Python Programming On Win32

Defining the View

The View object is the most complex object in the sample. The View is responsible for all interactions with the user, which means the View must collect the strokes as the user draws them, and also draw the entire list of strokes whenever the window requires repainting.

The collection of the strokes is the most complex part. To collect effectively, you must trap the user pressing the mouse button in the window. Once this occurs, enter a drawing mode, and as the mouse is moved, draw a line to the current position. When the user releases the mouse button, they have completed the stroke, so add the stroke to the document. The key steps to coax this behavior are:

• The View must hook the relevant mouse messages: in this case, the LBUTTONDOWN, LBUTTONUP, and MOUSEMOVE messages.

• When a LBUTTONDOWN message is received, remember the start position and enter a drawing mode. Also capture the mouse, to ensure that you get all future mouse messages, even when the mouse leaves the window.

• If a MOUSEMOVE message occurs when you are in drawing mode, draw a line from the remembered start position to the current mouse position. In addition, erase the previous line drawn by this process. This gives a “rubber band” effect as you move the mouse.

• When a LBUTTONUP message is received, notify the document of the new, completed stroke, release the mouse capture, and leave drawing mode.

After adding this logic to the sample, it now looks like:

class ScribbleView(pywin.mfc.docview.ScrollView): ...