Templates
Rewriting code is a waste of time, and that's where PowerBASIC templates come in. Code put in a *.pbtpl file and placed in the PB\bin directory will be listed in the New File As ... IDE menu - ready for opening without having to retype anything!

Especially with new PowerBASIC programmers, typing in test code is a very common activity. I've found that there are a few code structures (the dialogs, controls, and callback functions) that get used over and over as part of testing new code. Saving those structures as templates can really speed up trying out new code!

Template Format
Any code you have can be a template, just put 3 lines at the top and save it into the PB\bin folder with a .pbtpl extension. Here's the 3 lines of code to use at the top of your template file.

    1
    .bas
    Any Title - This is displayed in the PB IDE

That's it! Put these 3 lines at the top of your code and save the file in the PB\bin folder with a .pbtpl extension. The next time you open the IDE, the new templates will be there, ready for instant use!

Tips For Using Templates
Here are four tips for using templates:

1. Sorting Templates
   Templates are displayed in the IDE sorted by the template file name, not by the title you give the template! I like mine in a certain order, so I renamed the files accordingly.

2. Compiling a Template #1
   When you load a template, you can't just press Compile to see what happens. You have to make a change to the loaded code (even as simple as pressing a space bar) before the IDE will compile the template code.

3. Compiling a Template #2
   The IDE also requires that you save the code to a file before it will compile. I created a file called "_.bas". With that name it will always be at the top of the Save As dialog and is ready-at-hand to select as the file name to be used for saving the modified template code. I treat it like a temp file, never putting anything of value in it and always overwriting it whenever I test new code snippets.

4. Starting Position for Editing
   The pipe symbol | is used in a template to tell the IDE where the cursor is to be placed when the template is loaded. However, the IDE doesn't seem to be willing to place a cursor at all depths. So stick with 1-3 indentations and you should be fine.

Sample Templates
Here are the three templates I have in my PB IDE. I'm sure as I get more experience with PowerBASIC, that I'll find myself using templates with more and more code.

Example 1: Simple Model Dialog
Here's a very simple template for loading a modal dialog and its callback procedure. That are no children and no other code. I use this when I want to write test code starting from scratch, but would like a dialog already in the code. download

    1
    .bas
    .Code Test - Modal Dialog, Empty
    #Compile Exe
    #Dim All
    #Include "win32api.inc"
    Global hDlg As Dword
    Function PBMain () As Long
       Dialog New Pixels, 0, "Test",300,300,200,200, %WS_OverlappedWindow To hDlg
       '... test code goes here
       Dialog Show Modal hdlg Call DlgProc
    End Function

    CallBack Function DlgProc() As Long
        '... test code goes here
    End Function

Example 2: Code Tester - Use Button Press
Typically, I want to test code by pressing a button. This template loads a dialog and a button, along with the callback procedure where I can put the code that will execute when the button is pressed.

Also, it creates two label controls and shows the code for inserting two results into labels. download

    1
    .bas
    .Code Test - Modal Dialog, Press Button
    #Compile Exe
    #Dim All
    #Include "win32api.inc"
    Global hDlg As Dword
    Function PBMain() As Long
        Dialog New Pixels, 0, "Button Test",300,300,200,200, %WS_OverlappedWindow To hDlg
        Control Add Button, hDlg, 100,"Push", 50,10,100,20
        Control Add Label, hDlg, 101,"results", 50,40,100,20, %WS_Border
        Control Add Label, hDlg, 102,"results", 50,70,100,20, %WS_Border
        Dialog Show Modal hDlg Call DlgProc
    End Function

    CallBack Function DlgProc() As Long
       Select Case Cb.Msg
          Case %WM_Command
             Select Case Cb.Ctl
                Case 100
                   If Cb.CtlMsg = %BN_Clicked Then
                      Local iResult1&, iResult2&
                      '... test code here - place results in labels 100 & 101
                      Control Set Text hDlg, 101, Str$(iResult1&)
                      Control Set Text hDlg, 102, Str$(iResult2&)
                   End If
                End Select
        End Select
    End Function

Example 3: Code Tester - Use Doevents
Sometimes I want code to run repeatedly, without have to continually press a button. This template opens a modeless dialog and uses a Doevents Loop to run test code over and over.

Also, it creates two label controls and shows the code for inserting two results into labels. download

    1
    .bas
    .Code Test - Modeless Dialog, Doevents Loop
    #Compile Exe
    #Dim All
    #Include "win32api.inc"
    Global hDlg As Dword
    Function PBMain() As Long
       Local Count& 
       Dialog New Pixels, 0, "Test",300,300,200,200, %WS_OverlappedWindow To hDlg
       Control Add Label, hDlg, 100,"results", 50,50,100,20, %WS_Border
       Control Add Label, hDlg, 101,"results", 50,80,100,20, %WS_Border
       Dialog Show Modeless hDlg
       Do
          Dialog DoEvents 0 To Count&
          MySub
       Loop While Count&
    End Function

    Sub MySub
       Local iResult1&, iResult2&
       '... test code here - place results in labels 100 & 101
       Control Set Text hDlg, 100, Str$(iResult1&)
       Control Set Text hDlg, 101, Str$(iResult2&)
    End Sub 

If you have any suggestions or corrections, please let me know.