gbMultiViewer

gbMultiViewer is a freeware utility for displaying multiple text or image files - all on the same screen! A list of files is built by dragging one or more file names onto the gbMultiViewer screen, then displayed in a separate window using a variety of settings made by the user. gbMultiViewer provides several features for managing the list, including selection of which files on the list are to be displayed.

Just drag files from Windows Explorer onto gbMultiViewer to build a list of file, then Press the toolbar Display button to show all images on a separate dialog.

Download (v1.0, 135K)

Programmers can integrate gbMultiViewer into their own applications. The source code is available as a PowerBASIC include file. Also, both SLL and DLL versions of the viewer are provided.

Key Features

gbMultiViewer provides a wide range of features, all focused on making it easier to select and view multiple files at a time, including both text for format images.

View multiple files in same screen
Text and image file support
Customization of file viewer
Integration into custom applications (SLL, DLL)
Drag and drop files to create display list
File list management
Manual or auto-sizing of file viewer
Session save/restore
Online Help

Alternate Displays

gbMultiViewer allows you to display files of different types on the same screen. The image below has an ico, gif, bmp, and txt file displayed:

Or, you might display all images, as in this image:

And, you could choose to display all text files:

Mix and match images as you choose!

Toolbar

gbMultiViewer's search commands are found in its toolbar (no menu is used). So going through it first will cover the main features of gbMultiViewer. Each of the toolbar buttons are described here.

Display	Display the selected files
Clear	Remove all files from the list
Delete	Remove the highlighted/selected file (not checked) from the list
Check	Check all files in the list
UnCheck	Uncheck all files in the list
Settings	Opens the settings dialog
Online Help	Opens the gbMultiViewer online Help page

Settings

The toolbar Settings button dropdown menu displays the following menu options:

Viewer Caption	Text to display in the file viewer dialog

Viewer Logo	Name of resource icon (from parent) to display in the system menu of the file viewer dialog

Unsupported Image	Name of resource icon to display when a files is not supported by gbMultiViewer

Dialog XY Position	Location of viewer dialog, relative to parent

Dialog Width/Height	Size of viewer dialog

Columns/Rows	Grid size of file viewer dialog

Starting Control ID	Viewer control IDs start at this number. If zero, the viewer starts at 5000.

Image BG Color	Color used behind each image. Applies only to images. Text controls use white backgrounds.

Stretch Mode	When set, images are stretched to fill the control area. Aspect ratio is maintained. Images are centered in the control.

Show Names	Toggles display of label which contains the name of the file

Use INI	When set, allows the viewer dialog to maintain an INI file of its own. The first time the viewer is called, the calling parameters are used. After that, the viewer INI parameters are applied each time the viewer is displayed.

Show Image Borders	Displays borders around the image controls (not around just the images themselves)

Show Paths in File Names	When set, the full path of the file is shown. If not set, only the filename and extension are shown.

Transparent Background	Uses the dialog color at the background for the image control

AutoSet Row/Columns	Allows the viewer dialog to calculate the image grid size. When set, this overrides the explicit grid size discussed above.
Periodic File Refresh	Refresh all files at specified refresh rate
Refresh Rate	Sets the number of seconds between refresh of all files
Save & Exit	Closes the settings dialog and saves any changes made by the user
Cancel	Closes the settings dialog without saving any changes made by the user

Viewer Context Menus

The viewer dialog provides two context menus:

Right clicking on a textbox displays this context menu:

Right clicking anywhere else on the viewer dialog displays this context menu:

These settings are the same as those provided on the gbMultiViewer main screen, but are also kept in the independent viewer INI for use as the user chooses.

Accelerator Keys

These accelerator keys are supported:

F1 - Online Help
Ctl-M - Opens Viewer Dialog
Ctl-S - Opens Settings Dialog

Other Comments

This sections contains miscellaneous additional information about using gbMultiViewer.

INI File
gbMultiViewer saves all of it's options in an INI file, which is placed in the same folder as the EXE. Optionally, the viewer dialog can also save an INI. The user can choose which INI to use. The gbMultiViewer INI explicitly determines viewer settings, whereas the viewer INI maintains session settings (such as keeping track of the position/size of the viewer dialog).

Comments and suggestions are welcome!