Panel Designer

Panel Layout Utility

The Panel Layout Utility provides the ability to apply panel layout changes to multiple panels simultaneously, either for a particular library or for multiple libraries within the same directory. Using this utility not only reduces the amount of time needed to apply panel changes, but also applies the changes consistently across all selected panels.

(The Panel Layout Utility was added in PxPlus 2014 - Feature Pack 1.)

This utility provides the ability to:

Important Note!
Prior to running this utility, it is strongly recommended to first make a backup of your original libraries.

To invoke this utility, use one of the following methods:

Location

Method

From the PxPlus IDE Main Launcher

Expand the Graphical Application Builder (Nomads) category. Then, expand the Utilities category and select Panel Layout Utility.

From the NOMADS Session Manager

From the Utilities menu, select Panel Layout Utility.

The main dialog consists of the following:

Type

Type of processing to be performed:

Library

Processes one or more panels within a specified NOMADS library (Default)

Directory

Processes all NOMADS libraries within a specified directory

In the adjacent field, enter the full pathname of the library or directory to be processed or use the Query button.

For each NOMADS library processed, a backup of the original library is automatically created, which contains the library panels in their original format. The naming format for the backup library is lib_name.bak, where lib_name is the name of the original library including the extension. This file is used by the Revert .BAK Libraries option (on the Include drop box), which allows you to back out the most recent panel layout changes and put back the library's original panels. See Reverting .BAK Libraries below.

Example:

Original library: Customers.en
Backup library: Customers.en.bak

Note:
If the lib_name.bak file already exists, it will be erased and re-created during the processing of the panel layout changes.

Include

Specifies additional details for the processing of the panel layout changes. Selections are:

Folders Only

(Default) Changes all folder controls in the selected library or directory to either Left or Right Sidebar folders, depending on the Position selected. The options in the Header Embedded Panel section cannot be changed.

Folders Only, add Headers

Changes all folder controls in the selected library or directory to either Left or Right Sidebar folders and inserts an embedded panel in the top left corner of panels containing folder controls. The panel that is embedded is determined by the Library and Panel selections in the Header Embedded Panel section.

All Panels, add Headers

Inserts an embedded panel in the top left corner of all panels (dialogs and windows), regardless if they contain folders. The panel that is embedded is based on the Library and Panel selections in the Header Embedded Panel section. The Folder Tabs and Folder Frame Style sections cannot be changed.

Revert .BAK Libraries

Removes the processed library and uses its corresponding .bak file to restore the library to its original name with its original panels. See Reverting .BAK Libraries below.

Reset

Clears the current entry and puts all the options back to their default settings.

Next

Displays the Panels tab.

Exit

Cancels the current entry and closes the utility.

Layout

The Layout tab consists of the following:

Folder Tabs

Tabless Folder

Creates a folder control without tabs (controlled programmatically only).

Position

Sets the location for the tabs on the folder control, either Left Sidebar or Right Sidebar.

Width

Width of the tabs on the folder control. In turn, the same number will increase the Width setting in the Panel Definition to allow for the left or right sidebar tabs.

Offset

This number determines how many lines down (or up, if negative) the tabs will be drawn from the top of the folder control.

Folder Frame Style

Fixed

Select this option to choose a predefined frame style from the drop box.

Expression

Select this option to enter an expression for the frame style.

Folder Visual Class

Assign a predefined Visual Class for a folder control.

Header Embedded Panel

Library

Enter the library that contains the panel you want to embed or use the Query button. This option is available only when the Include drop box selection is Folders Only, add Headers or All Panels, add Headers.

Panel

Select a panel name from the list of panels in the selected library. This option is available when a library containing the panel to embed has been selected.

Note:
The panel that you select to embed will not be displayed in the Include Panels list (Panels tab) if it resides in a library that is also on this list.

Extra Lines

Specify the number of blank lines that the utility needs to insert at the top of each library panel to create sufficient space for adding a horizontal embedded panel. In turn, the same number will increase the Height setting in the Panel Definition. Valid values are 1 to 10.

Example:

If the controls in the panel you want to embed occupy 2 lines in height, you would enter a value of 2.

Helpful Tip:
To determine how many extra lines/columns will be needed, manually embed the panel on one library panel first.

If a control starts at position Column 0.00, Line 0.00 and its width extends across the full width of the embedded panel, the utility will use it to calculate the minimum number of extra blank lines needed. This number is inserted into the Extra Lines field, which can be manually changed if needed.

Extra Columns

Specify the number of blank columns that the utility needs to insert to the left of each library panel to create sufficient space for adding a vertical embedded panel. In turn, the same number will increase the Width setting in the Panel Definition. Valid values are 1 to 10.

Example:

If the controls in the panel you want to embed occupy 10 columns in width, you would enter a value of 10.

Note:
If you are embedding a panel in conjunction with switching to a sidebar-style folder, extra columns will also be added to accommodate the tab width.

