Python Dialogs

As of version 6.1 there is a dialog function, with which dialogs can be defined in Python scripts and shown by the script. The dialog call is made via the API function

vtcapp.showcustomdialog(dialog definition, initial values)

To create the dialog, there is an element called Dialog with the following properties:

As with customizing, the required controls are placed on the dialog. Basically, the same controls can be used as in UI Customizing. Each control for which values are to be set or queried needs a unique name within the dialog.

For controls that have more than one property, secondary properties are separated by the period, e.g. ListBox.Items, SelectionBox.Items.

The following remarks apply:

• The AdditionalFieldComboBox cannot be used in this context.
• The custom dialogs do not allow binding to business objects, e.g. event scripts.
• Configurations of controls via OCL, such as <ProjectComboBox Name=”Projekt” Label=”Projekt” ListExpression=”Projekt.allinstances->select(aktiv)” />, are possible. The OCL is always global, because there is no context.

The initial values of the feature are passed as an argument and the result values are returned as a result. Both the initial values and the return values are passed as a Python dictionary. The keys in the dictionary correspond to the control names, e.g.

initValues = {}
initValues["AuswahlBox.Items"] = ("Option 1", "Option 2", "Option 3")
initValues["Value1"] = "Default 1"

A default value can also be assigned (e.g. if the form is not completely filled in and you have to call it again with already entered data), e.g.

initValues["Projekt.SelectedValue"] = Projekt.eval("boldid")

SelectedValue is a property of the UI control used.

This dialog call looks like this in Python:

# Python Script für Custom Dialog
dlgDefinition="""
<Dialog Title="Test Dialog" Width="500">
    <TextBlock Text="Bitte geben Sie folgende Werte ein:" Appearance="Info"/>
    <Group Label="Auswahl" ShowLabel="True">
        <ListBox Name="AuswahlBox" Lines="6"/>
    </Group>
    <ProjectComboBox Name="Projekt" Label="Projekt"/>
    <TextBox Name="Value1" Label="Wert 1"/>
    <CheckBox Name="Check1" Label="Option 1"/>
    <Group Appearance="NoSpacing" FlexWidth="0" Width="300" HorizontalAlignment="Left">
        <Button Name="Option21" FlexWidth="0" Width="100" Text="Option21" Command="{Binding CloseCommand}" />
        <Button Name="Option22" FlexWidth="0" Width="100" Text="Option22" Command="{Binding CloseCommand}" />
        <Button Name="Option23" FlexWidth="0" Width="100" Text="Option23" Command="{Binding CloseCommand}" />
    </Group>
    <Dialog.Buttons>
        <Button Text="OK" IsAccept="True" Command="{Binding OkCommand}" />
        <Button Text="Cancel" IsCancel="True" Command="{Binding CancelCommand}" />
    </Dialog.Buttons>
</Dialog>
"""
initValues = {}
initValues["AuswahlBox.Items"] = ("Option 1", "Option 2", "Option 3")
initValues["Value1"] = "Default 1"
ok, values = vtcapp.showcustomdialog(dlgDefinition, initValues)
if ok:
    vtcapp.msgbox('Dialog OK, Werte: %s' % values)

The showcustomdialog feature returns a tuple of Return-Value and Values-Dictionary. Return-Value is true for OK and false for Cancel. For each control with a name, there is an entry (name/value) in the Values-Dictionary. The controls return the following values:

• Input control: input value
• ListBox: Index of the selected entry
• DataGrid: Index of the selected entry
• Button: 'True’, if this button has triggered the CloseCommand, otherwise 'False’ (see buttons in the dialog definition)

Certain input controls (e.g. ComboBox, ReferenceBox, etc.) do not provide the object, but its internal ID.

Example of a return value from the example above:

The reading of the individual values from the Values Dictionary takes place as follows, e.g.:

ProjektID = values["Projekt"]