New features available in version 8

• New user interface for “design time” editing: 3D Button Visual Editor is now fully integrated.
• Improved the rendering speed.
• Reduced the amount of memory required by the button caching system.
• Final application .exe files are now smaller in size.
• Added transparent GIF and PNG formats for button image export.
• Added support for independent cells containing text and pictures.
• Added support for lighting directions.
• Added support for alpha channel transparency.
• Added the possibility to perform custom graphic rendering over the control surface.
• The control now behaves like a real control container
• Added the following 3D gradient algorithms
• COLOR_RENDER_LINEAR_MATCH
• COLOR_RENDER_HYPER_3D
• COLOR_RENDER_2_COLORS
• Added the following shapes
• SHAPE_TRIANGLE
• SHAPE_TRAPEZE
• SHAPE_ARROW
• SHAPE_HONEYCOMB_VERT
• SHAPE_HONEYCOMB_HORIZ
• SHAPE_HONEYCOMB_45
• SHAPE_HONEYCOMB_135
• SHAPE_DIAMOND
• SHAPE_KEYHOLE,
• SHAPE_4LEAFCLOVER_V
• SHAPE_4LEAFCLOVER_D
• SHAPE_ALFALFA

New properties:

• LightDirection
• SpotlightColor
• SpotlightVisible
• PictureTranspFactor
• ShapeHeadFactor
• ShapeLineFactor
• SurfaceTransparentFactor
• SurfaceTransparentZone
• RectHardEdges
• HollowFrame
• CellsManager
• SwapEffectsColors

New methods:

• GetButtonCacheSize
• EnableButtonCache
• RefreshTransparentControl
• SetTotalTransparentFactor
• GetVersion
• GetEdition
• SetCustomPaintFunction

New events:

• CellClick
• PaintDone

New COM objects :

• CellsManager with the following characteristics:
• Properties
• Visible
• Text
• TextDescriptor
• TextHorzAlign
• TextVertAlign
• PictureHorzAlign
• PictureVertAlign
• BackTranspFactor
• BackColor
• BorderColor
• BorderWidth
• PictureNormal
• PictureDisabled
• PictureTranspFactor

• Methods
• AddCell
• DeleteCell
• GetCount
• FindCell
• GetLogFont
• SetLogFont
• GetCellUniqueID
• GetCellPos
• SetCellPos
• GetCellSize
• SetCellSize
• SetPictureFromHandle

New features available in version 7

• New user interface for “design time” editing
• Improved the rendering speed.
• Requires less time, memory and system resources when using sets of identical buttons.
• Final application .exe size smaller than before when using JPG pictures.
• UNICODE compliant.
• Added GIF format for button image export.
• Added ICO and TIF formats support for pictures loading.
• Added antialiasing for surface and texts rendering .
• Added double-space text rendering option.
• Texts can be rendered in transparency (through alpha channel) .
• Texts can have a surrounding border with variable color and an underlying color shadow .
• Texts can have the following new effects:
  • EFFECT_HALO
  • EFFECT_RAISEDHALO
  • EFFECT_SUNKENHALO
  • EFFECT_FLOATINGHALO
• Texts can be rotated of any angle between –90° and +90°.
• Custom shaped buttons can now use also color masks in format BMP, PNG or GIF.
• New object oriented COM interfaces for accessing set of properties (texts descriptors, textures and surface colors).
• Custom shaped buttons support all of the special effects available for geometric buttons .
• Improved the smoothing of the button surface.
• Added a new geometric shape in place of the SHAPE_TEXT option:
  • SHAPE_GEM
• Added the possibility to orient the SHAPE_ROUNDRECT and SHAPE_GEM shapes through the following directions :
  • DIR_NONE
  • DIR_WEST
  • DIR_NORTH
  • DIR_EAST
  • DIR_SOUTH
  • DIR_NW
  • DIR_NE
  • DIR_SE
  • DIR_SW
• Added the following surface types:
  • SURFACE_SUNKEN
  • SURFACE_PLASTIC
  • SURFACE_LUCID
  • SURFACE_NEON
  • SURFACE_AQUA
  • SURFACE_GEL
  • SURFACE_PLASTIC_SH
  • SURFACE_NEON_SH
  • SURFACE_AQUA_SH
• Added a new special effect for the button surface:
  • SPECIAL_EFFECT_SUNKEN_SIMPLE
• Added the following new styles:
  • STYLE_FRAME
  • STYLE_PICTURE
  • STYLE_CHECKBOX_STD
  • STYLE_RADIOBUTTON_STD
  • STYLE_LABEL  
• Added the following 3D gradient types for the button surface color rendering:
  • COLOR_GRADIENT_CLASSIC
  • COLOR_GRADIENT_HORIZONTAL
  • COLOR_GRADIENT_DIAGONAL
  • COLOR_GRADIENT_VERTICAL
• Improved the rendering of pictures over the button surface; picture can be tiled or stretched.
• Added the multiline support for texts (can add Carriage Returns between lines).
• Improved the animations management with a set of new methods.

New properties:

• Orientation
• ColorSurfaceNormal
• ColorSurfaceMO
• ColorSurfaceInternal
• ColorSurfaceFocus
• ColorSurfaceDisabled
• ColorSurfacePressed
• TextDescrCaption
• TextDescrLT
• TextDescrCT
• TextDescrRT
• TextDescrLM
• TextDescrRM
• TextDescrLB
• TextDescrCB
• TextDescrRB
• Texture            
• FrameEffect
• OptionGroupDelimiter
• PictureVisible
• TextCaptionAlignment
• SpotlightOffsetX
• SpotlightOffsetY
• SpotlightResizeWidth
• SpotlightResizeHeight
• CornerFactor

New methods:

• GetBackPicture
• SetBackPicture
• SetBackPictureVisible
• AnimGetFramesRate
• AnimSetFramesRate
• AnimGetFramesCount
• AnimShowFrame
• AnimPause
• AnimResume
• AnimInvertPlay

New events:

• ChangedSize