Custom shaped forms and controls

[AlbertGoodwill]

Hello,

Could some Qt expert please advise me how to create, custom shaped forms and controls (buttons and frames/panels) both in Linux and Windows?

Thanks,

Albert Goodwill

PS. By the term "Custom shaped" I mean non-rectangular, non-elliptical, with and/or without transparent regions, ie. arbitrary shaped forms which their shapes defined by a background image. (Like the Windows media player skins http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...yer/skins.aspx , http://www.theskinsfactory.com/skinsfactory/ or like WinAmp skins http://www.winamp.com/skins)
See also:
Shaped Forms:
==========
http://www.abf-dev.com/krp-regions-library.shtml
http://torry.net/pages.php?id=94
http://www.byalexv.co.uk/index.html?VBSFC.html
http://www.onlytools.com/edgetracer/screenshot.htm
http://bcbjournal.org/articles/vol4/...d5a5d664585d4f

Shaped Buttons:
===========
http://torry.net/pages.php?id=80
http://www.picsoft.de/compon.htm

[kernel_panic]

in qt you use setMask for this task normally.
if your shape is a pixmap than use

setMask(pixmap.mask());

setMask(pixmap.mask());

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to make the window semitransparent(on windows), look at the wiki in examples.
you can do it in another way, too.

if you use the ARGB window (from wiki),you can ask in the drawCtrl function for your button if its yours, you draw an pixmap instead of rendering the button. Here some code to do this.

For example in the right top you have a button called cl (for close):

paintEvent:

QPushButton *cl = findChild<QPushButton *>(QString("cl"));
	if(QRegion(cl->geometry()).contains(mapFromGlobal(QCursor::pos())))
		if(!cl->isDown())
     			clstate = 1;
     		else
     			clstate = 2;
	else
				clstate = 0;

QPushButton *cl = findChild<QPushButton *>(QString("cl"));
	if(QRegion(cl->geometry()).contains(mapFromGlobal(QCursor::pos())))
		if(!cl->isDown())
     			clstate = 1;
     		else
     			clstate = 2;
	else
				clstate = 0;

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drawCtrl:

if (!widget)
		return QPixmap();
	else if(widget->objectName() == "cl")
	{
		QPainter p(&widgetMask);
		p.setRenderHint(QPainter::Antialiasing);
		switch(clstate)
		{
			case 0:
				p.drawPixmap(widget->geometry(), QPixmap(":/images/cl.png").copy(0,0,128,128));
			break;
			case 1:
				p.drawPixmap(widget->geometry(), QPixmap(":/images/cl.png").copy(0,128,128,128));
			break;
			case 2:
				p.drawPixmap(widget->geometry(), QPixmap(":/images/cl.png").copy(0,256,128,128));
			break;
			default:
				p.drawPixmap(widget->geometry(), QPixmap(":/images/cl.png").copy(0,0,128,128));
			break;
		}
		p.end();
 
	}
	else
		widget->render(&widgetMask, widget->geometry().topLeft(), r, QWidget::DrawWindowBackground | QWidget::DrawChildren | QWidget::IgnoreMask);

if (!widget)
		return QPixmap();
	else if(widget->objectName() == "cl")
	{
		QPainter p(&widgetMask);
		p.setRenderHint(QPainter::Antialiasing);
		switch(clstate)
		{
			case 0:
				p.drawPixmap(widget->geometry(), QPixmap(":/images/cl.png").copy(0,0,128,128));
			break;
			case 1:
				p.drawPixmap(widget->geometry(), QPixmap(":/images/cl.png").copy(0,128,128,128));
			break;
			case 2:
				p.drawPixmap(widget->geometry(), QPixmap(":/images/cl.png").copy(0,256,128,128));
			break;
			default:
				p.drawPixmap(widget->geometry(), QPixmap(":/images/cl.png").copy(0,0,128,128));
			break;
		}
		p.end();
		
	}
	else
		widget->render(&widgetMask, widget->geometry().topLeft(), r, QWidget::DrawWindowBackground | QWidget::DrawChildren | QWidget::IgnoreMask);

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with this you can simulate hover and pressed. Like i do here you have to do with every widget, you want to shape. The function of the widget is the same, just how it looks is different. this only works if you use argb widgets!