Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Development:
AppBuilder

Adding a widget to a palette button pop-up menu

You create and define custom widgets in a custom object file. Here is the syntax for adding custom widgets:

Syntax

*widget-type name [ DESCRIPTION [ description-text-string ] ] { [ attribute value ] ... [ INHERIT name-of-entry ] ... [ trigger-block ] ... } ... RUN file-name

*widget-type

Specifies the type of custom widget to create. It must be one of the following: BROWSE, BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, FRAME, IMAGE, RADIO-SET, RECTANGLE, SELECTION-LIST, TEXT, and TOGGLE-BOX.

name

Specifies the display name of the custom widget as it appears on the Palette submenu (or pop-up menu on the Palette). After you choose a widget, AppBuilder displays display-name, followed by widget-type, in the status bar of AppBuilder main window.

DESCRIPTION [ description-text-string ]

Specifies the description of the widget. The description helps another developer to read and understand the intent of each custom widget.

attribute

Specifies an attribute to set for the widget. You can specify any attribute that you can also set from the widget’s property sheet. See Table C–2, later in this appendix, for a list of the attributes that you can specify and the widgets to which they can apply.

value

Specifies the value for attribute (based on the data type of the attribute).

INHERIT name-of-entry

Specifies the display name of another widget in the custom widgets file. The current widget inherits all of the attribute settings specified for the other widget. If attribute settings conflict, the latter setting applies.

trigger-block

Specifies a trigger for the custom widget:

Syntax

TRIGGER event DO [ trigger-code ] END. END TRIGGER

In this syntax, event specifies an event to pair with the custom widget and trigger-code specifies the code statements to execute for the widget/event pair.

RUN file-name

Specifies a procedure to run immediately before the object is created. The procedure file can take two parameters:

INPUT p_id AS INTEGER NO-UNDO - The context ID of the object being created.
OUTPUT p_sct AS CHAR NO-UNDO - A list of new custom object entries to process.

You can have multiple RUN statements for a single custom object file; they are run sequentially. Do not end a RUN statement line with a trailing period (.).

Table C–2 describes the attributes you can set in the custom objects file and the widgets to which they apply. In the Data Type column:

