Adding Third-Party Controls

In addition to the ATEasy internal controls, you can use a third party controls. ATEasy support the following types of third party controls:

●        ActiveX Controls also called COM, or OCX controls. These controls can be added to ATEasy module by adding the ActiveX library that hold the controls using Insert Library - ActiveX Controls dialog. The Test Executive driver use an ActiveX control library called Microsoft Windows Common Controls to display controls such as TreeView and ListView. That library is provided with Windows. Additional control libraries are available from third party vendors.

●        .Net Controls, these controls can be added to ATEasy by adding their .Net Assembly to your module Libraries using the Insert Library - .NET Assemblies dialog (v10). .Net controls are provided as part of the Microsoft .Net framework that is now integrated to Windows (System.Windows.Forms) or third party assemblies that have controls.

To use a third party controls in your form:

  1. 1. Go to the ATEasy Workspace tree, which shows your project's Programs, System, Drivers. Expand the module that you will be using the library. Locate Libraries below that module, right click On Libraries and select Insert Library Below:

    Workspace

  2. The Insert Library dialog will show and the ActiveX control tab showing the current system registered ActiveX controls. You can select one of the libraries that contains the control you want to use from the list, and it will be imported into your module Libraries. You will see it appear in the Libraries tree and, if it has an icon, as an icon on the Controls toolbar.

  3. The following image shows inserting an ActiveX library Microsoft Windows Common Controls-2, the library that is inserted and the Controls toolbar updated with the additional controls from that library:

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Insertable Controls

5. Now, you can click on the icon and drag in a form's client area, and the control will appear. Just what will appear when the form is loaded depends on the interfaces supported by the control.

Calendar control in ATEasy form

6. Now set the design properties for the control from the Properties Window or using the Properties Grid Window (v10):

 

You can use a similar approach to use a third party .Net Controls. In the following example we are using the System.WindowsForms assembly and inserting a ListView control to a form: