pp108 : Button

Button


The Button control is a clickable control that can be used in any application.

Button controls are either data-bound or free-form controls. You can bind a Button control to a model programmatically using the APIs or by setting the Reference property of the associated business object in the control's property sheet. To do so, specify the XPath of the business object's data to be bound. If no model is set for the control, then the control is bound to the model of its parent control, by default.

Properties, Events, and Methods of the Control


The Button control has certain properties, events, and methods associated with it. They define the behavior of the control and can be set through the property page of the control or programmatically using the APIs.

Table 1. List of Properties

Design-time property

Runtime property

Description

ID

Sets the string that identifies the control on an XForm. If not specified, a unique ID is automatically generated.

Tab Index

tabIndex

Sets and retrieves the position of the current control in the tabbing order for the current XForm.

Model

Sets the ID of the data model from which the data (specified using the Reference property) is displayed in the control. If model is not specified, it is inherited from the parent control's model.

Reference (xql)

Sets the location or expression for the XPath that contains the data (value) displayed in the control. The XPath refers to the child node or descendants of the immediate parent control's reference.

Class Name

className

Sets or retrieves the class name applied on the control.

Tooltip

title

Sets the tool tip that appears on a control when the mouse is moved over it. Programmatically, this property is set by specifying the title property of the control.

Task Part

Creates a task part for the control. Selecting the check box, displays the Task Part pane.

businessObject

Retrieves the root node of the XML data associated to the control, its location specified by the Reference property.

currentContext

Retrieves the immediate parent of the data that the control represents. This data is the child node of the business object.

data

Retrieves the XML node of the data (value) that the control represents. The location (XPath) of this XML inside the business object is set through the Reference property.


Table 2. List of Events

Event

Description

Click

This event is activated when you click the button.

Data Bind

This event is activated before the data is bound to the control.


Table 3. List of Methods

Method

Description

addListener()

This method registers the control to receive notifications for an event.

create()

This method is available for data-bound controls only. It creates an instance of the business object for the control.

disable()

This method disables the control on which it is invoked.

enable()

This method enables the control on which it is invoked.

getFormattedValue()

This method returns the value that is to be displayed in the control.

getValue()

This method returns the original value of the control, as available in the database.

hide()

This method hides controls and all associated child controls.

isEnabled()

This method retrieves the value that denotes whether the control is enabled or not.

rebind(oBusinessObject)

This method is available for all controls bound to a model. This method refreshes the control with data from the business object that is passed as a parameter. If no parameter is passed, the business object of the model's activeTuple node is used and the control is refreshed.

remove()

This method is available only for data-bound controls. It removes the instances marked for deletion.

removeListener()

This method unregisters the control to cease receiving notifications for its events.

setValue(sValue)

This method sets the value of the control. The sValue parameter denotes the value to be set for the control.

show()

This method makes the control and its child controls visible.

setFocus()

This method causes an element to receive focus.