C indicates CHARACTER
P indicates PIXELS
I indicates INTEGER
L indicates LOGICAL

Table C–2: Settable attributes for custom widgets

Attribute	Data type	Allowed widgets
AUTO-COMPLETION	L	COMBO BOX
AUTO-END-KEY	L	BUTTON
AUTO-GO	L	BUTTON
AUTO-INDENT	L	BUTTON, EDITOR, FILL-IN, SELECTION-LIST, TOGGLE-BOX
AUTO-RESIZE	L	BUTTON, EDITOR, FILL-IN, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TOGGLE-BOX
AUTO-RETURN	L	FILL-IN
BGCOLOR	I	BROWSER, BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, FRAME, IMAGE, RADIO-SET, RECTANGLE, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TEXT, TOGGLE-BOX
BLANK	L	COMBO-BOX, FILL-IN
BOX-SELECTABLE	L	FRAME
CANCEL-BUTTON	L	BUTTON
COLUMN-SCROLLING	L	BROWSER
DATA-TYPE	C	COMBO-BOX, FILL-IN, RADIO-SET
DEBLANK	L	COMBO-BOX, FILL-IN
DEFAULT-BUTTON	L	BUTTON
DEFAULT-STYLE	L	BUTTON
DISPLAY	L	COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, RADIO-SET, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TOGGLE-BOX
DOWN	L	FRAME
DRAG-ENABLED	L	SELECTION-LIST
EDGE-PIXELS	I	RECTANGLE
ENABLE	L	BROWSER, BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, IMAGE, RADIO-SET, RECTANGLE, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TOGGLE-BOX
EXPAND	L	RADIO-SET
FGCOLOR	I	BROWSER, BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, FRAME, IMAGE, RADIO-SET, RECTANGLE, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TEXT, TOGGLE-BOX
FILLED	L	RECTANGLE
FONT	I	BROWSER, BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, FRAME, RADIO-SET, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TEXT, TOGGLE-BOX
FORMAT	C	COMBO-BOX, FILL-IN
GRAPHIC-EDGE	L	RECTANGLE
HEIGHT	I	BROWSER, BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, FRAME, IMAGE, RADIO-SET, RECTANGLE, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TEXT, TOGGLE-BOX
HEIGHT-PIXELS	I	BROWSER, BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, FRAME, IMAGE, RADIO-SET, RECTANGLE, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TEXT, TOGGLE-BOX
HELP	C	BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, RADIO-SET, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TOGGLE-BOX
HIDDEN	L	BROWSER, BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, FRAME, IMAGE, RADIO-SET, RECTANGLE, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TEXT, TOGGLE-BOX
HORIZONTAL	L	RADIO-SET, SLIDER
IMAGE-DOWN	C	BUTTON
IMAGE-FILE	C	BUTTON, IMAGE
IMAGE-INSENSITIVE	C	BUTTON
INITIAL-VALUE	C	COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, RADIO-SET, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TOGGLE-BOX
INNER-LINES	I	COMBO-BOX
KEEP-TAB-ORDER	L	FRAME
LABEL	C	BROWSER, BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, FILL-IN, FRAME, TOGGLE-BOX
LARGE	L	EDITOR
LAYOUT-UNIT	C or P	BROWSER, BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, FRAME, IMAGE, RADIO-SET, RECTANGLE, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TEXT, TOGGLE-BOX
LIST-ITEMS	C	COMBO-BOX, RADIO-SET, SELECTION-LIST
LOCK-COLUMNS	I	BROWSER
MANUAL-HIGHLIGHT	L	BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, FRAME, IMAGE, RADIO-SET, RECTANGLE, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TEXT, TOGGLE-BOX
MAX CHARS	I	EDITOR
MAX-DATA-GUESS	I	BROWSER
MAX-VALUE	I	SLIDER
MIN-VALUE	I	SLIDER
MOVABLE	L	BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, FRAME, IMAGE, RADIO-SET, RECTANGLE, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TEXT, TOGGLE-BOX
MULTIPLE	L	BROWSER, SELECTION-LIST
NAME	C	BROWSER, BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, FRAME, IMAGE, RADIO-SET, RECTANGLE, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TOGGLE-BOX
NATIVE	L	FILL-IN
NO-BOX	L	BROWSER, FRAME
NO-HIDE	L	FRAME
NO-LABEL	L	COMBO-BOX, FILL-IN
NO-LABELS	L	BROWSER, FRAME
NO-UNDERLINE	L	FRAME
NO-UNDO	L	COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, RADIO-SET, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TOGGLE-BOX
NO-VALIDATE	L	FRAME
OPEN-QUERY	L	BROWSER, FRAME
OVERLAY	L	FRAME
PAGE-BOTTOM	L	FRAME
PAGE-TOP	L	FRAME
PRIVATE-DATA	C	BROWSER, BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, FRAME, IMAGE, RADIO-SET, RECTANGLE, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TEXT, TOGGLE-BOX
RADIO-BUTTONS	C	RADIO-SET
READ-ONLY	L	EDITOR
RESIZABLE	L	BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, FRAME, IMAGE, RADIO-SET, RECTANGLE, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TEXT, TOGGLE-BOX
RETAIN	I	FRAME
RETURN-INSERTED	L	EDITOR
SCROLLABLE	L	FRAME
SCROLLBAR-HORIZONTAL	L	EDITOR, SELECTION-LIST
SCROLLBAR-VERTICAL	L	EDITOR, SELECTION-LIST
SELECTABLE	L	BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, IMAGE, RADIO-SET, RECTANGLE, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TOGGLE-BOX
SENSITIVE	L	FRAME
SEPARATORS	L	BROWSER
SHARED	L	BROWSER, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, FRAME, RADIO-SET, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TOGGLE-BOX
SIDE-LABELS	L	FRAME
SORT	L	COMBO-BOX, SELECTION-LIST
TITLE	L	BROWSER, FRAME
TITLE-BAR	L	BROWSER, FRAME
TITLE-BGCOLOR	I	FRAME
TITLE-FGCOLOR	I	FRAME
TOP-ONLY	L	FRAME
UNIQUE-MATCH	L	COMBO BOX
VIEW	L	BROWSER, BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, FRAME, IMAGE, RADIO-SET, RECTANGLE, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TEXT, TOGGLE-BOX
VIEW-AS-TEXT	L	FILL-IN
VIRTUAL-HEIGHT	I	FRAME
VIRTUAL-HEIGHT-PIXELS	I	FRAME
VIRTUAL-WIDTH	I	FRAME
VIRTUAL-WIDTH-PIXELS	I	FRAME
WIDTH	I	BROWSER, BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, FRAME, IMAGE, RADIO-SET, RECTANGLE, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TEXT, TOGGLE-BOX
WIDTH-PIXELS	I	BROWSER, BUTTON, COMBO-BOX, EDITOR, FILL-IN, FRAME, IMAGE, RADIO-SET, RECTANGLE, SELECTION-LIST, SLIDER, TEXT, TOGGLE-BOX
WORD-WRAP	L	EDITOR
The RADIO-BUTTONS attribute represents the labels and values for the individual buttons in a set, arranged in a comma-separated list.The following example identifies this format: label, value, label, value, label, value, and so forth. One label/value pair is defined for each button identified in a set.

