Monday 15 July 2013

Moving to the Browser - what about those OCX controls?

Since announcing Rapide a few weeks ago, we have already had some very interesting discussions with Gen sites who are keen to migrate their Gen Windows GUI client applications to browser and mobile applications.

Rapide has been designed to provide a high level of support for existing Gen client applications, and this includes support for OCX controls for desktop based clients, but it is generally accepted that using ActiveX controls in a browser is not a good idea because they are only properly supported in Internet Explorer.

So, what are the options?

To start with, Rapide already provides native widget support for some of the controls that you may have used an OCX for. Examples include using bitmaps in tables, date and time 'picker' controls, tabs, timers, progress bars and other stylised number controls like sliders, spinners, etc.

We plan to enhance listboxes to support tree views and more sophisticated layouts, and additional controls can be added based on customer requirements.

In addition, we are researching options for adding custom JavaScript based controls into a Rapide UI design.

If you are planning to convert a Windows GUI based application to the web or mobile and have used OCX controls, then we would like to hear from you. Having a good understanding of what controls have been used in Gen GUI applications and typical customer requirements will hep us plan and prioritise our roadmap for extending the range of controls that we offer.

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