File Import
The File Import () is a special form object for browsing and choosing files to import that the application can use for some purpose (providing data input, for example). You can also add files to a file library in the Application Builder (see The Libraries Branch for more information). Enter the name of the file import object in the Name field.
From the Style list, choose Outlined (the default), Raised, or Flat.
From the Icon list, choose None (the default) for no icon, or choose any of the available icons in the list. If desired, click the Add Image to Library and Use Here button () to browse and select an image to use as the icon. Click the Export button () to save the icon as an image file.
The Style and Icon settings control the Browse button appearance.
Enter a text to appear on the button for browsing in the Button text field.
Enter a title for the file import dialog in the Dialog title field. The dialog title is also the tooltip of the button.
In the File types list, add the types of files that the file browser should display. Click the Add button () to open a dialog box with a list of file types and their associated extensions, which you can add to filter the list of files to display in the browser. Click the Create New File Type and Use It button () to open a Create and Use Declaration dialog box, where you can create a new file type using the Label, Name, and Description fields. In the table under Filename extensions, add allowed filename extensions for this file type. A new row appears when you have typed a filename extension on the row above. For a filename extension ext, you can enter it as ext, .ext, or *.ext; regardless of the input format, the filename extensions will appear as *.ext within parentheses and separated by semicolons in the file types lists. You can also add file types using File Type nodes under Declarations (see The File Type Node).
Use the Move Up (), Move Down (), and Delete () toolbar buttons to organize and remove commands from the list.
By default, the Allow entering filename check box is selected so that users can type in a filename in the browser in addition to selecting a file from the list of matching files.
In addition, the Settings window contains the following sections.
File Destination
This section contains a tree with a filtered view of the trees in the Application Builder and Model Builder windows. The nodes either represent some sort of file destination or have children that do. The list contains, under Declaration, File nodes that you declare. It also contains settings under Model that support browsing for files. Such a setting is typically a text field with a Browse button that you find in the Interpolation function and geometry Import nodes, for example. In the tree, it appears as a Filename subnode (for example, under an Interpolation node). When you select a node that represents a file destination, the Use as Source toolbar button () below the tree becomes enabled. You can also right-click the node and choose Use as Source. After selecting a node as the source, the node appears as the selected source underneath Selected source. The file scheme for accessing the file appears next to Access using. For an Interpolation node with the tag int1, for example, the scheme is upload:///int1/filename. You can also click the Create New File and Use It as Source button () in the File Declaration section header to create a new variable declaration and use it as the file destination. A Create and Use File dialog box opens, so that you can specify the filename. The name cannot be in conflict with any existing filename. Click the Edit Node toolbar button () below the tree to move to the corresponding node. If necessary, the program switches to the Model Builder.
Position and Size
This section contains all layout settings for a file import object in the grid of the parent form.
In the grid mode, you can control the horizontal and vertical alignment of the file import object using the following lists:
•
From the Horizontal alignment list, choose Left, Center, Right, or Fill, which automatically expands the form object to fill the cell in the horizontal or vertical direction (where applicable).
•
From the Vertical alignment list, choose Middle, Top, Bottom, or Fill, which automatically expands the form object to fill the cell in the horizontal or vertical direction (where applicable).
The need to specify the alignment is most obvious when working in the grid mode, as it controls how the form object is aligned in its grid cell. Aligning the form object can be useful in the sketch mode too, and you can then use the alignment tools on the Arrange menu in the Form toolbar’s Sketch section. When running the application in any client other than the Windows client, the form objects may not be positioned exactly as seen in the form windows. This is because the form objects may have a different size in other clients, giving them a slightly different positioning. Specifying the alignment ensures that the form objects are aligned as you want them to be in all clients.
You can also specify the width of the file browser. Enter a width (in points) in the Width field. If you have chosen Fill from the Horizontal alignment list, you can instead specify a Minimum width. Choose Automatic to compute the minimum width automatically (typically, this means a minimum size of 0) or choose Manual to specify a minimum width in the text field underneath. The Height value is determined by the software.