Sample widget entry

The following sample entry is in the src/template/progress.cst file:

*BUTTON Ne&xt DESCRIPTION Simple Navigation Button INHERIT C&ustom Size/Color LABEL &Next NAME Btn_Next TRIGGER CHOOSE DO: &IF "{&PROCEDURE-TYPE}" EQ "SmartPanel" &THEN &IF "{&ADM-VERSION}" EQ "ADM1.1" &THEN RUN notify IN THIS-PROCEDURE ("get-next") NO-ERROR. &ELSE PUBLISH "fetchNext":U. &ENDIF &ELSEIF "{&TABLES-IN-QUERY-{&FRAME-NAME}}" NE "" &THEN /* ** This is a simple NEXT RECORD navigation button, useful for building ** test screens quickly. NOTE: if there are no tables in the query, ** then this code will not compile’ so use the preprocessor to skip it. */ GET NEXT {&FRAME-NAME}. IF NOT AVAILABLE {&FIRST-TABLE-IN-QUERY-{&FRAME-NAME}} THEN GET LAST {&FRAME-NAME}. IF AVAILABLE {&FIRST-TABLE-IN-QUERY-{&FRAME-NAME}} THEN DO: DISPLAY {&FIELDS-IN-QUERY-{&FRAME-NAME}} WITH FRAME {&FRAME-NAME}. {&OPEN-BROWSERS-IN-QUERY-{&FRAME-NAME}} END. &ENDIF END TRIGGER

If you analyze this sample entry one section at a time, you can see how to write your own custom widget entry. In this example:

The first line specifies the widget type BUTTON and the display name for the widget:

*BUTTON Ne&xt

AppBuilder displays this name in the appropriate Object Palette menus. The ampersand (&) specifies that the “x” is the mnemonic on the Object Palette menu.

The second line describes the button’s functionality:

DESCRIPTION Simple Navigation Button

AppBuilder does nothing with this description. The description is meant as a summary for someone reading the custom object file.

The third line names another custom widget (Custom Size/Color) in the progress.cst file by using the widget’s display name:

INHERIT C&ustom Size/Color

The current widget (Next) inherits all of the attribute settings for the Custom Size/Color button. Where you place the INHERIT keyword affects how attributes are set. Later definitions override earlier definitions.

The fourth line specifies the label of the button:

LABEL &Next

The ampersand (&) specifies that “N” is the mnemonic for the button.

The fifth line specifies the widget name that AppBuilder uses internally to refer to the button:

NAME Btn_Next