About this chapter |
This chapter gives detailed information on how to use the FlexPendant SDK.
These topics are covered:
How to take advantage of some system features that support the use of customized screens.
How to utilize the integrated Visual Studio wizard to set up a FlexPendant project.
How to add the FlexPendant SDK GUI controls to the Visual Studio Toolbox.
How to build the user interface using the integrated design support.
How to program FlexPendant SDK GUI controls.
How to launch other applications from your application.
How to implement controller functionality using.
The design support in Visual Studio enables you to visually lay out the application, reducing the need to write code. This speeds up development and gives you a more precise control of the appearance of your FlexPendant screens.
Using the FlexPendant SDK it is possible to launch several of the standard FlexPendant applications from your application, which is often a very handy alternative to handling complicated procedures on your own, such as reading and writing RAPID data for example.
The Controller API is at the core of the FlexPendant SDK. It is used to access the robot controller, which the FlexPendant is attached to. First there is information about how this public API is organized. Then each domain of Controller API is dealt with separately. There are code samples in C# and VB throughout the chapter.