Sentry 3.0 Documentation Last Revised: April 2011 Copyright © 1998-2011 Fresh Software LLC

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Custom Layouts (Sentry Layout Format)

Sentry Layout Format (SLF)

Representing Fonts      Representing Colors     Representing Date/Time Formats

 

SLF Screen Elements

   Normal Elements:   Image  Label   Bevel   GroupBox
 

   Special Elements:  ExitUsernameBox  ExitPasswordBox ExitOKButton ExitOKButton2  ChangePasswordButton ChangePasswordButton2

                                LeaveMessageButton  LeaveMessageButton2  MessageCountLabel AwayMessageLabel ClockLabel ClockLabel2   AnalogClock  SentryUptimeLabel  SystemUptimeLabel

A .SLF file takes on the same text formatting as an INI file:

      [SectionName]

      Name=value

      name=value

      ;name=value (this is commented out and won't be read)

Representing Fonts in SLF

Fonts are represented in SLF as a single line taking this format:

,Font Name,Font Size,Style Attributes,Font Color,Character Set,

Font Name – the name of the font face, such as Arial, Tahoma, Courier, Times New Roman, etc.

Font Size – A number representing the size of the font in “points”

Style Attributes – Indicates whether a font is Bold, Italic, Underline, and/or Strikeout.

Use “b” for bold, “i” for Italics, “u” for Underline, and “s” for strikeout.

For example, to have a bold and italicized style, use “bu”. For no style formatting, do not use any letters.

Font Color – The color of the text iteself.  See TColor.

Character Set – The character set to use. Most likely this value should always be 1 for the system’s default set, but you can override it with these values:

 An example font string to represent 10pt Courier New with black text and a bold style (like this):

font=,Courier New,10,b,clBlack,1, 

 

Note that a Font string must always start with a comma and always end with a comma!

Representing Colors in SLF

SLF uses the Deplhi's TColor format, either a named constant or a 4-byte hex representation:

If you specify TColor as a specific 4-byte hexadecimal number instead of using the constants defined in the Graphics unit, the low three bytes represent RGB color intensities for blue, green, and red, respectively. The value $00FF0000 represents full-intensity, pure blue, $0000FF00 is pure green, and $000000FF is pure red. $00000000 is black and $00FFFFFF is white.

If the highest-order byte is zero ($00), the color obtained is the closest matching color in the system palette. If the highest-order byte is one ($01), the color obtained is the closest matching color in the currently realized palette. If the highest-order byte is two ($02), the value is matched with the nearest color in the logical palette of the current device context.

The following tables lists the color constants from the Graphics unit. The first two columns list the colors that map to the closest matching color in the system palette, while the last two columns list the colors that are defined in the Windows Control panel.

Representing Date/Time Formats

SLF contains a two clock elements that allows you to display the current date and/or time.  The format is up to the user:

In the following table, specifiers are given in lower case. Case is ignored in formats, except for the "am/pm" and "a/p" specifiers.
 

Example:

"h:mm:ss am/pm" would display the date in 12 hour form.

Screen Elements in a SLF file

A SLF file is essentially a list of elements/objects that Sentry should put on the screen.  Sentry starts with items from the top and then moves down... so objects that you want "on top" should be at the bottom of a SLF file.  To add an element/object to the screen layout, enclose on of these items in brackets  :

Layout  -- Holds summary information about the SLF layout file.

Properties:

 

            Title : The title of the SLF layout.

[Layout]

title=Fresh Software Login

Background -- Specifies screen background information. 

Properties:

  Normal SLF Elements

Image -- A picture in Bitmap, GIF, JPEG, or Metafile format. Animated GIFs are supported.

An image object lets you put your favorite graphics, logo, etc into a Sentry layout. All image objects in the SLF file must start with "image" (for example, [Image1] , [Image2]...)

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the field, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the field, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the text field should be.
Height	How tall the text field should be.
Filename	The full path to the image file.  If there is only a filename and no folder path is specified, Sentry will look for the file in the same folder that the SLF file is in. Filename can be .BMP, .GIF, .JPG, .EMF, .WMF
AutoSize	When set to 0, the image will have the dimensions specified by Width, Height.   When set to 1, the image object will be set automatically (default: 1)
Transparent	When set to "1" , the image will be drawn transparently.  The transparent color will be set to the color of the bottom-left pixel.

Label  -- A small piece of text. 

