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Integrating RmlUi into your application

This guide will help you get started when you are ready to integrate RmlUi into your own application. This assumes that you have already built or installed the library from the previous step, or have downloaded the prebuilt package binaries.

If you haven’t already done so, take a look at the sample applications in /Samples/. There you can find a whole heap of useful examples of how to use and abuse RmlUi. Also, be sure to take a look at one or more of the included backends (in /Backends/), as they provide a good starting point for getting a basic application up and running together with RmlUi.

Setting up the build environment

RmlUi is developed following the C++14 standard and can be used on the following platforms:

  • Windows 32/64bit, compiling with Microsoft Visual Studio 2017+.
  • MacOS 32/64bit, compiling with GCC 5+.
  • Linux, compiling with GCC 5+.

Conan and vcpkg

If you used Conan or vcpkg to acquire RmlUi, then libraries and include paths should already have been setup for you. The only thing remaining:

  • Add #include <RmlUi/Core.h> in a source or header file to start using RmlUi.

CMake client project

Add the following to your project’s CMakeLists.txt:

find_package(RmlUi REQUIRED)
target_link_libraries(my_application PRIVATE RmlUi::RmlUi)

You can pass in the RmlUi build or install path on the command line, or in a CMake preset, by defining the CMake variable RmlUi_ROOT. For example, run the following in the directory of your application:

cmake -B Build -S . -DRmlUi_ROOT="<path-to-rmlui>"

RmlUi generates CMake configure files for both in-source builds and for installs, so this should hopefully just work in either case. When using the prebuilt package binaries, please unpack the files and point the RmlUi path to one of the Bin-Dynamic or Bin-Static folders, according to the desired linkage type for your project.

It is also possible to target individual components of the library, such as RmlUi::Core or RmlUi::Debugger. The RmlUi::RmlUi target links to all available components.

Then, add #include <RmlUi/Core.h> in a source or header file in your application to start using RmlUi.

Visual Studio

  • Add the RmlUi include path RmlUi/Include/ to your project’s include paths.
    • See Project → Properties → C/C++ → General → Additional Include Directories.
  • Add the RmlUi library path (Debug/ and Release/ under the RmlUi/Build directory as appropriate) and the FreeType library path to your library paths.
    • See Project → Properties → Linker → General → Additional Library Directories.
  • Link with rmlui.lib and freetype.lib.
    • See Project → Properties → Linker → Input → Additional Dependencies.
  • If you have RmlUi built as a static library, add the following preprocessor definition: RMLUI_STATIC_LIB.
    • See Project → Properties → C/C++ → Preprocessor → Preprocessor Definitions.
  • If you have RmlUi built as a shared/dynamic library, copy the appropriate DLLs into the directory your executable will run from..
    • That is, Debug/rmlui.dll for debug builds and Release/rmlui.dll for release builds from the RmlUi/Build folder, or from the Bin-Dynamic folder in the release package.
  • If you have FreeType built as a shared/dynamic library, copy the freetype.dll file into the directory your executable will run from.
  • Add #include <RmlUi/Core.h> in a source or header file to start using RmlUi.

Linux and MacOS

  • Add the RmlUi include path RmlUi/Include/ and library path RmlUi/Build to the paths in your build system.
  • Link with rmlui and freetype.
  • Either copy the RmlUi libraries into your application’s working directory, or set a LD_LIBRARY_PATH (DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH for MacOS) environment variable.
  • When the library is built as a static library, add RMLUI_STATIC_LIB as a preprocessor definition in your project.
  • Add #include <RmlUi/Core.h> in a source or header file to start using RmlUi.

Initialising RmlUi

Before you can initialise RmlUi, you’ll need to set the interfaces that the library uses to interact with your application. There is one compulsory interface, the render interface. Additionally, some applications may want to define a custom system interface for additional functionality.

The render interface

The render interface is defined in <RmlUi/Core/RenderInterface.h>. It provides a way for RmlUi to send its geometry into your application’s rendering pipeline. If you want to get RmlUi up and running as quickly as possible, take a look at the included backends described below.

Once you have a render interface for your application, install it into RmlUi by calling Rml::SetRenderInterface(). Note that you must keep the render interface alive until after the call to Rml::Shutdown() and destroy it afterward. RmlUi won’t release your interfaces.

If you’d like to take an in-depth look at setting up your own render interface, please see the render interface documentation.

The system interface

The system interface is defined in <RmlUi/Core/SystemInterface.h>. This provides utilities to perform common tasks such as logging messages, translating strings, or setting the mouse cursor.

In order to create a system interface, you’ll need to create a class that inherits from Rml::SystemInterface. Override any desired functions based on the requirements of your application. Install the system interface by calling Rml::SetSystemInterface() with a pointer to the interface. Note that you must keep the system interface alive until after the call to Rml::Shutdown() and destroy it afterward. RmlUi won’t release your interfaces.

