Toolbars consist of mini icons that may be clicked like command buttons (push buttons) to create events.
The images for the mini icons are created as bitmaps (.BMP files) which are typically rectangles of 16 x 15 pixels, but can be any size you choose. For example, here are three sample 16 x 15 pixel bitmaps:
When you want to put these bitmaps into a PowerCOBOL toolbar you combine the individual bitmaps into a single bitmap, referred to as an "image list". The image list is simply a bitmap file with multiple mini icons arrange in sequence from left to right. The image list bitmap looks like this:
It is a simple .BMP file that is 16 pixels in height and 48 pixels in width.
You can create the bitmap files using the Paint utility provided with Windows, or just about any graphics program such as Adobe PhotoShop or Corel PhotoPaint. Remember that they are not really special icons, but rather 16 x 15 pixel pictures (.BMP files).
Once you have all of your individual mini icons (which should be uniform in size), you assemble them into a single .BMP file, the image list, by copying and pasting them. Having prepared your image list you are ready to create your toolbar in PowerCOBOL.
The following section takes you through the steps required to create and use a toolbar in PowerCOBOL.
