Block execution in SKILL file while a form is on the screen

Hi Hans,

This is because if you have UI functionality in a file being loaded, it is effectively reading a SKILL form (an expression, rather than the UI thing) at a time, and sending it to the SKILL evaluator. It's not reading the entire file in and then evaluating it in a block. So it ends up not blocking if you do this. If you change the second file to:

    load("listBox.il")

let((choices title choice)
    choices = '("aaa" "bbb" "ccc" "ddd" "eee")
    title   = "Form title"

    printf("Before the box\n")
    choice = SHOWselectListBoxForm(title choices)

    printf("After the box: %L\n" choice)
)

(The local variables in the let aren't key to this - I just did this for good measure). If you do this, it then works - because it will read the entire let form in, and then evaluate it - and hence it will block within the let. Because your form is modal, you won't be able to type in the CIW or do anything else either - until the form is blocked. So that's what you want, I think.

Equally I could have done:

load("listBox.il")

{
    choices = '("aaa" "bbb" "ccc" "ddd" "eee")
    title   = "Form title"

    printf("Before the box\n")
    choice = SHOWselectListBoxForm(title choices)

    printf("After the box: %L\n" choice)
}

And that would work too.

Regards,

Andrew.

Hello Andrew

This indeed works. I had the idea I already had this code in a let(() and later I removed the let((). Maybe the form was not deleted from first creation.

Thanks for the support.  

Do you now how I can change my forum name HTC060 to other name ??

Hello Andrew,

just a simple question, sometime, when I try to modify CDF parameters by skill,  I have device callbacks that unleash modal popup and block the execution of the code. Is there a way to bypass this modal behaviour and apply a function such as hiDBoxOK to go on?

Regards,

Giuseppe

Hi Giuseppe,

The way you'd handle this is to use hiRegTimer() to schedule the function to call when the UI event loop returns - provided you do this before the blocking form appears, it will work:

procedure(CCFblock()
  hiDisplayAppDBox(
    ?name 'CCFblockIt
    ?dialogStyle 'modal
    ?dboxText "Hello World"
  )
)

procedure(CCFtestBlock()
  hiRegTimer("hiDBoxOK(CCFblockIt)" 0)
  CCFblock()
)

So if you call CCFtestBlock() - you'll see what I mean. Comment out the hiRegTimer() call, and you'd see the dialog box appear.

Regards,

Andrew.

Thank you Andrew,

just a problem, the function hiDBoxOK need to have the form name, but if the form is launched by a device callback (and I did not know the code)  I need to retrieve this form name but I did not find any way to get it. If I write:

hiGetCurrentForm()~>name

it returns nil.

 Is there a solution to this issue?

Giuseppe

Hi Giuseppe,

The easiest way is to use Options->Log Filter and turn on the "Accelerated Input" option. Then interact with the dialog box and see what it records in the CIW. Or you could look in the CDS.log file and see what it has output when interacting with that dialog box.

Regards,

Andrew.

It would seems strange to you... but the form uses the function gensym() in the ?name field... so...  it has a different name each run... :-(

Hi Giuseppe,

In that case you should give the person who wrote the callback a strong talking to. It's bad enough making a callback with a popup (because this will cause various tools to break - particularly ADE XL if you use the parameterization flow, as it will attempt to run the callbacks for affected devices, and if you have a dialog box displayed in a non-graphical environment, nobody is there to press the button), but doing it with gensym is even worse. It's completely pointless for a modal dialog box since you can never have more than one of them open simultaneously.

Unfortunately there's no "Get Current Dialog Box" function. Mainly because there's never really a need for one...

Regards,

Andrew.

Thank you Andrew! Very clear the point!

P.S. I had also opened another post few days ago, I hope to have a feedback also on it! :-)