qtquick-app-tutorial.qdoc

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/*!
    \contentspage {Qt Creator Manual}
    \previouspage creator-tutorials.html
    \page creator-qml-application.html
    \nextpage creator-writing-program.html

    \title Creating a Qt Quick Application

    This tutorial uses built-in QML types and illustrates basic concepts of
    \l{Qt Quick}.

    This tutorial describes how to use \QC to implement Qt Quick states and
    transitions. We
    create an application that displays a Qt logo that moves between three rectangles on the
    page when you click them.

    \image qmldesigner-tutorial.png "States and transitions example"

    For more information about using \QMLD, see
    \l{Developing Qt Quick Applications}.

    For tutorials that describe using Qt Quick Controls, see
    \l{Qt Quick Text Editor Guide} and \l{Qt Quick Controls - UI Forms}.

    \section1 Creating the Project

    \list 1

        \li Select \uicontrol{File > New File or Project > Application >
            Qt Quick Application > Choose}.

        \li In the \uicontrol{Name} field, type \b {Transitions}.

        \li In the \uicontrol {Create in} field, enter the path for the project files.
            For example, \c {C:\Qt\examples}, and then click \uicontrol{Next} (on
            Windows and Linux) or \uicontrol Continue (on OS X).

        \li In the \uicontrol {Qt Quick component set} field, select
            \uicontrol {Qt Quick 2.1}.

            \note This selection determines the set of files that the wizard
            generates and their contents. The instructions in this tutorial
            might not apply if you select some other component set, such as Qt
            Quick 2.4. The wizard indicates which Qt version each component set
            requires at minimum.

        \li Select \l{glossary-buildandrun-kit}{kits} for running and building your project,
            and then click \uicontrol{Next}.

            \note Kits are listed if they have been specified in \uicontrol Tools >
            \uicontrol Options > \uicontrol {Build & Run} > \uicontrol Kits (on Windows and Linux)
            or in \uicontrol {Qt Creator} > \uicontrol Preferences \uicontrol {Build & Run} >
            \uicontrol Kits (on OS X).

        \li Select \uicontrol Next in the following dialogs to use the default
            settings.

        \li Review the project settings, and click \uicontrol{Finish} (on Windows and
            Linux) or \uicontrol Done (on OS X) to create the project.

        \li Press \key {Ctrl+R} (or \key {Cmd+R}) to run the application.

    \endlist

    \QC generates a default QML file that you can modify to create the main view
    of the application.

    \image qmldesigner-tutorial-project.png "Transitions project in Edit mode"

    \section1 Creating the Main View

    The main view of the application displays a Qt logo in the top left corner
    of the screen and two empty rectangles.

    To use the states.png image in your application, you must copy it to the
    project directory (same subdirectory as the QML file) from the examples
    directory in the Qt installation directory. For example:
    \c {C:\Qt\Examples\Qt-5.4\declarative\animation\states}. The image appears
    in \uicontrol Resources. You can also use any other image or a QML
    type, instead.

    \list 1

        \li In the \uicontrol Projects view, double-click the main.qml file
            to open it in the code editor.

        \li Click \uicontrol Design to open the file in \QMLD.

            \image qmldesigner-tutorial-design-mode.png "Transitions project in Design Mode"

        \li In the \uicontrol Navigator, select \uicontrol MouseArea and
            \uicontrol Text and press \key Delete to delete them.

        \li Select \uicontrol Window to edit its properties.

            \image qmldesigner-tutorial-page.png "Page properties"

        \list a

            \li In the \uicontrol Id field, enter \e page, to be able to reference the
                window from other places.

            \li In the \uicontrol Color field, set the window background color
                to #343434.

        \endlist

        \li In \uicontrol Library > \uicontrol Resources, select states.png and
            drag and drop it to the canvas.

            \image qmldesigner-tutorial-user-icon.png "Image properties"

        \list a

            \li In the \uicontrol Id field, enter \e icon.

            \li In the \uicontrol Position field, set \uicontrol X to 10 and \uicontrol Y to 20.

        \endlist

        \li Right-click the resource file, qml.qrc, in the \uicontrol Projects
            view, and select \uicontrol {Open in Editor} to add states.png to
            the resource file for deployment.

        \li Click \uicontrol Add and select states.png.

        \li In the \uicontrol Design mode, \uicontrol Library view, \uicontrol {QML Types} tab,
            select \uicontrol Rectangle,
            drag and drop it to the canvas, and edit its properties.

            \image qmldesigner-tutorial-topleftrect.png "Rectangle properties"

        \list a

            \li In the \uicontrol Id field, enter \e topLeftRect.

            \li In the \uicontrol Size field, set \uicontrol W and \uicontrol H to 64, for the
                rectangle size to match the image size.

            \li In the \uicontrol Color field, click the
                \inlineimage qmldesigner-transparent-button.png
                (\uicontrol Transparent) button to make the rectangle transparent.

            \li In the \uicontrol Border field, set the border color to #808080.

            \li In the \uicontrol Rectangle group, \uicontrol Border field, set the border
                width to 1.

                \note If the \uicontrol Border field does not appear after you set the
                border color, try setting the border color to solid by clicking
                the
                \inlineimage qmldesigner-solid-color-button.png
                (\uicontrol {Solid Color}) button.

            \li In the \uicontrol Radius field, select 6 to create rounded corners for
                the rectangle.

            \li Click \uicontrol {Layout}, and then click the top and left anchor
                buttons to anchor the rectangle to the top left corner of the
                page.

