The interface to any application is critical to making it easy to use. IDL gives you access to a cross platform GUI toolkit that includes a complete set of GUI controls, or "widgets," with a native look and feel on the host platform.

Create GUIs with code or by visually building them using the IDL GUIBuilder, a convenient tool that lets you drag-and-drop your interface controls into position and assign functions with just a few lines of code. The GUIBuilder is a feature on the Windows platform that generates IDL code that can run on any of the platforms IDL supports.

Take advantage of COM technology on the Windows platform to enhance your IDL applications with any of a number of freely available ActiveX controls, such as Microsoft spreadsheets.

For more information on the GUI toolkit in IDL, see the IDL Functional Summary.