TouchBrowser - I

My planning for the first half of 2009 includes writing a SQL Compact explorer, something like the old isqlw mobile application. One of the components this application needs is a friendly way to select the database files - something along the lines of the open file dialog, only a bit better.

Towards this end, I picked up the "touch" window code used in the property list and adapted it to a very simple file browser. The sample application that I'm publishing includes a revised version of the atltouch.h file and implements a very simple-minded "file explorer" window.

You navigate either by scrolling the list or by using the arrow keys. To list a sub folder, just click it or select it and press the enter key. To back up to the previous level, use the main menu "Up" command.

There are still some issues to be sorted out in this code, like the apparent sensitivity when you start dragging a directory entry up or down - you may end up expanding that directory instead of dragging the list. I have struggled with this issue ever since I started to write this code and I'm starting to believe that a different approach may be needed, like the addition of an action button to the right of each file: only by pressing it will the user get the associated action (opening a sub-folder, for instance). This solution implies having larger list items so that a finger can be effectively used (but this is also an issue with WM devices that are expecting a stylus, not a bulky finger). I will be investigating these issues and posting the code in the next few posts.

Sample code: TouchBrowser.zip (27 KB)