Creating Components

A QML component provides a way of defining a new type that you can re-use in other QML files. A component is like a black box; it interacts with the outside world through properties, signals, and slots, and is generally defined in its own QML file. You can import components to screens and applications.

You can use the following QML elements to create components:

• Border Image uses an image as a border or background.
• Image adds a bitmap to the scene. You can stretch and tile images.
• Item is the most basic of all visual items in QML. Even though it has no visual appearance, it defines all the properties that are common across visual items, such as the x and y position, width and height, anchoring, and key handling.
• Rectangle adds a rectangle that is painted with a solid fill color and an optional border. You can also use the radius property to create rounded rectangles.
• Text adds formatted read-only text.
• Text Edit adds a single line of editable formatted text that can be validated.
• Text Input adds a single line of editable plain text that can be validated.
• Web View adds web content to a canvas.

QML elements allow you to write cross-platform applications with custom look and feel. You can also use ready-made Qt Quick Components for Symbian and MeeGo Harmattan that allow you to create applications with a native look and feel for the selected mobile platform. You can install the components as part of Qt SDK.

When you use the Qt Creator project wizard to create Qt Quick applications, you can select which component set to use in your application.

Even if you use the Qt Quick Components, you can still write cross-platform applications, by using different sets of QML files for each platform.

You can dowload a set of commonly used UI-components for generic use in Qt Quick projects from QML Templates. You can open and edit the templates in Qt Designer.