Multiple Windows Desktop application

[rufy23]

If i create multiple top-level windows I can't connect them using signals and slots becouse I must save them on different files .ui and in qt designer I can't connect them manually becouse signals and slots are depending on their particolar class.
How can I use the way your are suggest me with qt designer?

[Code_ReaQtor]

try "IPC":http://doc.qt.digia.com/main-snapshot/ipc.html

[tobias.hunger]

IPC is only necessary if the windows are controlled by different processes. I doubt that is what rufy23 wants to do.

rufy23: Of course you can use signals and slots between different UIs. You just can not set them in the designer, but are free to add them from your code later.

[Code_ReaQtor]

bq. hides the current window and shows another window

Sorry, did I mistakenly interpreted this as independent windows? My bad.

This "link":http://doc.qt.digia.com/qt/tools-customtypesending.html might be a little different but the theory is the same, I think.

[rufy23]

Thank you, I understand what you say. Now I ask another help: is there an easier and faster way to do this? I have to do an application with a lot of windows linked together and I think it is not so easy to do without the qt designer, also becouse I always used it to do everything.

[rufy23]

For example is there a way to melt a qmainwindow with a qstackedwidget in the designer? I think it could resolve my problem, isn't it?

[andre]

No, it is not. Qt Designer is a great tool for designing widgets, but it is not a complete visual programming environment. You still need to write code. If you try to force everything into one single designer file, you're going to end up with a single huge class. That is not very maintainable or reusable.

[rufy23]

Ok, but I can't understand just one thing. If I create a lot of classes, one for each window for example, how can I connect them in this way? I have some difficulties to create signals which are referred to different objects.
For Example I create a class for the first window and another class for the second. I have for each of the both three files (first window has: ui_firstwindow.h firstwindow.h firstwindow.cpp and the same thing for the second window). In first window there is a pushbutton called next which hides first window and shows second window. In second window there is a pushbutton called previous which hides second window and shows first window. For the next button where do I have to put the connect?I have this problem becouse I can't understand how to connect different objects.

[ChrisW67]

Define an exposed signal in your window class:
@
class Window1: public QWidget
{
...
signals:
void showOtherWindow();
};
@

Connect the push button to your own hide() slot and also emit the signal:
@
Window1::Window1(QWidget *p = 0):
QWidget(p), ui(new Ui::Window1)
{
ui->setupUi(this);
connect(ui->pushButton, SIGNAL(clicked()), SLOT(hide()));
connect(ui->pushButton, SIGNAL(clicked()), SIGNAL(showOtherWindow()));
}
@
You can connect a signal to another signal and arrival of the first will trigger emit on the second. Window2 looks the same. In your main:
@
int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
QApplication app(argc, argv);

Window1 w1;
Window2 w2;

QObject::connect(&w1, SIGNAL(showOtherWindow()), &w2, SLOT(show()));
QObject::connect(&w2, SIGNAL(showOtherWindow()), &w1, SLOT(show()));
w1.show();  // only show one of them to start

return app.exec();

}
@

[rufy23]

Thank you very much, it is very usefull. Just another little thing, not very important. If I build the window with the designer, can I copy the code generated and use it in my application, or is there something more or something less?

[andre]

Don't copy the generated code. Include it instead and use it that way.