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UI Files

All GUI elements in Unigine are generated on the fly from UI files, which are in the XML format. These files describe containers and widgets provided by Unigine. Each of them is described by an XML tag in the UI file.

UI File Syntax

As a correct XML file, a UI file must start with a standard declaration. The second required element is a root tag ui. This root element can contain zero or more other elements (tags) specifying the interface.

Source code (XML)
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ui version="1.0">
</ui>

If a UI file is not syntactically correct, Unigine will log the error to the console and the main log file.

Notice
All UI files are treated as having the UTF-8 encoding, even if you specify another one in the declaration.
Not all available GUI elements can be defined using XML. Some of them — like manipulators and specialized dialogs and sprites - are set up only via scripting:

Parameters

Almost all of the UI file tags have parameters, and it is good to know the following general rules:

  • All dimensions provided as parameter values are in pixels.
  • File names are relative to the root data directory.
  • Colors are in the Web format, that is, #RRGGBB, or in the #RRGGBBAA format. Here RR, GG, BB, and AA correspond to a hexadecimal color component value—red, green, blue, and alpha, respectively; values range from 00 to FF.
  • Boolean values can be set in different forms. For FALSE use: 0, false, no. For TRUE use: 1, true, yes.
Here is an example element with parameters:
Source code (XML)
<sprite align="overlap,top,right" pos_x="10" pos_y="-42" texture="data/core/gui/unigine.png"/>

Comments

You can use standard XML comments syntax. Comment blocks will be skipped during processing of a UI file. An example comment:

Source code (XML)
<!-- 
This section will be omitted
-->

Common Parameters

All GUI elements—both containers and widgets—can have the following parameters.

name

A unique name of the widget. If the export flag is set to yes, the widget will be referred to in scripts by this name. The name may contain a namespace specification and/or an array index.

Source code (XML)
<!-- The following widget will be accessible via scripts as foo::bar -->
<button name="foo::bar" export="yes"/>
<!-- This widget will be accessible via scripts as fooArray[2] -->
<button name="fooArray[2]" export="yes"/>

next

A name of a widget that receives the focus next, if the user presses the TAB key. If this parameter is omitted, the widget that immediately follows the current one will receive the focus.

Source code (XML)
<!-- Custom focus order: button_0 → button_2 → button_1 -->
<button name="button_0" next="button_2"/>
<button name="button_1" next="button_0"/>
<button name="button_2" next="button_1"/>

align

A set of alignment flags for the widget. Flags are separated by commas. Available flags are:

  • center
    Centers the widget in both dimensions in the available space.

    align center

    Source code (XML)
    <window name="Test::window" width="150" height="150" export="1" sizeable="1">
    	<text>Window Title</text>
    	<label align="center">
    		<text size="20">Label Center</text>
    	</label>
    </window>
    								
  • left
    Aligns the widget to the left side.

    align left

    Source code (XML)
    <label align="left">
    	<text size="20">Label Left</text>
    </label>
    								
  • right
    Aligns the widget to the right side.

    align right

    Source code (XML)
    <label align="right">
    	<text size="20">Label Right</text>
    </label>
    								
  • top
    Aligns the widget to the top.

    align top

    Source code (XML)
    <label align="top">
    	<text size="20">Label Top</text>
    </label>
    								
  • bottom
    Aligns the widget to the bottom.

    align bottom

    Source code (XML)
    <label align="bottom">
    	<text size="20">Label Bottom</text>
    </label>
    								
  • expand
    Justifies the text in the available space.

    no expand expand

    Source code (XML)
    <vscroll name="Test::vscroll_0" export="1" align="expand"/>
    <vscroll name="Test::vscroll_1" export="1"/>
    								
  • overlap
    Places the widget over the contents of the parent container.

    overlap

    Source code (XML)
    <label align="left">
    	<text size="35">Label</text>
    </label>
    <button name="Test::button" export="1"  align="overlap">
    	<text>Button</text>
    </button>
    								
  • background
    Places the widget underneath other widgets in the same container. Use this flag together with overlap one.
  • fixed
    Places the widget in focus on the background or on the foreground (depending on where it was created). This flag is valid only if overlap flag is also set. Non-fixed overlapping windows can pop over the fixed ones, while the latter cannot do it.

enabled

A flag that specifies whether the widget is enabled. An enabled widget receives keyboard and mouse events; a disabled widget does not. Some widgets display themselves differently when they are disabled (usually they are dimmed). If a container is disabled, its content is also disabled. Acceptable values:

  • 0 or no
    The widget is disabled.
  • 1 or yes
    The widget is enabled.

enabled

Source code (XML)
<button name="Test::button" export="1"  enabled="1">
	<text size="15">Button Enabled</text>
</button>
<button name="Test::disabled_button" export="1" enabled="0">
	<text size="15">Button Disabled</text>
</button>
					

hidden

A flag that specifies whether the widget is hidden or not. When a widget is hidden, it is not rendered, and other widgets in the same container are re-arranged. Acceptable values:

  • 0 or no
    The widget renders normally.
  • 1 or yes
    The widget is hidden.

