wxWidgets Discussion Forum

I am used to using a gui to build the interface of my programs but I start to doubt if it is really very handy.

First of all I am missing a lot of widgets in the codeblocks interface, or am I missing something?

Secondly most examples and tutorials take the 'manual' approach of adding widgets in the program.

I also noticed that the visual designer seems a bit buggy... For instance when I add a simple wxBoxSizer to an empty wxFrame and add a wxPanel to that sizer I can not add any more widgets to the sizer. While when I do it manually in my code it is not a problem.

So how do you think about both approaches? Should I drop the visual designer and go for the 'manual' approach?

There may be a third option: I am not familiar with Code::Blocks (nor wxSmith) but I believe you can use wxFormBuilder with C:B as well, even if it is probably not as integrated as wxSmith.

wxFormBuilder is not perfect but a visual tool is often handy and preferable to doing the form layout by hand. In the end it probably comes down to personal preferences and needs.