SStab VS TabStrip

[nishantp]

I know the SStab control is atleast 10X as easy to use than the Tabstrip control....but the Tabstrip must have some advantage? After all, they do include it in VB I realize that no one ever uses it but if someone has, can u please tell me why? Does it have ANY advantages whatsoever? Just wondering...

[filburt1]

It's probably lighter-weight for distribution. But it sucks so much that the SSTab is worth whatever size it adds.

[Cenobite]

Yes tabstrip is truely pants.
Its probably only included for backward compatibility.

[nishantp]

Well...ok. Cause to this day i still dont know how to get the damn Tabstrip thingy to work.

[jbart]

tabStrip is terrible. It must be the only way MS had to create the illusion of tabs before the SSTab came along.

To make the tabStrip work even close to the SSTab takes more code than it is worth. I have seen code that uses the tabStrip and it involves moving all the controls for each tab off the screen when they are not needed, and back onto the screen when they are needed.

[nishantp]

Originally posted by Cenobite
Yes tabstrip is truely pants.
Its probably only included for backward compatibility.

Backwards compatibility??? SO people actually used it? Wow...

[nishantp]

Originally posted by jbart
tabStrip is terrible. It must be the only way MS had to create the illusion of tabs before the SSTab came along.

To make the tabStrip work even close to the SSTab takes more code than it is worth. I have seen code that uses the tabStrip and it involves moving all the controls for each tab off the screen when they are not needed, and back onto the screen when they are needed.

eeeeeeeeewwwwwwww

[jbart]

nishantp,

I can't find the code that was written for my agency by an outside vendor, but the tabStrip code goes something like the following. I know, it is not a great example.

Private Sub Form_Load()
    TabStrip1.TabIndex = 0
    Text1.Left = 720
    Text2.Left = -2000
End Sub
 
Private Sub TabStrip1_Click()
    If TabStrip1.TabIndex = 0 Then
        TabStrip1.TabIndex = 1
        Text1.Left = -2000
        Text2.Left = 720
    Else
        TabStrip1.TabIndex = 0
        Text1.Left = 720
        Text2.Left = -2000
    End If
End Sub

The real headache is setting up the controls for the correct tab, since they are all on the screen while you are in design mode. Unless you set the left properties for each tab to a different spot off-screen, which is just a mess. SSTab is just a lot less headaches.

I suppose you could change the visible property, or put the controls into frames and change the visible property of the frames, but the point is that it is a lot of trouble.

[filburt1]

So, we agree, the TabStrip sucks and the SSTab rules all.

[jbart]

Right filburt1. And ALWAYS use FSO !!!

Just kidding, just kidding.....

[filburt1]

*grumbling* Damned evil cult FSO...

[Edneeis]

I think the tabstrip was meant for something entirely different then the SSTab. It sucks when you try to use it hold different controls on each tab thats true, but I don't think it was meant for that. I have used it in situations that use the same interface. Like say you have a calendar that shows only one week and you want the use to be able to select different weeks. You can use the tabstrip to switch weeks and give catch the change to just change the data not the controls. And since all the controls for each week are the same it woudl suck to use the SSTab and have dupes of the controls on every tab. So the tabstrip has its uses but they just don't come up too often.

i don't think that I explained that very well but its an example.

[filburt1]

Yeah, you can use the TabStrip as a taskbar-style toggler, too. But the SSTab has the two major advantages of having each tab be a container, and to be able to change tabs normally at design time.

[Edneeis]

Yup if each tab needs to have different controls or something I wouldn't even bother with the tabstrip but I don't think MS intended it be used for that either.

Here is a better example that what I explained.

Long live the tabstrip (and FSO)

[SAS-Trooper]

I don't know i prefer the tabstrip now after i finally got it to work. The SST Tab looks ugly but it is much easier to work with While the tabstrip requires a lot more coding to get it up and running, but it looks better.

So far i've only been using it to contain some listviews so i'm finding it quite easy to use, might be different if i put different controls on them as you tend to have to use arrays to place the controls and i'm finding it hard to get a handle on using arrays.

Incidentally the tabstrip is the newer version of the tabbox not the SST Tab, which is the old method (i think).

[DaoK]

The only advantage Tabstrip have is than the caption change direction when you put vertical ( like all tab are at the left or right). SSTtab do that but the text direction will not change.

[filburt1]

Originally posted by SAS-Trooper
The SST Tab looks ugly

You can change it to look like the TabStrip.

[DaoK]

Private Sub Form_Load()
SSTab1.Style = ssStylePropertyPage
End Sub

This is the code to change the loooooook ;-)

[MidgetsBro]

The TabStrip isn't really that hard to use once you figure it out. Just make a frame for each tab you have, and then instead of moving all the controls out of the screen, make the frame that is holding them invisible. It makes more sense to do it this way to. Who wants to have an array of 15 checkboxes and have to move them all off the screen, and back on every time they click the tab. Here is an example I made.

[gaffa]

As far as backwards comaptibility goes, the SSTab has been around for a lot longer - originally produced by Sheridan Software (hence the SS), it came as part of VB3. The current tabstrip on came in version 4 (or was it 5 - whenever the common controls was first included).

And you get a few more fatures in the MS version (pics next to the text, hot tracking etc.)

I tend to use the MS one unless its quick and dirty, in which case I'll use the SSTab.

THe other problem with the SS tab is that the porgrammatic interface sucks beyond belief - it's so un-intuitive.

- gaffa

[SAS-Trooper]

DOH!

Well thanks for that Daok, i could have used that a couple of months ago but i've got the tabstrip to work now.

I'll keep it in mind if i need a quick-n-dirty tabbox some time in the future.

Thanks