not hidden hidden

Source code (XML)
<label>
	<text size="20" rich="1">Label 0</text>
</label>
<button name="Test::button" export="1"  hidden="1">
	<text size="15">Button Hidden</text>
</button>
<label>
	<text size="20" rich="1">Label 1</text>
</label>
<label>
	<text size="20" rich="1">Label 2</text>
</label>
<button name="Test::disabled_button" export="1" hidden="0">
	<text size="15">Button Rendered</text>
</button>
					

pos_x

The x-coordinate of the widget relative to its parent container. It takes effect only if the overlap alignment flag is set.

pos_x

Source code (XML)
<button name="Test::button" export="1" align="overlap" pos_x="40">
	<text size="15">Button</text>
<button>
					

pos_y

The y-coordinate of the widget relative to its parent container. It takes effect only if the overlap alignment flag is set.

pos_y

Source code (XML)
<button name="Test::button" export="1" align="overlap" pos_y="30">
	<text size="15">Button</text>
<button>
					

width

Width of a widget.

height

Height of a widget.

export

A flag that specifies whether to export a reference to the widget or not. If yes, the widget will be exported with the name set using the name parameter. The default value is 0. Acceptable values:

  • 0 or no (default)
    The widget will not be exported.
  • 1 or yes
    The widget will be exported.

reference

A flag that specifies whether to render the widget or container or not. The default value is 0. The following values are accepted:

  • 0 (default)
    The widget will be shown.
  • 1
    The widget will not be shown.

Text Tags and Formatting

There are a couple of tags that allow outputting and formatting text.

font

font formatting

Font tags can be nested, all font properties are inherited in this case.

Parameters:

  • face
    Path to a TrueType font file.
  • size
    Font size (pixels).
  • color
    Font color.

Source code (XML)
<label>
	<text rich="1">
		<font size="20" color="#ff0000">Big red text</font> and text of default style.<br/>
		<font face="fontb.ttf" size="20">You can also change font face.</font><br/>
		<font color="#00ff00">Here is green text with <font size="10">small tail.</font></font>
	</text>
</label>
The font size can also be calculated relatively to its current size. For example:
Source code (XML)
<font size="+10">Larger</font>
<font size="-4">Smaller</font>
<font size="%200">Same or smaller</font>

text

Many widgets and containers have a text child, which provides some formatting capabilities.

Parameters:

  • rich
    Whether the text inside the tag is formatted or plain. The default is 0 (boolean), which corresponds to plain.
  • face
    Path to a TrueType font file, which will be used by default.
    Source code (XML)
    <text face="fontb.ttf">Text</text>
    							
  • size
    Default font size (pixels).
    Source code (XML)
    <text size="20">Text</text>
    							
  • color
    Default font color.
    Source code (XML)
    <text color="#ff0000">Text</text>
    							
  • permanent
    Whether a text color should be changed when the widget is disabled (non active), transparent (enabled option on non-active window), or widget loses focus. The default is 0 (not to change the color).

    For example, when the window is disabled, the second label doesn't change its color.

    no permanent / permanent

    Source code (XML)
    <window name="Test::window" width="150" height="150" export="1" sizeable="1" enabled="0">
    	<text>Window Title</text>
    	<label><text permanent="0">Label 0</text></label>
    	<label><text permanent="0">Label 1</text></label>
    </window>	
    							
  • outline
    Whether the text should be outlined. The default is 0 (boolean), which corresponds to no outlining.

    no outline / outlined

    The outlined text is represented on the right picture.

    Source code (XML)
    <label><text size="20" outline="1">Label 0</text></label>
    								
  • wrap
    Whether the text should be wrapped around, if it does not fit width of the container. The default is 0 (boolean), which corresponds to no wrapping.

    wrap

    Source code (XML)
    <label><text size="20" wrap="1">Long text to wrap</text></label>
    								
  • hspacing
    Horizontal spacing (in pixels) between letters. The default is 0.

    horizontal spacing

    Source code (XML)
    <label align="center"><text size="20" hspacing="8">Text</text></label>
    								
  • vspacing
    Vertical spacing (in pixels) between text lines. The default is 0.

    vertical spacing

    Source code (XML)
    <label align="center"><text size="20" vspacing="15" rich="1">Text<br/>Text<br/>Text</text></label>
    								
  • hoffset
    Horizontal text offset (in pixels). The default is 0 (no offset).

    horizontal offset

    Source code (XML)
    <label align="center"><text size="20" hoffset="35">Text</text></label>
    								
  • voffset
    Vertical text offset (in pixels). The default is 0 (no offset).

    vertical offset

    Source code (XML)
    <label align="center"><text size="20" hoffset="35" voffset="35">Text</text></label>
    								
  • translate
    Whether the text can be translated. The default is 1 (boolean), which means that the text depends on the selected language.

If the rich parameter is equal to 1, yes or true, the following tags and entities can be used to format the text:

  • br
    Line break.