                \image qmldesigner-tutorial-topleftrect-layout.png "Layout tab"

            \li In the \uicontrol Margin field, select 20 for the top anchor and 10
                for the left anchor.

        \endlist

        \li Drag and drop a \uicontrol {Mouse Area} type from the
            \uicontrol Library to \e topLeftRect in the \uicontrol Navigator.

        \li  Edit the \uicontrol {Mouse Area} properties:

        \list a

            \li Click \uicontrol {Layout}, and then click the
                \inlineimage qmldesigner-anchor-fill-screen.png
                (\uicontrol {Fill to Parent}) button to anchor the mouse area to the
                rectangle.

            \li In the code editor, edit the pointer to the clicked expression
                in the mouse area, as illustrated by the following code
                snippet:

                \quotefromfile transitions/main.qml
                \skipto MouseArea
                \printuntil }

                The expression sets the state to the base state and returns the
                image to its initial position.
                You will create stateGroup later.

        \endlist

            The qml.main file should now look as follows:

            \quotefromfile transitions/main.qml
            \skipto Window {
            \printuntil mouseArea1
            \printuntil }

        \li In the \uicontrol Navigator, copy topLeftRect (by pressing
            \key {Ctrl+C}) and paste it to the canvas twice (by pressing
            \key {Ctrl+V}). \QC renames the new instances of the type
            topLeftRect1 and topLeftRect2.

        \li  Select topLeftRect1 and edit its properties:

        \list a

            \li In the \uicontrol Id field, enter \e middleRightRect.

            \li In \uicontrol {Layout}, select the vertical center anchor button and
                then the right anchor button to
                anchor the rectangle to the middle right margin of the screen.

            \li In the \uicontrol Margin field, select 10 for the right anchor and 0
                for the vertical center anchor.

            \li In the code editor, add a pointer to a clicked expression to the
                mouse area. The following expression sets the state to
                \e State1:

                \c {onClicked: stateGroup.state = 'State1'}

                You will create State1 later.

        \endlist

        \li Select topLeftRect2 and edit its properties:

        \list a

            \li In the \uicontrol Id field, enter \e bottomLeftRect.

            \li In \uicontrol {Layout}, select the bottom and left anchor buttons to
                anchor the rectangle to the bottom left margin of the screen.

            \li In the \uicontrol Margin field, select 20 for the bottom anchor and 10
                for the left anchor.

            \li In the code editor, add a pointer to a clicked expression to the
                mouse area. The following expression sets the state to
                \e State2:

                \c {onClicked: stateGroup.state = 'State2'}

                You will create State2 later.

            The qml.main file should now look as follows:

            \quotefromfile transitions/main.qml
            \skipto Window {
            \printuntil mouseArea3
            \printuntil }
            \printuntil }

        \endlist

        \li Press \key {Ctrl+S} to save the changes.

        \li Press \key {Ctrl+R} to run the application.

    \endlist

    \image qmldesigner-tutorial.png "States and transitions example"

    You should see the Qt logo in the top left rectangle, and two additional
    rectangles in the center right and bottom left of the screen.

    You can now create additional states to add views to the application.

    \section1 Adding Views

    In the .qml file, you already created pointers to two additional states:
    State1 and State2. You cannot use the \QMLD to add states for a Window QML
    type. Use the code editor to add the states inside a StateGroup QML type and
    refer to them by using the id of the state group:

    \list 1

        \li Bind the position of the Qt logo to the
            rectangle to make sure that the logo is displayed within the
            rectangle when the view is scaled on different sizes of screens. Set
            expressions for the x and y properties, as illustrated by the
            following code snippet:

            \quotefromfile transitions/main.qml
            \skipto StateGroup {
            \printuntil ]

        \li Press \key {Ctrl+R} to run the application.

    \endlist

    Click the rectangles to move the Qt logo from one rectangle to another.

    \section1 Adding Animation to the View

    Add transitions inside the state group to define how the properties change
    when the Qt logo moves
    between states. The transitions apply animations to the Qt logo. For example,
    the Qt logo bounces back when it moves to the middleRightRect and eases into
    bottomLeftRect. Add the transitions in the code editor.

    \list 1

        \li In the code editor, add the following code to specify that when
            moving to State1, the x and y coordinates of the Qt logo change
            linearly over a duration of 1 second:

            \dots
            \skipto transitions
            \printuntil },

        \li You can use the Qt Quick toolbar for animation to change the easing
            curve type from linear to OutBounce:

        \list a

            \li Click \uicontrol NumberAnimation in the code editor to display the
                \inlineimage qml-toolbar-indicator.png
                icon, and then click the icon to open the toolbar:

                \image qmldesigner-tutorial-quick-toolbar.png "Qt Quick toolbar for animation"

            \li In the \uicontrol Easing field, select \uicontrol Bounce.

            \li In the \uicontrol Subtype field, select \uicontrol Out.

        \endlist

        \li Add the following code to specify that when moving to State2, the x
            and y coordinates of the Qt logo change over a duration of 2
            seconds, and an InOutQuad easing function is used:

            \dots
            \printuntil },

        \li Add the following code to specify that for any other state changes,
            the x and y coordinates of the Qt logo change linearly over a
            duration of 200 milliseconds:

            \dots
            \printuntil ]

        \li Press \key {Ctrl+R} to run the application.

    \endlist

    Click the rectangles to view the animated transitions.

    \section1 Example Code

    When you have completed the steps, the main.qml file should look as follows:

            \quotefromfile transitions/main.qml
            \skipto Window {
            \printuntil /^\}/

*/