Looking for radial popup menu component for Delphi

15
votes

Radial menus have started appearing in several places. I'm curious whether anyone has seen or is working on a radial menu component for Delphi? We have a concept of what we'd like, shown in the animated gif at http://jmrsoftware.delaneyjoi.com/wheel.gif. (It takes about 10 seconds for the menu animation to start.)

alt text http://jmrsoftware.delaneyjoi.com/wheel.gif

Does anyone know of a component for Delphi that has similar functionality?

Thanks

1
delphiuser-interfacemenucomponentsvcl
If this control can really make toast, as the demo shows, I will be really impressed. - Warren P
It seems like the sort of thing that someone somewhere holds a patent on and is just waiting for someone to take to court over. I seem to recall very, very early releases of MacOS X (as in "Rhapsody" days) using something like this - or maybe that was just the rumormill, I don't quite recall. I've not seen anything pre-built for Delphi that does it, in any event. - J...
1) This interface is currently used in the dolphin browser (not the HD variation) available on android phones ![alt text][1] 2) It is also used, in a more complex manner in this CAD program shown here youtube.com/watch?v=uX2-8Dz0Cfw 3) being (or was) developed as an OS UI by a company called Emblaze Mobile, shown here engadget.com/2009/11/24/… [1]: 1.bp.blogspot.com/_bbZoRtK3YH8/S16BktaepBI/AAAAAAAAA68/… - Jon Robertson

1 Answers

1
votes

Radial or "pie" menus are underrated but are praised in HCI circles for being easy to use in a precise fashion. People find it easier to remember the path to an item on a radial menu that on a traditional linear-style menu, where the cursor needs to stay within a precise area to prevent a whole cascade of submenus from disappearing.

I've not seen a Delphi component that does it, but having coded them before in Delphi I'd recommend a package like Graphics32, perhaps deriving your pie menu from a paint box or image control that covers the entire form with a transparent overlay, and then renders/animates pie segments on top of that.