nameID DIALOG [load-option] [mem-option] x, y, width, height
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ENDThe DIALOG statement defines a window that an application can use to create dialog boxes. The statement defines the position and dimensions of the dialog box on the screen as well as the dialog box style.
nameID
Identifies the dialog box. This is either a unique name or a unique integer value in the range 1 to 65,535.
load-option
Specifies when the resource is to be loaded. This parameter is optional. If it is specified, it must be one of the following:
| Option | Description |
| PRELOAD | Resource is loaded immediately. |
| LOADONCALL | Resource is loaded when called. This is the default option. |
mem-option
Specifies whether the resource is fixed or movable and whether it is discardable. This parameter is optional. If it is specified, it must be either FIXED or MOVEABLE. An additional value, DISCARDABLE may also be specified. The following list describes the options in more detail:
| Option | Description |
| FIXED | Resource remains at a fixed memory location. |
| MOVEABLE | Resource can be moved if necessary in order to compact memory. This is the default option. |
| DISCARDABLE | Resource can be discarded if no longer needed. |
x
Specifies the x-coordinate of the left side of the dialog box. This value must be an integer in the range 0 through 65,535 or an expression consisting of integers and the addition (+) or subtraction (–) operator. The coordinate is assumed to be in dialog units.
y
Specifies the y-coordinate of the top side of the dialog box. This value must be an integer in the range 0 through 65,535 or an expression consisting of integers and the addition (+) or subtraction (–) operator. The coordinate is assumed to be in dialog units.
width
Specifies the width of the dialog box. This value must be an integer in the range 1 through 65,535 or an expression consisting of integers and the addition (+) or subtraction (–) operator. The width is in 1/4-character units.
height
Specifies the height of the dialog box. This value must be an integer in the range 1 through 65,535 or an expression consisting of integers and the addition (+) or subtraction (–) operator. The height is in 1/8-character units.
style
Specifies the dialog box styles.
The GetDialogBaseUnits function returns the dialog base units in pixels. The exact meaning of the coordinates depends on the style defined by the STYLE option statement. For child-style dialog boxes, the coordinates are relative to the origin of the parent window, unless the dialog box has the style DS_ABSALIGN; in that case, the coordinates are relative to the origin of the display screen.
Do not use the WS_CHILD style with a modal dialog box. The DialogBox function always disables the parent/owner of the newly created dialog box. When a parent window is disabled, its child windows are implicitly disabled. Since the parent window of the child-style dialog box is disabled, the child-style dialog box is too.
If a dialog box has the DS_ABSALIGN style, the dialog coordinates for its upper-left corner are relative to the screen origin instead of to the upper-left corner of the parent window. You would typically use this style when you wanted the dialog box to start in a specific part of the display no matter where the parent window may be on the screen.
The name DIALOG can also be used as the class-name parameter to the CreateWindow function to create a window with dialog box attributes.
The following demonstrates the usage of the DIALOG statement:
#include <windows.h>
ErrorDialog DIALOG 10, 10, 300, 110
STYLE WS_POPUP|WS_BORDER
CAPTION "Error!"
BEGIN
CTEXT "Select One:", 1, 10, 10, 280, 12
PUSHBUTTON "&Retry", 2, 75, 30, 60, 12
PUSHBUTTON "&Abort", 3, 75, 50, 60, 12
PUSHBUTTON "&Ignore", 4, 75, 80, 60, 12
END