    Source code (XML)
    <text rich="1">Text 1 <br/>
    Text 2</text>
    								
  • p
    Paragraph. Acceptable parameters: align with values center, left, right, justify.
  • center
    Centered alignment. Equivalent to <p align="center">text</center>.
  • font
    Font options.
  • sub
    Subscript text.

    subscript text

    Source code (XML)
    <text size="20" rich="1">Text <sub>Subscript text</sub></text>
    								
  • sup
    Superscript text.

    subscript text

    Source code (XML)
    <text size="20" rich="1">Text <sup>Superscript text</sup></text>
    								
  • &gt;
    The > symbol
  • &lt;
    The < symbol
  • &amp;
    The & symbol
  • &quot;
    The " symbol
  • &apos;
    The ' symbol

align

Unlike the align parameter of the text tag, the align tag can be applied to a group of widgets.

Parameters:

  • align
    Acceptable values are center, left, right.

For example:

Source code (XML)
<align align="right">
	<label><text>Title1</text></label>
	<edittext name="Test::edittext_1" export="1" width="100" height="100">
		<text>EditLine1</text>
	</edittext>
	<label><text>Title2</text></label>
	<edittext name="Test::edittext_2" export="1" width="100" height="100">
		<text>EditLine2</text>
	</edittext>
</align>
					
All of the elements inside the align tag are right-aligned:

Include Tag

This tag allows including the external *.ui file. The name parameter of widgets and containers defined in the external file must be unique.

Parameters:

  • name
    Path to the *.ui file to be included.

For example, you can insert one window into another as follows:

Source code (XML)
<window name="Test::window" export="1" width="356" height="356">
	<include name="test_01.ui"/>
</window>
				
The included window is described in the test_01.ui file:
Source code (XML)
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ui version="1.0">
	<window name="Test::window_2" export="1" width="156" height="156" color="#26DEFF" align="left">
		<label width="70" height="40">
				<text color="#7FC9FF">Included UI</text>
		</label>
	</window>
</ui>
				

This example shows the following:

include ui

Reference Tag

This tag serves to refer to the widgets and containers. The widgets and containers, which are referred by the reference tag, must have the name parameter.

Parameters:

  • name
    A widget or container name to which the reference is made.
  • Custom parameter
    The name of this parameter is a part of the widget name that need to be replaced. The acceptable value of the parameter is a replacement string. This is an optional parameter.

For example, there are the vbox container, which is defined as follows:

Source code (XML)
<vbox name="Test::vbox" export="0" space="8" reference="1">
	<label><text>Label 0</text></label>
	<label><text>Label 1</text></label>
	<label><text>Label 2</text></label>
</vbox>
				
This container won't be shown in the GUI, because the reference parameter is set to 1. To show the container, add a reference to it:

Source code (XML)
<window name="Test::window" export="1" width="356" height="356">
	<reference name="Test::vbox"/>
</window>
				
The result is the following:

If you want to use the same widget (or container) in different parts of your GUI with minimum changes, you can add a reference to it rather than duplicate. To change a child of the widget, first you should define its name parameter and set the export parameter to 1.

Source code (XML)
<vbox name="Test::vbox" reference="1">
	<label name="Test::label_N" export="1"></label>
</vbox>
				
Then you need to add the reference tag with the custom parameter. In the example, this parameter named label_N. The value of this parameter is a name of an object of the WidgetLabel class that is declared in the script and is subjected to change.
Source code (XML)
<window name="Test::window_0" export="1" width="250" height="150" sizeable="1" enabled="1" space_y="10">
	<text align="left">First Window</text>
	<reference name="Test::vbox" label_N="label_0"/>
</window>
	
<window name="Test::window_1" export="1" width="250" height="150" sizeable="1" enabled="1" space_y="10">
	<text align="left">Second Window </text>
	<reference name="Test::vbox" label_N="label_1"/>
</window>
				
In the script, you should declare widgets as global variables and define necessary properties for the widgets that is subjected to change. Then you need to add root widgets to be rendered via Gui::addChild(). For example:
Source code (UnigineScript)
namespace Test {
	
	WidgetWindow window_0;
	WidgetWindow window_1;
	WidgetLabel label_0;
	WidgetLabel label_1;
	UserInterface ui;
	
	void init() {
		ui = engine.gui.addUserInterface(engine.getGui(),"window.ui");
	
		label_0.setText("The first label"); // text shown in the first window
		label_1.setText("The second label"); // text shown in the second window
	}
	
	void show(int x,int y) {
		Gui gui = engine.getGui();
		gui.addChild(window_0); // add the first window
		window_0.setPosition(x,y);
		gui.addChild(window_1); // add the second window
		window_1.setPosition(x,y);
	}
};
				
As the result, two windows with different text are shown:

Also the name of the widget or container can be defined as an array. To address to the required object, use the following:

Source code (XML)
<vbox name="Test::vbox" reference="1">
	<label name="Test::label[NUM]" export="1"></label>
</vbox>
<window name="Test::window" export="1" width="250" height="150" sizeable="1" enabled="1" space_y="10">
	<text align="left">First Window</text>
	<reference name="Test::vbox[NUM]" NUM="0"/>
</window>
				
In the script, you should declare an array of objects of the corresponding widget class:
Source code (UnigineScript)
WidgetLabel label[1];

label[0].setText("The first label");
				
Last update: 2017-07-03
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