The techniques for implementing widget-based multiple-item transfers are very similar to those used for single-item transfers (see Single-itemdata transfers). The basic difference is in the order of operations and the extra steps to provide widget selection and confirmation before the selected operation proceeds to completion. You might implement a widget-based data transfer according to the following processing model:
1. The user chooses the Cut, Copy, or Paste option from a multiple-item transfer menu.
2. On the CHOOSE event for the chosen transfer option, the procedure enables all eligible widgets for selection (SELECTABLE attribute = TRUE) and makes all other nonparticipating widgets insensitive (SENSITIVE attribute = FALSE).
3. The user can now only select widgets for the selected data transfer option and confirm the selection.
4. When the user is finished selecting widgets, they invoke an option (for example, a button or menu item) that confirms and allows the operation to proceed to completion. (The user might also invoke an option to cancel the current operation and return to other application functions.)
5. On confirmation of widget selection, the procedure:
a. Sets the appropriate CLIPBOARD handle attributes for the selected operation. This requires setting the MULTIPLE attribute to TRUE, and for Cut or Copy operations (write transfers) setting the ITEMS-PER-ROW attribute to format the data into lines of tab-separated items.
b. Iterates through the widget list assigning each selected widget's SCREEN-VALUE attribute to the CLIPBOARD handle VALUE attribute for a Cut/Copy operation, or assigning the VALUE attribute to each SCREEN-VALUE attribute for a Paste operation. (You can implement the iteration through the widget list using either the NEXT/PREVIOUS-SIBLING or NEXT/PREVIOUS-TAB-ITEM attribute to return and save the handle of each succeeding widget in the list.)
c. Completes the operation by setting the MULTIPLE attribute to FALSE and disabling selection and enabling sensitivity for all widgets (SELECTABLE = FALSE and SENSITIVE = TRUE).
6. The user can now perform other application functions.
In this implementation, the essential tasks in the multiple-item transfer are included in Item 5. Of course, there are many variations of this process that you can implement, such as providing preselected widget lists from which the user can choose (eliminating the need for the selection mode enabled in Item 2). This latter approach can employ a processing model similar to that used for data-based transfers.
