LiveCode Native Controls and iOS

[Braleth]

Hello Everyone,

I have been plugging along quite well developing an app using LiveCode for both the iOS and Android platforms, thanks to all of the helpful posts and information on these forums. I have a question specific to iOS and LiveCode native controls, as well as a little about stacks/sub-stacks and cards..... and different sizes (x,y) of a card on a sub-stack.

I have already used some native mobile controls in my app primarily for a replacement of the LiveCode "option menu" button. Using the mobilepick native control, my menu options work perfectly in both iOS and Android. Anyone using this on iOS would be familiar with the very slick, clean look of the iOS callout box/list that pops up allowing you to select an option from the menu.

My question is this: Is there any native control in LiveCode to create an iOS callout box? Google image search showing an example of an iOS callout: tinyurl . com/paq3arr or preview . tinyurl . com/paq3arr


The main result I'm looking for is the ability to load/pop-up a small card over top of the active card and present new controls/functions of the app. This way I can keep 99% of the app functionality on a single "card". If LiveCode doesn't support these types of callouts under iOS, would this be possible as a work around instead:

Add a sub-stack to the app and set a much smaller size (x,y) for the sub-stack (and therefore the cards within it). Then, via a button/user action, load a card from the sub-stack and have it appear above the current card, without it replacing that card and taking up the entire screen of the mobile device?

Here is a good example pic of what I would like to do: i . stack . imgur . com/gF1Bc.jpg
No, I'm not making a map app, but that example pic shows a callout containing a title header, graphic, multiple text fields and even a few buttons. That's the functionality I'm looking for.

So is that possible to achieve in LiveCode? Or do I have to look at something like Xcode or Adobe Flash Build/Flex?


Greatly appreciate any answers, advice or ideas,

Thank you,

Ian

[Nakia]

Not sure I understand your request 100% but there are a few Plugins for LC that have native IOS Controls.
I personally use tmControls but mobGui is another option...

Hope this helps?

[Jellicle]

You can make anything in LiveCode using groups of objects which can be hidden and shown at will.

To reproduce the callout/pop-over you show on that screenshot of a mapping app you might start with an imported image object (from a screenshot or from here: http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/ipad-gui- ... a-display/ or here http://www.teehanlax.com/blog/ios-6-gui-psd-iphone-5/). Edit the image so it looks the way you want it to and then layout your own fields, buttons and labels over the image object, group them all together and...hey preto - your own callout/pop-over!

Cheers

Gerry

[Simon]

Hi Braleth,
Just to help you a bit, you cannot control the physical size of a stack (and thus a card) in iOS or Android, it always goes to full screen. I understand your idea of bringing up a smaller stack but that is not the way it works.
Gerry's way is one way of doing it, grouping objects but if it's a static message it could be just an image that you show/hide.
To get that little arrow you will have to use a graphic object, grouped with a field and you can have any message you like.

Simon

[Braleth]

Thank you for the suggestions and comments everyone.

@Nakia - I have looked at both MobGUI and tmControls and they don't provide everything I'm looking for. Plus, there is the concern that both are very much up in the air as to where they stand with the new version of LiveCode as well as support. MobGUI seems to have gone dark - no updates on the website and nothing on twitter for months. tmControls FAQ states right out that they don't support the community edition of LiveCode, so that rules it out... plus they don't know where they stand if LiveCode starts adding native controls for mobile.


Gerry & Simon - I figured that would be the best solution that is currently possible in LiveCode. Thanks again for the input, it's appreciated. I am looking for far more functionality that a static message though... I essentially need the full powers of a card to pop up like a "mini card". A native callout is really what I need. Before I discovered native controls in LiveCode (mobilepick specifically) I was using the idea you suggested for my option menus on Android. Button shows a list field with a result set pulled from the SQLite db, lets the user make a selection, hides the list field, changes the label on the button, update global variable... etc. etc. It worked, but it didn't look or work as slick as the native controls.

I guess I have to make a decision then on what to use for the app. I could either wait for LiveCode to add more native mobile controls, "fake it till I make it" with hidden graphics, controls and groups to try an simulate the functionality I'm looking for, or use a different dev platform.

Appreciate the feed back.


Thanks again!