The MFC property sheet adds new behaviors to the classic property sheet in the ways the tabs display or their contents are accessed.

1. Start Microsoft Visual Studio
2. To create a new application, on the main menu, click File -> New Project...
3. In the left list, click Visual C++. In the right list, click MFC Application
4. Change the Name to LifePlanning
5. Click OK
6. In the first page of the MFC Application Wizard, read the text and click Next
7. In the second page of the wizard, click Dialog Based
8. Click Next
9. In the third page, click Next
10. In the fourth page of the wizard, click Next
11. In the fifth page of the wizard, click Finish
12. On the dialog box, click the TODO line and press Delete

The MFC property sheet and its property page(s) are primarily created like the classic property sheet. In fact, a property page is created as a dialog box with the following characteristics:

• Border: Thin
• Caption: Set the string you want to display on the tab (or button)
• Disabled: True
• Style: Child
• Title Bar: True

An MFC property page is based on a class named CMFCPropertyPage that is derived from CPropertyPage. Therefore, to create an MFC property page:

1. Create a dialog box resource with the characteristics of a property page
2. Add a class to the dialog box. The class must be derived from CMFCPropertyPage
3. Optionally add the functionalities (controls, events, etc) you want the property page to execute

1. On the main menu, click Project -> Class Wizard...
2. Click Add Class
3. Set the Class Name to CComputerScience
4. Set the Base Class to CMFCPropertyPage
    
   
5. Click Finish
6. Click Add Class
7. Set the Class Name to CInformationTechnology
8. Set the Base Class to CMFCPropertyPage
9. Click Finish
10. Click Add Class
11. Set the Class Name to CHistory
12. Set the Base Class to CMFCPropertyPage
13. Click Finish
14. Click Add Class
15. Set the Class Name to CCulinaryServices
16. Set the Base Class to CMFCPropertyPage
17. Click Finish
18. Click Add Class
19. Set the Class Name to CCareers
20. Set the Base Class to CMFCPropertyPage
21. Click Finish
22. Click OK
23. In the Resource View, right-click LifePlanning and click Add Resource...
24. In the Add Resource dialog box, expand the Dialog node
25. Click IDD_PROPPAGE_LARGE
26. Click New
27. In the Properties window, change the following characteristics:
    Caption: Computer Science
    ID: IDD_COMPUTERSCIENCE
28. On the Toolbox click Button and click the dialog box
29. Access the ComputerScience.h file and change it as follows:

    #pragma once
    
    // CComputerScience
    
    class CComputerScience : public CMFCPropertyPage
    {
    	DECLARE_DYNAMIC(CComputerScience)
    
    // Dialog Data
    	enum { IDD = IDD_COMPUTERSCIENCE };
    
    public:
    	CComputerScience();
    	virtual ~CComputerScience();
    
    protected:
    	DECLARE_MESSAGE_MAP()
    };

30. In the Resource View, right-click LifePlanning and click Add Resource...
31. In the Add Resource dialog box, expand the Dialog node
32. Expand Dialog and click IDD_PROPPAGE_LARGE
33. Click New
34. In the Properties window, change the following characteristics:
    Caption: Information Technology
    ID: IDD_INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY
35. On the Toolbox click Check Box and click the dialog box
36. Access the InformationTechnology.h file and change it as follows:

    #pragma once
    
    // CInformationTechnology
    
    class CInformationTechnology : public CMFCPropertyPage
    {
    	DECLARE_DYNAMIC(CInformationTechnology)
    
    // Dialog Data
    	enum { IDD = IDD_INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY };
    
    public:
    	CInformationTechnology();
    	virtual ~CInformationTechnology();
    
    protected:
    	DECLARE_MESSAGE_MAP()
    };

37. In the Resource View, right-click LifePlanning.rc and click Add Resource...
38. In the Add Resource dialog box, expand the Dialog node
39. Expand Dialog and double-click IDD_PROPPAGE_SMALL
40. In the Properties window, change the following characteristics:
    Caption: History
    ID: IDD_HISTORY
41. On the Toolbox click Edit Control and click the dialog box
42. Access the History.h file and change it as follows:

    #pragma once
    
    // CHistory
    
    class CHistory : public CMFCPropertyPage
    {
    	DECLARE_DYNAMIC(CHistory)
    
    // Dialog Data
    	enum { IDD = IDD_HISTORY };
    
    public:
    	CHistory();
    	virtual ~CHistory();
    
    protected:
    	DECLARE_MESSAGE_MAP()
    };

43. In the Resource View, right-click LifePlanning and click Add Resource...
44. In the Add Resource dialog box, expand the Dialog node
45. Expand Dialog and double-click IDD_PROPPAGE_MEDIUM
46. In the Properties window, change the following characteristics:
    Caption: Culinary Services
    ID: IDD_CULINARYSERVICES
47. On the Toolbox click Picture Control and click the dialog box
48. Access the CulinaryServices.h file and change it as follows:

    #pragma once
    
    // CCulinaryServices
    
    class CCulinaryServices : public CMFCPropertyPage
    {
    	DECLARE_DYNAMIC(CCulinaryServices)
    