Additionally, in the sketch mode, you can specify the absolute position of the file browser using the Position x and Position y fields. In the grid mode, you can position the object in the grid and see the grid position as the Row, Column, Row span, and Column span values.
The form windows update these size and positioning settings through the draw operations performed there, such as resizing and moving the object.
Cell Margin
Under Cell margin (in grid mode only), you can control the margins around the form object. By default, the margins are taken from the parent form. From the Cell margin list, choose:
•
None, for no margin around the form object
•
From parent form (the default), to use the margins set for the parent form
•
Custom, to specify the margins for the form object in the Horizontal and Vertical text fields
Appearance
In this section, you can control the appearance of the background and the text in the file import object:
From the Text color list, select a color to use for the file import object’s text: Inherit (the default; the form object then uses the setting from the Form it is located in), any of the predefined basic colors, or Custom, which makes it possible to select a custom color from a color palette.
From the Background color list, select a color to use as the background in the file import: Transparent (the default), any of the predefined basic colors, or Custom, which makes it possible to select a custom color from a color palette.
The font and the font size for the text use the font settings from the Forms node by default. Select a font from the Font list: Default font or any of the available fonts. If needed, choose or enter a font size (in points) in the Font size combo box. The default font size is Default size.
You can also select the Bold check box to use a boldface font or the Italic check box to use italics (an italic font).
Under State, you can control the initial state of the file import object when users run the application. By default, the file import object is visible and enabled. Clear the Visible or Enabled check box if you want to make the initial state so that the file import object is hidden or unavailable. You can then make it visible or enable it using a method. In the Form Editor, the state of the form object is indicated by a change in its appearance. Objects that are hidden become visible when selected in the Form Editor.
Events
You can specify a method or command sequence to run when an event such as data entry occurs. The On data change list contains None (the default) and any available methods or command sequence. You can also specify a method or command sequence to run when an event occurs when the file import object gets the focus by the user. The On focus gained list contains None (the default) and any available methods or command sequence.
You can add the following types of events by choosing from the Create Global Method menu () to the right of the On data change and On focus gained lists:
•
Choose Create Global Method () to create a global method. Type the name of the global method in the Name field of the Create Global Method dialog box that opens and then click OK. The global method is then added under Methods, and its Method Editor window opens.
•
Choose Create Form Method () to create a form method. Type the name of the form method in the Name field of the Create Form Method dialog box that opens and then click OK. The form method is then added under the Methods node under the Form node, and its Method Editor window opens.
•
Choose Create Local Method () to create a local method. Its Method Editor window opens.
•
Choose Create Command Sequence () to create a command sequence using the Create Command Sequence dialog box that opens. There you can choose commands from the available Forms, GUI Commands, Declarations, Form Declarations, Methods, Form Methods, Libraries, and Model folders. To add a command, right-click the desired command node and choose the command to use (Run, for example). The command then appears in the list of commands below. You can edit that command sequence using the toolbar buttons for moving and deleting commands below the table. Click the Convert to Method button () and choose Convert to Method or Convert to Form Method to convert the command sequence to a method. Click the Go to Method button () below the table to select the method in the Application Builder tree and open the method in a Method Editor window. For commands that include arguments, click the Edit Argument button () to choose an argument in the Edit Argument dialog box that opens.
There can only be one local method and one command sequence so if you add one or both of them, the menu will instead contain Remove Local Method () and Remove Command Sequence (), respectively. Click one of them to delete the local method or command sequence.
The selected method in the On data change or On focus gained list then changes to the created method or command sequence. You can also Ctrl+Alt-click the file input object or right-click it to create a local method or (by choosing Edit Method or Edit Local Method) to open the method associated with the command. To open the selected method or command sequence, click the Go to Source button (). The focus then moves to the method’s editor window or the Command Sequence dialog box, respectively.
For events triggered by data change, the event is triggered after the new data value is stored in the data source.
If you select more than one form object and they all support the On data change or On focus gained event, you can specify a method to, for example, make them inform users that plots and outputs are invalid.