About the Widget Examples Master


The Widget Examples Master is a tool for learning to program with the
IDL/widgets graphical user interface toolkit.  This widget application
provides the "main menu" interface to a group of simple examples using the
IDL/widgets.  Many of the examples illustrate the creation and management of
just a single type of widget.  All of the basic widget types and a number of
more complicated combinations of widgets are represented in the examples.  By
examining the code for each of these examples, you can learn to create and
manage almost any type of user interface made possible by the IDL Widgets.  

These examples and the "Tips and Techniques", available by selecting the
"Widget Programming Tips and Techniques" button, are intended to be a
supplement to the IDL/widgets documentation found in the IDL User's Guide
Addendum.  While the original documentation is fairly complete, the Simple
Widget Examples are provided as a tool for learning by example.  Under most
windowing systems, you can use "cut and paste" functions to easily extract
portions of the example code for use in your own programs. 

There are two sets of side-by-side buttons in the Simple Widget Examples
window.  The set on the left, labeled "Simple Widget Examples" provides
access to very specific examples of widgets programming.  Select the buttons
on the left to see the simple widgets.  Select the buttons on the right to
display a text window that shows the code for the widget in question.  The
set of buttons on the right, labeled "Example Widget Applications" provides
access to more elaborate widget applications.

Most of the examples produce some sort of output (e.g., the value of a
slider, the name of a menu item selected).  This output is displayed in the
original IDL window, so ensure that this window is visible when you are
trying the examples.