If a control starts at position Column 0.00, Line 0.00 and its height extends down the full height of the embedded panel, the utility will use it to calculate the minimum number of extra blank columns needed. This number is inserted into the Extra Columns field, which can be manually changed if needed.

Stretchable

Allows the embedded panel to automatically resize itself to adapt to the width or height of the main window or dialog into which it is inserted. Defaults to On.

Select the Next button to go to the Panels tab.

Note:
The Panels tab must be accessed before the panel layout changes can be processed.

Panels

The Panels tab consists of the following:

Include Panels

Displays a tree view that lists all the panels for each library that corresponds with the specified Type (Library or Directory) and path entered. Libraries, Windows and Dialogs are indicated by their standard bitmaps.

By default, all panels are selected, as indicated by the check box adjacent to each panel. To exclude a panel, deselect its check box prior to processing the panels.

If you selected to embed a panel (on the Layout tab) that belongs to the same library included on this list, that panel will be excluded from the list. In addition, any panels that already have an embedded panel in the top left corner will be excluded.

Note:
The Include Panels list will automatically reload with all check boxes re-selected if, prior to selecting Proceed, you modify the selections for one or more of the following: Type, Include, the main library/directory path, and/or the library/panel settings for the Header Embedded Panel. When this happens, you will need to reset your panel selections.

Proceed

Launches the Panel Layout process for the selected panels.

After choosing the panels to include/exclude, select the Proceed button to process the panel layout changes. The changes, as specified on the Layout tab, are applied to the panels selected on the Panels tab.

Once this process has finished applying the changes to all the selected panels and no errors were encountered, a "Processing complete" message displays to indicate that the changes were successful. Clicking OK on this message clears only the library/directory pathname at the top of the main dialog. All other selections remain intact to allow you to run the utility again for a different library using the same settings and Layout selections. If you do not want to re-use the same settings, select the Reset button to clear your previous selections and return to the default settings. When you are done, you can review the panel changes in NOMADS and make any post-processing adjustments, if necessary.

If the process encountered errors after applying the changes to all the selected panels, an Error Log displays. These errors occur when the Header Embedded Panel you had selected to insert does not fit on one or more of the selected panels. The error log lists those panel(s) from which the embedded panel was omitted for this reason.

To resolve this error, use one of the following methods:

•

Make the necessary size adjustments to the embedded panel and/or the panels listed on the error log. Then, run this utility again for only those panels on the error log by using the Panels tab to make your selections.

•

Manually insert the embedded panel into each panel listed on the error log.

•

Reverse the panel layout changes that were applied to all the panels, including those not listed on the error log. To do this, select Revert .BAK Libraries from the Include drop box. See Reverting .BAK Libraries below. After that, make the necessary size adjustments, and then run this utility again for all the panels in the library.

Reverting .BAK Libraries

The Revert .BAK Libraries option (on the Include drop box) is used to back out the most recent panel layout changes and put back the library's original panels using the .bak file created during the processing of the panel layout changes.

Note:
The revert process can only be performed for the panels of a "processed" library when a corresponding .bak file exists for that library.

The steps below guide you through the revert process:

Step

Description

1.

From the Include drop box, select Revert .BAK Libraries.

Selecting this option first allows the utility to filter the Query list, as well as the list on the Panels tab, to display backup library files (.bak), rather than all library files, for easier file selection.

2.

From the Type drop box:

Select Library to revert a specific library.

Select Directory to revert one or more libraries in a specific directory.

3.

In the input control adjacent to the Type drop box, specify the location for the Library or Directory.

If the Type selected is Library:

Use the Query button to select a particular .bak file corresponding to the library you want to revert.

Example:

To revert the panel changes for the library Customers.en, you would select its backup file Customers.en.bak.

If the Type selected is Directory:

Use the Query button to select the source directory that contains the .bak file (or files) corresponding to the library (or libraries) you want to revert.

Example:

Suppose you have a directory called Work that contains two libraries, Library1.en and Library2.en, as well as two backup library files, Library1.en.bak and Library2.en.bak. When specifying the directory pathname, you would only need to specify where the Work directory is located. The utility will detect the presence of the two .bak files in this directory and list them on the Panels tab (see Step 5).

4.

The options on the Layout tab cannot be changed.

5.

Select the Next button to display the Panels tab. The Include Panels list displays only .bak files, one for each "processed" library stored in the path previously entered.

All the .bak files are selected by default for the revert process, but you can deselect the check box beside the file(s) that you do not want included in this process.

If no .bak files are listed, this indicates that the library or directory specified in step 3 does not contain any .bak files. As a result, the revert process cannot be performed.

6.

Select the Proceed button. A message displays when the processing is complete. At this point, the contents of the .bak files are restored to the original library, and the .bak files are removed.

7.

Review the panels in NOMADS to verify that they have been restored to their previous state, prior to processing the last panel layout changes.