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Build 881
Hands-on tutorial · Layout & Forms

Report nonblocking status

Update status without interrupting the user’s task.

1 Form / control designs1 complete BASIC filesGuided sample project

Status belongs near the workflow it describes. The save action in this sample demonstrates a message transition; it is not a substitute for actually writing data. When adding persistence, show success only after the operation completes.

Step 1Prepare a safe practice project#

Extract the archive into a new writable folder, separate from your own application. Open StatusBar.mcbproj in McBasic™. Keep every declared source, layout, resource and migration file together.

To reconstruct it yourself, create a DesktopApp project and add the files declared below. In the complete project, follow these steps as a guided rebuild: replace each named source file once and Check after all its procedures are present.

Exact project configuration
project.mcproj
{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "projectId": "8d68be42-1ce8-45ae-8c3f-7f404b1f1b49",
  "name": "StatusBarSample",
  "kind": "DesktopApp",
  "ai": {
    "storeChatsInProject": false
  },
  "language": {
    "dialect": "McBasic1",
    "requireExplicit": true,
    "compare": "Binary",
    "defaultArrayBase": 0
  },
  "application": {
    "bundleIdentifier": "com.mcbasic.samples.statusbar",
    "version": "0.1.0",
    "buildNumber": "1",
    "startupFormId": "form-main",
    "shutdownMode": "OnStartupFormClosed"
  },
  "forms": [
    {
      "id": "form-main",
      "typeName": "frmMain",
      "layout": "Forms/frmMain.form.json",
      "code": "Forms/frmMain.bas"
    }
  ],
  "modules": [],
  "classes": [],
  "tests": [],
  "references": [],
  "resources": [],
  "targets": [
    "osx-arm64"
  ],
  "capabilities": []
}

Step 2Build the Form and set its properties#

frmMain

Select the Form first and set its properties. Add containers before their children. These are initial Designer values, not statements to paste into a procedure.

Form propertyValue
Caption"StatusBar — McBasic"
Width600
Height360
MinWidth480
MinHeight280
TypeNameParent
LabellblMessageForm
CommandButtoncmdSaveForm
CommandButtoncmdCloseForm
StatusBarstaMainForm
lblMessage · exact Inspector values
PropertyValue
Left48
Top64
Width480
Height34
Caption"Use the button to update the status bar."
TabIndex0
Anchor edgesLeft, Top
cmdSave · exact Inspector values
PropertyValue
Left48
Top120
Width160
Height36
Caption"Update status"
TabIndex1
Anchor edgesLeft, Top
cmdClose · exact Inspector values
PropertyValue
Left224
Top120
Width120
Height36
Caption"Close"
TabIndex2
Anchor edgesLeft, Top
staMain · exact Inspector values
PropertyValue
Left48
Top292
Width480
Height26
Text"Ready"
TabIndex3
Anchor edgesLeft, Right, Bottom

Step 3Connect the events explicitly#

frmMain

ObjectEventProcedureParameters
cmdSaveClickcmdSave_ClickClick()
cmdCloseClickcmdClose_ClickClick()
FormLoadForm_Load()

Step 4Enter the complete behavior#

Open the named source file. Enter declarations first, then every procedure. Expand a procedure for its full body, or copy the complete file. Helpers are required: do not stop after entering the first Click handler.

Forms/frmMain.bas

Enter these declarations at file scope, before the procedures.

Forms/frmMain.bas · declarations
Option Explicit
Private Sub Form_Load()

Initialize state before enabling dependent actions. Keep the shared declarations and startup dependencies with this procedure.

Forms/frmMain.bas · Form_Load
Private Sub Form_Load()
    staMain.Text = "Ready"
End Sub
Private Sub cmdSave_Click()

Enter the complete action, including its input checks and calls to helper procedures.

Forms/frmMain.bas · cmdSave_Click
Private Sub cmdSave_Click()
    staMain.Text = "Saved from McBasic."
End Sub
Private Sub cmdClose_Click()

Enter the complete action, including its input checks and calls to helper procedures.

Forms/frmMain.bas · cmdClose_Click
Private Sub cmdClose_Click()
    Unload Me
End Sub
Copy the complete Forms/frmMain.bas file

Replace the file once; do not append duplicate procedures.

Forms/frmMain.bas
Option Explicit

Private Sub Form_Load()
    staMain.Text = "Ready"
End Sub

Private Sub cmdSave_Click()
    staMain.Text = "Saved from McBasic."
End Sub

Private Sub cmdClose_Click()
    Unload Me
End Sub

Step 5Keep resources and storage reproducible#

No external resource or migration files are declared. Any inline migration, seed data or local JSON is present in the code above. Runtime application data and private preferences are not included in the archive.

Step 6Check, run and test the result#

Save all files and run Check. Resolve diagnostics before Run. Developer CLI users can work from the extracted folder:

Developer CLI
mcbasic check StatusBar.mcbproj
mcbasic run StatusBar.mcbproj

Acceptance checklist

  • Inspect the initial status.
  • Activate Save and read the changed status.
  • Resize the Form and check placement.

Step 7Make one change and repeat the tests#

Show a busy message before an asynchronous operation and replace it only after success or failure.

Save a working Git checkpoint first. Change one behavior, Check again and repeat the acceptance checklist. Compare with the downloaded solution if a regression appears.

Source baseline 20f4bfed6b · Build manifest