All label objects in the SLF must start with "label" (for example, [Label1], [Label2])

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the label, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the label, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the label should be.
Height	How tall the label should be.
Caption	The text to display
Backcolor	The background color of the label.
Transparent	When set to 1, the background color will be transparent and reflect the color of the object behind the label (or the SLF background color)
Font	The font used
Autosize	When set to 1, the label will be automatically sized based on the font size and the length of text
Wordwrap	When set to 1, text that can not fit past the "width" property will be wrapped to the next line. Wordwrap can not work with Autosize on.

Bevel  -- A transparent, beveled outline.

All bevel objects in the SLF must start with "bevel" (for example, [Bevel1], [Bevel2])

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the label, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the label, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the label should be.
Height	How tall the label should be.
Raised	When set to 1, the bevel will be raised. When set to 0, the bevel will be lowered. Default: 0
*Shape	The shape the bevel should take. (this property not yet implemented) bsBox The entire client area appears raised or lowered, depending on the value of Style. bsFrame The client area is outlined by a raised or lowered frame. bsTopLine The bevel displays a line at the top of the client area bsBottomLine The bevel displays a line at the bottom of the client area. bsLeftLine The bevel displays a line at the left side of the client area. bsRightLine The bevel displays a line at the right side of the client area. bsSpacer The bevel is an empty space.

 

 

GroupBox  -- Adds a GroupBox to the SLF layout.

All GroupBox objects in the SLF must start with "GroupBox" (for example, [GroupBox1], [GroupBox2])

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the label, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the label, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the label should be.
Height	How tall the label should be.
Caption	Text to display at top of GroupBox
ColorLight	TColor format
ColorShadow	TColor format

  Special SLF Elements

ExitUsernameBox --  A text box to enter the username of who wants to unlock Sentry.  This field should only be used in Multi-User mode.

Properties:

ExitPasswordBox -- A text box used to enter in the password to unlock Sentry.  Can be used alone, or with ExitUsernameBox when Multi-User access is on.

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the field, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the field, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the text field should be.
Height	How tall the text field should be.
Backcolor	The background color of the text field. See TColor.
Font	The font used,
Mask	The password mask, if any , to use. If you want to hide the actual username typed in, specify a single character here such as an asterisk *
Visible	0 for invisible, 1 for visible. By default all controls are visible.

ExitOKButton -- A toolbar-style button used to unlock and exit Sentry after proper authentication information has been entered.

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the field, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the field, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the text field should be.
Height	How tall the text field should be.
Caption	The text on the button, usually "OK"
Font	The font of the caption text
Transparent	set to "1" to make button transparent to the background behind it
Backcolor	The color of the button, if not transparent. See TColor.

ExitOKButton2 -- A Windows style button used to unlock and exit Sentry after proper authentication information has been entered.

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the field, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the field, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the text field should be.
Height	How tall the text field should be.
Caption	The text on the button, usually "OK"
Font	The font of the caption text

ChangePasswordButton -- A toolbar-style button that changes the Sentry password when clicked. (Currently, single-user mode only)

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the field, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the field, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the text field should be.
Height	How tall the text field should be.
Caption	The text on the button, usually "OK"
Font	The font used for the caption text
Transparent	set to "1" to make button transparent to the background behind it: Default : 1
Backcolor	The color of the button if transparent = 0. See TColor.

 

ChangePasswordButton2 -- A Windows style button that changes the Sentry password when clicked. (Currently, single-user mode only)

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the field, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the field, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the text field should be.
Height	How tall the text field should be.
Caption	The text on the button, usually "OK"
Font	The font used for the caption text

 

LeaveMessageButton -- A toolbar-style button that leaves a message on the computer for the owner when clicked.

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the field, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the field, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the text field should be.
Height	How tall the text field should be.
Caption	The text on the button, usually "Leave a Message"
Font	The font for the button captoin
Transparent	set to "1" to make button transparent to the background behind it. Default: 1
Backcolor	The color of the button, if transparent = 0. See TColor.

 

LeaveMessageButton2 -- A Windows style button that leaves a message on the computer for the owner when clicked.

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the field, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the field, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the text field should be.
Height	How tall the text field should be.
Caption	The text on the button, usually "Leave a Message"
Font	The font for the button captoin

MessageCountLabel  -- A piece of text displaying how many messages have been left since Sentry started.  Sentry will automatically update the text of this label as messages are left.  If there is one or more messages present, clicking the label will read messages (if authorized).

