard Display Mode:
  • Enabling Wizard Mode causes the form content region to render in two side-by-side panes. Just like MS Office wizards or installer MSI files, you can set an image to display in the left pane or use the default, while the remainder of your content gets written to the right-hand pane.
    • AJAX Wizard Buttons:
  • Enabling Wizard Mode also makes a standard set of AJAX enabled buttons available to you. These include:
    - Previous
    - Cancel
    - Next

    Each of these buttons can be hidden or shown as needed and linked to any AJAX or other javascript method you desire. See the Gradient Builder example source files to understand how easy it is to build an entire wizard-style application using a relatively small amount of code.
    • Help Pane:
  • Enabling the Ajax Help button in the title bar adds a hidden help panel inside the Body Pane. When users click the Help button any content you've added to the dialog's help buffer is displayed here by default. Or you can override the Help button behavior using any Ajax method you choose.
    • Dynamic Gradient Support:
  • Jazzing up your dialog box with a nice gradient color image is as simple as setting two hexidecimal color values. And just to make it easier, you can use the Gradient Builder example to preview all those possible color combinations - find one you like and grab the hex codes.
    • Total Control of Look and Feel:
  • Each component element within an awfDialog object receives a unique, yet structure id derived from the ID you assign the dialog when instatiating the class. This means you can give each dialog you use on a page it's own individual look and feel via CSS, or dynamically load CSS styles from a database or other storage method you devise. I plan on adding an even more extensible theme definition structure and associated methods in the very near future.

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