ATL COM property pages

ATL COM PROPERTY PAGES

Let's discuss what COM Property pages specify. 

COM property pages give us a user interface for setting the properties of Component Object Models, COM objects. The property pages are COM objects that implement the IPropertyPage or IPropertyPage2 interface. 

Note that we can build each Property page independently of the objects whose properties can be set. The property page just needs to provide a UI for calling methods on that interface.

Specifying Property Pages

In this blog section, We will look into how to specify the Property Pages. When you create an ActiveX control, it's preferred to correspond to the property pages used to set properties of your control.

Let us look at how to implement the ISpecifyPropertyPages using ATL:

• Firstly, we need to derive the class from the ISpecifyPropertyPagesimpl
• Next, add an entry for ISpecifyPropertyPages to the class's COM map.
• Then, at last, We add the PROP_PAGE entry to the property map provided for each page.

The containers that display the property pages in the same order as the PROP_PAGE entries in the property map are preferred.

Let's have a look at the following code:

class ATL_NO_VTABLE CMyCtrl:
   OtherInterfaces
   public ISpecifyPropertyPagesImpl<CMyCtrl>
{
public:
BEGIN_COM_MAP(CMyCtrl)
   OtherComMapEntries
   COM_INTERFACE_ENTRY(ISpecifyPropertyPages)
END_COM_MAP()
BEGIN_PROP_MAP(CMyCtrl)
//specify other entries of prop map
   OtherPropMapEntries
   PROP_PAGE(CLSID_PaintBrandPage)
   PROP_PAGE(CLSID_PaintColorPage)
END_PROP_MAP()

You can also try this code with Online C++ Compiler

Run Code

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a property Page Container?

The property page container calls methods on the property page interface and tells the page to hide or show its user interface.

What is ATL Control Wizard?

ATL Control Wizard generates the necessary code for the steps following the addition of PROP_PAGE entries to the property map.

What does the class ISpecifyPropertyPagesSimpl do?

It implements the IUknown. It also provides us with a default implementation of ISpecifyPropertyPages interface.

Can a Host Window be reused?

A Host Window can be reused. But it's not recommended to do so.Usually, We associate a single control with a single host window and tie it for lifetime.

What is the window 'AtlAxWin100' used for?

It provides ATL's control-hosting functionality. Creating an instance of this class will automatically use the control-hosting API and create a host object associated with the window. Then it loads the host object with the control specified as the window's title.

Conclusion

Firstly, We hope the blog was easy to understand. This blog discussed the growing template library ATL, followed by the ATL COM property pages.

If you found this blog interesting and insightful, refer to similar blogs:

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