    // Dialog Data
    	enum { IDD = IDD_CULINARYSERVICES };
    
    public:
    	CCulinaryServices();
    	virtual ~CCulinaryServices();
    
    protected:
    	DECLARE_MESSAGE_MAP()
    };

49. In the Resource View, right-click LifePlanning and click Add Resource...
50. In the Add Resource dialog box, expand the Dialog node
51. Expand Dialog and double-click IDD_PROPPAGE_LARGE
52. In the Properties window, change the following characteristics:
    Caption: Careers
    ID: IDD_CAREERS
53. On the Toolbox click Static Text and click the dialog box
54. Access the Careers.h file and change it as follows:

    #pragma once
    
    // CCareers
    
    class CCareers : public CMFCPropertyPage
    {
    	DECLARE_DYNAMIC(CCareers)
    
    // Dialog Data
    	enum { IDD = IDD_CAREERS };
    
    public:
    	CCareers();
    	virtual ~CCareers();
    
    protected:
    	DECLARE_MESSAGE_MAP()
    };

An MFC property sheet is primarily a normal property sheet. In fact, the class used for it is named CMFCPropertySheet and it is directly derived from CPropertySheet. Therefore, to create an MFC property sheet, create an MFC class based on CMFCPropertySheet.

To specify the pages of the property sheet, in the constructor of your property sheet class or just before displaying the property sheet, call the CPropertySheet::AddPage() method for each property page.

To display the property sheet, call the CDialog::DoModal() member function it inherits from its parent.

1. On the main menu, click Project -> Class Wizard...
2. Click Add Class
3. Set the Class Name to CLifePlanningSheet
4. Set the Base Class to CMFCPropertySheet
5. Click Finish
6. Click OK

The MFC property page gets most of its functionality from its parent: the Win32's property page that is implemented through the CPropertyPage. Still, the CMFCPropertyPage has its own constructor that is different from its parent class. The constructor comes in two versions whose syntaxes are:

CMFCPropertyPage(UINT nIDTemplate, UINT nIDCaption=0);
CMFCPropertyPage(LPCTSTR lpszTemplateName, UINT nIDCaption=0);

The first argument, which is also the only one required, is either the resource ID of the dialog box or the name of the template that holds the characteristics of the dialog box template. The second argument, which is optional, is the string ID of the caption.

1. Access the ComputerScience.cpp file and change the constructor as follows:

   // ComputerScience.cpp : implementation file
   //
   
   #include "stdafx.h"
   #include "LifePlanning.h"
   #include "ComputerScience.h"
   
   // CComputerScience
   
   IMPLEMENT_DYNAMIC(CComputerScience, CMFCPropertyPage)
   
   CComputerScience::CComputerScience()
   	: CMFCPropertyPage(CComputerScience::IDD)
   {
   
   }
   
   CComputerScience::~CComputerScience()
   {
   }
   
   BEGIN_MESSAGE_MAP(CComputerScience, CMFCPropertyPage)
   END_MESSAGE_MAP()
   
   // CComputerScience message handlers

2. Access the InformationTechnology.cpp file and change the constructor as follows:

   IMPLEMENT_DYNAMIC(CInformationTechnology, CMFCPropertyPage)
   
   CInformationTechnology::CInformationTechnology()
   	: CMFCPropertyPage(CInformationTechnology::IDD)
   {
   
   }

3. Access the History.cpp file and change the constructor as follows:

   CHistory::CHistory()
   	: CMFCPropertyPage(CHistory::IDD)
   {
   
   }

4. Access the CulinaryServices.cpp file and change the constructor as follows:

   CCulinaryServices::CCulinaryServices()
   	: CMFCPropertyPage(CCulinaryServices::IDD)
   {
   
   }

5. Access the Careers.h file and change it as follows:

   CCareers::CCareers()
   	: CMFCPropertyPage(CCareers::IDD)
   {
   
   }

The most fundamental difference between a classic property sheet and an MFC property sheet is on how the latter displays its property pages. To allow the options, the CMFCPropertySheet class is equipped with the SetLook() member function. Its syntax is:

void SetLook(PropSheetLook look, int nNavControlWidth = 100);

Only the first argument is required and it specifies how the property pages should be accessed. To set the option, call the CMFCPropertySheet enumeration and access the desired member (next sections). The second argument is optional and it doesn't apply to all options (we will come back to it in the next sections).