For more uses of the system interface, please see the documentation.

Backend integration

To simplify the writing of the above interfaces, RmlUi comes packed with several backends that provide the render and system interfaces for a variety of renderers and platforms. All available backends are listed in the repository readme and located in the /Backends/ directory.

A backend usually consists of three source files in addition to their respective headers:

  • a renderer integrating the render interface,
  • a platform integrating the system interface and submitting input events,
  • and finally the backend itself - tying the former two together.

If you find a backend that matches your setup, it is recommended to use the underlying renderer and platform directly and compile it within your application. They are also made to be extensible, such as to add the ability to load additional texture formats. The backend itself serves as a sample on how to open a window, handle events, and interact with RmlUi for that combination of platform and renderer.

For example, if you use SDL2 together with OpenGL3, you can add the following source files directly as dependencies in your project:

Then, you can use the SDL_GL3 backend (/Backends/RmlUi_Backend_SDL_GL3.cpp) as a starting point or sample reference. This backend in particular also demonstrates how to extend the renderer to load additional texture formats.

Initialising the library

Call the global function Rml::Initialise() once you have installed the system and render interfaces and RmlUi will start up.

Creating a context

All elements within RmlUi are part of a context. You must have at least one context in order to load, manipulate and render and interface elements. To create a context, use the Rml::CreateContext() function, passing in the name of the new context and its initial dimensions like so:

Rml::Context* context = Rml::CreateContext("default", Rml::Vector2i(myScreenWidth, myScreenHeight));

You can release the context when you’re done with it by calling Rml::RemoveContext(context->GetName()). All contexts will automatically be destroyed on shutdown.

Updating and rendering

Your application will need to update and render each context it maintains, as appropriate. Call the Context::Update() function on each context as often as necessary to update the context (usually after the frame’s input has been injected), and Context::Render() at the appropriate place in your application’s render loop.

Loading fonts

RmlUi does not come integrated with any fonts (with the exception of the debugger plugin), they must be provided by the user. Font faces can be loaded through the Rml::LoadFontFace() function.

bool success = Rml::LoadFontFace("assets/my_font_face.ttf");

Loading a document

Once you have a valid context, you can load a document into the context with the LoadDocument() function. LoadDocument() takes a single parameter, a string with the document’s file name. If the load is successful you’ll get a pointer to a Rml::ElementDocument back; call Show() on the document to make it visible.

Rml::ElementDocument* document = context->LoadDocument("../../assets/demo.rml");
if (document)
	document->Show();

Unload the document by calling Close().

document->Close();

Note: event listeners attached to the document or any of its children must not be destroyed until the next call to Context::Update() or Rml::Shutdown().

Injecting input

Once you’ve got a document loading and rendering, the next step is to get your input into RmlUi. The context object has a range of functions for sending mouse, keyboard and text input into the system:

// Sends a key down event into this context.
bool ProcessKeyDown(Rml::Input::KeyIdentifier key_identifier, int key_modifier_state);
// Sends a key up event into this context.
bool ProcessKeyUp(Rml::Input::KeyIdentifier key_identifier, int key_modifier_state);

// Sends a single unicode character (code point) as text input into this context.
bool ProcessTextInput(Rml::Character character);
// Sends a string of UTF-8 text input into this context.
bool ProcessTextInput(const Rml::String& string);

// Sends a mouse movement event into this context.
bool ProcessMouseMove(int x, int y, int key_modifier_state);
// Sends a mouse-button down event into this context.
bool ProcessMouseButtonDown(int button_index, int key_modifier_state);
// Sends a mouse-button up event into this context.
bool ProcessMouseButtonUp(int button_index, int key_modifier_state);
// Sends a mouse-wheel movement event into this context.
bool ProcessMouseWheel(float wheel_delta, int key_modifier_state);

Call the appropriate input functions to inject all relevant user input into your RmlUi context each frame, before you call Update(). Note that RmlUi does not translate key presses into text; this is up to the application. Make sure to take a look at the included backends, as they provide key conversion to RmlUi and event handling for different platforms. For more information on each function, see the user input manual.

Debugger

The RmlDebugger plugin is a visual debugger for RmlUi elements, inspired by similar debuggers for web browsers. We strongly recommend you use this in your application during development!

To use RmlDebugger, include <RmlUi/Debugger.h> in your application and link with RmlDebugger. For usage details, see the documentation for the debugger plugin.

Where next?

Now that you’ve had a (very!) brief introduction to RmlUi, it is recommended you read the core overview to get an understanding of the composition of RmlUi. From there, either work your way through the documentation, or dive on into the code and consult it as necessary.