// Copyright (C) 2016 The Qt Company Ltd. // SPDX-License-Identifier: LicenseRef-Qt-Commercial OR GFDL-1.3-no-invariants-only /*! \page qmlfirststeps.html \title First Steps with QML \brief Basic QML application development examples \section1 Creating a QML Document A QML document defines a hierarchy of objects with a highly-readable, structured layout. Every QML document consists of two parts: an imports section and an object declaration section. The types and functionality most common to user interfaces are provided in the \c{QtQuick} import. \section2 Importing and Using the QtQuick Module To use the \l{Qt Quick} module, a QML document needs to import it. The import syntax looks like this: \qml import QtQuick \endqml The types and functionality that \l{Qt Quick} provides can now be used in the QML document! \section2 Defining an Object Hierarchy The object declaration in a QML document defines what will be displayed in the visual scene. \l{Qt Quick} provides the basic building blocks for all user interfaces, such as the objects for displaying images and text and for handling user input. A simple object declaration might be a colored window with some text centered in it: \qml Window { width: 640 height: 480 visible: true color: "red" Text { anchors.centerIn: parent text: "Hello, World!" } } \endqml This defines an object hierarchy with a root \l Window object which has a child \l Text object. The \c parent of the \l Text object is automatically set to the \l Window, and similarly, the \l Text object is added to the \c children property of the \l Window object, by QML. \section2 Putting it All Together The \l Window and \l Text types used in the above example are both provided by the \c{QtQuick} import. Putting the import and object declaration together, we get a complete QML document: \qml import QtQuick Window { width: 640 height: 480 visible: true color: "red" Text { anchors.centerIn: parent text: "Hello, World!" } } \endqml If we save that document as "HelloWorld.qml", we can load and display it. \section1 Creating and Running QML Projects To display the graphical scene defined by the QML document, it may be loaded with \l{\QC Documentation}{\QC}. To create a new QML project in \QC: \list 1 \li Select \uicontrol{File} > \uicontrol{New Project} > \uicontrol{Qt Quick Application} from within \QC. \li Enter a name for your project and select a location to save it. \li Select the appropriate Qt version and optionally configure version control settings for the project. \li Review the summary of your project settings and continue to complete the project build. \endlist When finished, \QC will generate the necessary files and open the project for development. Pressing the green \gui{Run} button runs the application. You should see the text \gui{Hello, World!} in the center of a red rectangle. For more information about creating and running projects in \QC, visit the following pages: \list \li \l{\QC: Create Qt Quick Applications} \li \l{\QC: Tutorial: Build and run} \endlist \section1 Creating QML Applications with Controls While Qt Quick provides basic graphical elements, \l{Qt Quick Controls} provides ready-made QML types for use within an application. Inserting the \l[QtQuickControls2]{ApplicationWindow} type is a good starting point for creating applications. An application UI has this basic layout: \image applicationwindow.png Within each area, different \e controls may be added and connected to form an application. For example, the following snippet is a basic application that demonstrates the use of available space: \qml //import related modules import QtQuick import QtQuick.Controls //window containing the application ApplicationWindow { width: 640 height: 480 visible: true //title of the application title: qsTr("Hello World") //menu containing two menu items header: MenuBar { Menu { title: qsTr("&File") Action { text: qsTr("&Open...") onTriggered: console.log("Open action triggered") } MenuSeparator { } Action { text: qsTr("&Exit") onTriggered: Qt.quit() } } } //Content Area //a button in the middle of the content area Button { text: qsTr("Hello World") anchors.horizontalCenter: parent.horizontalCenter anchors.verticalCenter: parent.verticalCenter } } \endqml The application has two menu items and a button in the middle. Clicking on the \uicontrol Exit menu item closes the application. There are also different navigation methods and different controls such as buttons and sliders. The following examples are available from \QC and demonstrate different controls and layouts. \list \li \l{Qt Quick Layouts - Basic Example}{Basic Layouts} \li \l{Qt Quick Controls - Gallery} \endlist Feel free to copy and paste the snippets onto this simple Hello World application to see how QML works. \section1 Handling User Input One of the great advantages of using QML to define a user interface is that it allows the user interface designer to define how the application should react to events with simple JavaScript expressions. In QML, we refer to those events as \l{Signal and Handler Event System}{signals} and these signals are handled by \l{qml-signals-and-handlers}{signal handlers}. For example, consider the following example: \qml import QtQuick Window { id: root width: 200 height: 100 color: isRed ? "red" : "blue" visible: true property bool isRed: true // Track the color state Text { anchors.centerIn: parent text: "Hello, World!" } TapHandler { onTapped: root.isRed = !root.isRed // Toggle state } } \endqml This example can be saved as "ClickableHelloWorld.qml" and run with \c qml, the \l{qml_runtime_tool}{QML Runtime Tool}. Whenever the user clicks anywhere in the window, the rectangle will change from red to blue. Tapping again will change it back to red. \note \l TapHandler also emits the tapped signal for touch events, so this code will also work on a mobile device. Keyboard user input can be similarly handled with a simple expression: \qml import QtQuick Window { id: root width: 200 height: 100 color: "red" visible: true Text { id: myText anchors.centerIn: parent text: toggle ? "Hello, World!" : "Goodbye, World!" focus: true property bool toggle: true Keys.onReturnPressed: (event)=>{ myText.toggle = !myText.toggle; event.accepted = true; } } } \endqml Now, each time you press the Enter key, the text will alternate between "Hello, World" and "Goodbye, World". \section1 Property Bindings Objects and their properties form the basis of a graphical interface defined in a QML document. The QML language allows properties to be bound to each other in various ways, enabling highly dynamic user interfaces. In the following example, the geometry of each child \l Rectangle is bound to that of the parent \l Window. If the geometry of the parent \l Window object were to change, the geometry of each child \l Rectangle would automatically update due to the property bindings. \qml import QtQuick Window { id: root width: 200 height: 100 color: "red" visible: true Rectangle { width: root.width / 2 height: root.height color: "blue" } Rectangle { width: root.width / 2 height: root.height x: root.width / 2 color: "green" } } \endqml \section1 Animations Properties can also be dynamically updated via animations. The \c QtQuick import provides various animation types which can be used to animate changes to a property's value. In the following example, a property is animated which then gets displayed in a \l Text area: \qml import QtQuick Window { id: root width: 200 height: 100 color: "red" visible: true property int animatedValue SequentialAnimation on animatedValue { loops: Animation.Infinite PropertyAnimation { to: 150 duration: 1000 } PropertyAnimation { to: 0 duration: 1000 } } Text { anchors.centerIn: parent text: root.animatedValue } } \endqml The value being displayed will vary from 0 to 150 periodically. \section1 Defining Custom QML Types for Re-use One of the most important concepts in QML is that of type re-use. An application will probably have multiple visual types which are all similar (for example, multiple push buttons), and QML allows these sort of things to be defined as re-usable, custom types, to minimize code duplication and maximize readability. For example, imagine that the developer defines a new \c MessageLabel type in the \c MessageLabel.qml file: \snippet qmlapp/qml-extending-types/components/MessageLabel.qml 0 That type may now be re-used multiple times in the application, as follows: \table \row \li \snippet qmlapp/qml-extending-types/components/application.qml 0 \li \borderedimage qmlapp/qml-extending-types.gif \endtable In this way, modular user interface types are assembled and reused within an application. See \l {QML Object Attributes} for more details on how to develop your own reusable components. \section1 Where to Go from Here Now that you have seen QML in action, you are ready to take your next step. The follow page will lead you in your journey with QML. \list \li \l{QML Applications} \li \l{Qt Examples and Tutorials} \endlist */