Posted, due to a request in this related thread here (the nice Firenze-Label-Project by porkynet):
http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.p...many-functions
Those who are doing some Web-Development (besides writing VB6-Apps) might already be familiar
with the FontAwesome-Project (which encapsulates about 700 Flat-Icons inside a Font-Resource).
http://fontawesome.io/icons/
Encapsulating these Icons in a (downloadable Web-)Font-Resource eases some pain, e.g. when it comes to
defining CSS-classes or -contents or when dealing with a lot of Flat-Icons in JavaScript whilst writing Browser-Apps.
(mostly by avoiding the somewhat more complicated fiddling with Image- or SVG-resources, which when hosted
*separately* on a WebServer behind an /img/-folder also increases download-time of the whole WebApp into the Browser).
That much as an explanation, on why these 700 Icons are sitting within a Font-Resource (which one has to download into the Browser only once).
Though the "Image-Paths" (the Vector-definitions as "curves" or "outlines") of these Flat-Icons are also available as SVGs -
hosted on a GitHub-Project-Space here:
https://github.com/encharm/Font-Awesome-SVG-PNG (the license being MIT, which is also a bit more generous than
the one used for the FontFiles-downloads from http://fontawesome.io).
Since the RC5 comes with SVG-rendering-support, one can use these Icons also "directly from an SVG" -
thus avoiding to have to install a FontFile in the Windows-Fonts-Folder, which requires Admin-Rights (avoiding
an additional hurdle for "regfree deployment of an Application").
Instead all the SVGs are "bundled" within a compressed RC5-Resource-Archive (usually given the file-ending *.wac) -
and the contents of such *.wac-files can of course also be embedded directly into the *.exe of *.dll as normal "ByteArray-resources".
This way an Application can make use of FontAwesome-Icons whilst remaining "XCopy-deployable".
The Demo itself is not complicated - the Code in a normal VB6-Form quite lean:
Producing this output:
![]()
The work in the above code is done by an accompanying little Helper-Class, which is able to hand
out all the "Friendly-Name-Keys" which are contained in the _FontAwesomeSVGs.wac Resource-Archive
(in the ScreenShot above these Keys were filled into a normal VB-ListBox).
And then in the List_Click()-Event one can directly render any of these Icon-Symbols per:
or alternatively (when there's an interest in keeping the Alpha-Channel) also per:
The above FA is an instance of the already mentioned Helper-Class cFontAwesomeSVG,
which deals with loading the Resource-Archive into Memory - and offering access to the contained Images.
What the Demo also shows at the occasion is, how to use RC5-WidgetClasses within the realm of a
"normal VB6-Form" (instead of hosting these new Control-Classes on a cWidgetForm-Class, as in other RC5-Demos).
The Demo-Widget-Class which is used as a vehicle to demonstrate that (in conjunction with a generic ucPanel.ctl)
is cwColorChooser (the circular Color-Selector-Control in the BottomRIght-Corner of the ScreenShot).
Well, that was it already with regards to an easy way to use FontAwesome-Symbols (or other SVGs)
from within a single compressed Resource-Archive.
Here is the Zipped Demo-Project (including the 126KB FontAwesome-Archive along with its MIT-license-file):
FontAwesomeSVG.zip
(note that these SVGs require a vbRichClient5-version >= 5.0.59 to be rendered correctly, so download and
update your RC5-Baselibs-Folder accordingly before running the project).
Have fun,
Olaf
http://www.vbforums.com/showthread.p...many-functions
Those who are doing some Web-Development (besides writing VB6-Apps) might already be familiar
with the FontAwesome-Project (which encapsulates about 700 Flat-Icons inside a Font-Resource).
http://fontawesome.io/icons/
Encapsulating these Icons in a (downloadable Web-)Font-Resource eases some pain, e.g. when it comes to
defining CSS-classes or -contents or when dealing with a lot of Flat-Icons in JavaScript whilst writing Browser-Apps.