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the label, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the label, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the label should be.
Height	How tall the label should be.
Caption	The initial text, by default "0 Messages".
Backcolor	The background color of the label.
Transparent	When set to 1, the background color will be transparent and reflect the color of the object behind the label (or the SLF background color)
Font	The font used
Autosize	When set to 1, the label will be automatically sized based on the font size and the length of text
Wordwrap	When set to 1, text that can not fit past the "width" property will be wrapped to the next line. Wordwrap can not work with Autosize on.

AwayMessageLabel  -- A piece of text displaying your away message. 

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the label, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the label, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the label should be.
Height	How tall the label should be.
Caption	The caption property is not used because Sentry will set the away message internally.
Backcolor	The background color of the label.
Transparent	When set to 1, the background color will be transparent and reflect the color of the object behind the label (or the SLF background color)
Font	The font used
Autosize	When set to 1, the label will be automatically sized based on the font size and the length of text
Wordwrap	When set to 1, text that can not fit past the "width" property will be wrapped to the next line. Wordwrap can not work with Autosize on.

ClockLabel  -- A piece of text displaying either the current time, current date, or both.

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the label, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the label, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the label should be.
Height	How tall the label should be.
Format	A date-time format string that specifies how the current date/time should be formatted.
Caption	The caption property is not used because Sentry will set the date/time internally.
Backcolor	The background color of the label.
Transparent	When set to 1, the background color will be transparent and reflect the color of the object behind the label (or the SLF background color)
Font	The font used
Autosize	When set to 1, the label will be automatically sized based on the font size and the length of text
Wordwrap	When set to 1, text that can not fit past the "width" property will be wrapped to the next line. Wordwrap can not work with Autosize on.

ClockLabel2  -- Has the same functionality as ClockLabel, so you could display the current date and current time separately, in different styles.

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the label, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the label, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the label should be.
Height	How tall the label should be.
Format	A date-time format string that specifies how the current date/time should be formatted.
Caption	The caption property is not used because Sentry will set the date/time internally.
Backcolor	The background color of the label.
Transparent	When set to 1, the background color will be transparent and reflect the color of the object behind the label (or the SLF background color)
Font	The font used
Autosize	When set to 1, the label will be automatically sized based on the font size and the length of text
Wordwrap	When set to 1, text that can not fit past the "width" property will be wrapped to the next line. Wordwrap can not work with Autosize on.

 

AnalogClock  -- Displays an analog clock.

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the label, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the label, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the label should be.
Height	How tall the label should be.
Color	The background color of the clock. By default, the same as the layout background color.
Dotscolor	The color of the dots marking 5-minute intervals around the clock.
Showseconds	When 1, a second hand is present. When 0, only the hour and minute hands are visible.  Default: 1

SentryUptimeLabel  -- A piece of text displaying how long Sentry has been running.

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the label, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the label, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the label should be.
Height	How tall the label should be.
Caption	The caption property is not used because Sentry will display the uptime internally
Backcolor	The background color of the label.
Transparent	When set to 1, the background color will be transparent and reflect the color of the object behind the label (or the SLF background color)
Font	The font used
Autosize	When set to 1, the label will be automatically sized based on the font size and the length of text
Wordwrap	When set to 1, text that can not fit past the "width" property will be wrapped to the next line. Wordwrap can not work with Autosize on.

SystemUptimeLabel  -- A piece of text displaying how long Windows has been running.

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the label, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the label, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the label should be.
Height	How tall the label should be.
Caption	The caption property is not used because Sentry will display the uptime internally
Backcolor	The background color of the label.
Transparent	When set to 1, the background color will be transparent and reflect the color of the object behind the label (or the SLF background color)
Font	The font used
Autosize	When set to 1, the label will be automatically sized based on the font size and the length of text
Wordwrap	When set to 1, text that can not fit past the "width" property will be wrapped to the next line. Wordwrap can not work with Autosize on.

LeaveAMessageLabel  -- A piece of that a message on the computer for the owner when clicked.  (not yet implemented)

Properties:

Left	The “X” position of the label, in pixels from the left edge of the screen. Bigger values = farther right.
Top	The “Y” position of the label, in pixels from the top of the screen.  Bigger values = farther down.
Width	How wide the label should be.
Height	How tall the label should be.
Caption	The caption property is not used because Sentry will display the uptime internally
Backcolor	The background color of the label.
Transparent	When set to 1, the background color will be transparent and reflect the color of the object behind the label (or the SLF background color)
Font	The font used
Autosize	When set to 1, the label will be automatically sized based on the font size and the length of text
Wordwrap	When set to 1, text that can not fit past the "width" property will be wrapped to the next line. Wordwrap can not work with Autosize on.