• Access the LifePlanningSheet.h file and change it as follows:

  #pragma once
  
  #include "ComputerScience.h"
  #include "InformationTechnology.h"
  #include "History.h"
  #include "CulinaryServices.h"
  #include "Careers.h"
  
  // CLifePlanningSheet
  
  class CLifePlanningSheet : public CMFCPropertySheet
  {
      DECLARE_DYNAMIC(CLifePlanningSheet)
  
  public:
      CLifePlanningSheet();
      virtual ~CLifePlanningSheet();
  
  private:
      CComputerScience		pgeComputerScience;
      CInformationTechnology	pgeInformationTechnology;
      CHistory			pgeHistory;
      CCulinaryServices		pgeCulinaryServices;
      CCareers			pgeCareers;
  
  protected:
      DECLARE_MESSAGE_MAP()
  };

 As mentioned already, an MFC property is primarily a Win32 property sheet. It you just want to create a normal property sheet, before it can display, simply call its AddPage() member function and add the desired property pages. Here are examples:

CExerciseSheet::CExerciseSheet()
{
    AddPage(&pgeFirst);
    AddPage(&pgeSecond);
    AddPage(&pgeThird);
}

In the same way, to create the classic property sheet, call the CMFCPropertySheet::SetLook() member function and specofy the PropSheetLook_Tabs option. Here are examples:

CExerciseSheet::CExerciseSheet()
{
    AddPage(&pgeFirst);
    AddPage(&pgeSecond);
    AddPage(&pgeThird);
    
    SetLook(CMFCPropertySheet::PropSheetLook_Tabs); 
}

The result would be the same.

1. Access the LifePlanningSheet.cpp file and change it as follows:

   CLifePlanningSheet::CLifePlanningSheet()
   {
       AddPage(&pgeComputerScience);
       AddPage(&pgeInformationTechnology);
       SetLook(CMFCPropertySheet::PropSheetLook_Tabs);
   }

2. Display the first dialog box and add a button to it
3. Using the Properties window, change its characteristics as follows:
   Caption: Plan Your Life...
   ID: IDC_PLAN_YOUR_LIFE
4. Double-click the button
5. Change the file as follows:

   // LifePlanningDlg.cpp : implementation file
   //
   
   #include "stdafx.h"
   #include "LifePlanning.h"
   #include "LifePlanningDlg.h"
   #include "afxdialogex.h"
   #include "LifePlanningSheet.h"
   
   #ifdef _DEBUG
   #define new DEBUG_NEW
   #endif
   
   // CLifePlanningDlg dialog
   
   . . . No Change
   
   void CLifePlanningDlg::OnBnClickedPlanYourLife()
   {
       // TODO: Add your control notification handler code here
       CLifePlanningSheet dlgLifePlanning;
   
       dlgLifePlanning.SetTitle(L"Career Planning and Life Achievement");
       dlgLifePlanning.DoModal();
   }

6. To execute, press F5
7. Click the Plan Your Life...
    
   
8. Close the property sheet
9. Close the dialog box and return to your programming environment

To make the tabs more appealling, you can make them look like those of the Microsoft OneNote application. To get this option, call the SetLook() member function and apply the PropSheetLook_OneNoteTabs option.

1. Access the LifePlanningSheet.cpp file and change it as follows:

   CLifePlanningSheet::CLifePlanningSheet()
   {
       // 1. Classic property sheet
   /*  AddPage(&pgeComputerScience);
       AddPage(&pgeInformationTechnology);
       SetLook(CMFCPropertySheet::PropSheetLook_Tabs); */
   	
       // 2. Microsoft OneNote tabs
       AddPage(&pgeComputerScience);
       AddPage(&pgeInformationTechnology);
       AddPage(&pgeHistory);
       AddPage(&pgeCulinaryServices);
       SetLook(CMFCPropertySheet::PropSheetLook_OneNoteTabs);
   }

2. To execute, press F5
3. Click the Plan Your Life...
4. Click the Culinary Services tab
5. Click History
    
   
6. Close the property sheet
7. Close the dialog box and return to your programming environment

Instead of displaying tabs in the top section of a property sheet, you can create a vertical bar on the left side of the dialog box and make it display a button for each tab. This is popularly referred to as the Outlook or Outlook Bar look of an application. In this case, the property sheet would be divided in two sections: a frame on the left and the right area used to display the property pages.

Remember that the syntax of the CMFCPropertySheet::SetLook() member function is:

void SetLook(PropSheetLook look, int nNavControlWidth = 100);

The second argument specifies the width of the left frame. The default with is 100 pixels, which applies if you don't pass the second argument. To specify your desired width, pass the second argument.

If you are familiar with Microsoft Outlook bar, you may know that each button displays a picture on top. Before considering getting the Outlook bar look, you should (must) first create one ore more icons, an icon for each button that would lead to the corresponding property page. You can create the list of icons as a long bitmap resource. After creating the physical bitmap, declare a variable of type CImageList and call its Create() member function to initialize it. Pass the bitmap resource to it.

To let you get the Outlook bar, the CMFCPropertySheet is equipped with the SetIconsList() member function that is overloaded with two vesions. Their syntaxes are:

void SetIconsList(HIMAGELIST hIcons);
BOOL SetIconsList(UINT uiImageListResID,
   		  int cx,
   		  COLORREF clrTransparent=RGB(255,0,255));

The first version tabkes a handle to a Win32's image list as argument.

The second version takes two required arguments and an optional argument. The first argument is the ID of an image list resource. The second argument specifies the width or each picture in the image list. The third argument optionally specifies the level or transparency of hte pictures.

To get the Outlook bar, call the SetLook() member function and apply the PropSheetLook_OutlookBar option.