(mostly by avoiding the somewhat more complicated fiddling with Image- or SVG-resources, which when hosted
*separately* on a WebServer behind an /img/-folder also increases download-time of the whole WebApp into the Browser).
That much as an explanation, on why these 700 Icons are sitting within a Font-Resource (which one has to download into the Browser only once).
Though the "Image-Paths" (the Vector-definitions as "curves" or "outlines") of these Flat-Icons are also available as SVGs -
hosted on a GitHub-Project-Space here:
https://github.com/encharm/Font-Awesome-SVG-PNG (the license being MIT, which is also a bit more generous than
the one used for the FontFiles-downloads from http://fontawesome.io).
Since the RC5 comes with SVG-rendering-support, one can use these Icons also "directly from an SVG" -
thus avoiding to have to install a FontFile in the Windows-Fonts-Folder, which requires Admin-Rights (avoiding
an additional hurdle for "regfree deployment of an Application").
Instead all the SVGs are "bundled" within a compressed RC5-Resource-Archive (usually given the file-ending *.wac) -
and the contents of such *.wac-files can of course also be embedded directly into the *.exe of *.dll as normal "ByteArray-resources".
This way an Application can make use of FontAwesome-Icons whilst remaining "XCopy-deployable".
The Demo itself is not complicated - the Code in a normal VB6-Form quite lean:
Code:
Option Explicit
Private FA As New cFontAwesomeSVG, WithEvents ColorChooser As cwColorChooser
Private Sub Form_Load()
Set ColorChooser = ucPanel1.Widgets.Add(New cwColorChooser, "ColorChooser", 0, 0, 258, 258)
Dim Key
For Each Key In Split(FA.KeyList, vbCrLf): lstKeys.AddItem Key: Next
lstKeys.ListIndex = 0
End Sub
Private Sub ColorChooser_ColorChanged()
RenderCurrentSymbol 'force a refresh
End Sub
Private Sub lstKeys_Click()
RenderCurrentSymbol 'force a refresh
End Sub
Private Sub RenderCurrentSymbol()
Set picPreview.Picture = FA.GetPicture(lstKeys.Text, ColorChooser.Color, 256, 256)
End Sub
Private Sub Form_Terminate()
If Forms.Count = 0 Then New_c.CleanupRichClientDll
End Sub
The work in the above code is done by an accompanying little Helper-Class, which is able to hand
out all the "Friendly-Name-Keys" which are contained in the _FontAwesomeSVGs.wac Resource-Archive
(in the ScreenShot above these Keys were filled into a normal VB-ListBox).
And then in the List_Click()-Event one can directly render any of these Icon-Symbols per:
Code:
Set picPreview.Picture = FA.GetPicture(lstKeys.Text, ColorChooser.Color, 256, 256)Code:
FA.GetSurface( strSomeSymbolKey, SomeForeColor, DesiredWidth, DesiredHeight)which deals with loading the Resource-Archive into Memory - and offering access to the contained Images.
What the Demo also shows at the occasion is, how to use RC5-WidgetClasses within the realm of a
"normal VB6-Form" (instead of hosting these new Control-Classes on a cWidgetForm-Class, as in other RC5-Demos).
The Demo-Widget-Class which is used as a vehicle to demonstrate that (in conjunction with a generic ucPanel.ctl)
is cwColorChooser (the circular Color-Selector-Control in the BottomRIght-Corner of the ScreenShot).
Well, that was it already with regards to an easy way to use FontAwesome-Symbols (or other SVGs)
from within a single compressed Resource-Archive.
Here is the Zipped Demo-Project (including the 126KB FontAwesome-Archive along with its MIT-license-file):
FontAwesomeSVG.zip
(note that these SVGs require a vbRichClient5-version >= 5.0.59 to be rendered correctly, so download and
update your RC5-Baselibs-Folder accordingly before running the project).
Have fun,
Olaf