I've set up an application to print the current state of the control I'm using (in this case an ArcGIS server map), but I'd like to set up a print function that uses it's own template to print rather than grabbing the state of the application.
I've attempted to do this by setting up a flex component that lays out the items I want to print and instantiating it when I call the FlexPrintJob. Unfortunately, simply instantiating it results in getting a blank green square.
There are two main questions about this that I'd like to put out there. First, what needs to be done to print a newly instantiated template rather than just grabbing already existing controls from the screen? Second, for more controls that need to load complicated data from multiple sources, like an ArcGIS map, is it possible to instantiate them in that kind of environment, or is there a way to take an image of the control in the application and print that?
I found that the best way to do it was to use the ImageSnapshot.captureBitmapData() method to get an image of the map as bitmap data, and then, if necessary, clip it into another BitMapData object using the copyPixels() method.
Once I'd done that, adding the template to the print job was simple:
Application.application.addChild(printTemplate);
printJob.addObject(printTemplate,FlexPrintJobScaleType.SHOW_ALL);
//printJob.printAsBitmap();
Application.application.removeChild(printTemplate);
Related
I need to completely initialize a custom component in my Flex app (i.e. I should be able to access it from action script and get its properties and its children etc), But I do not want to add it to the display or make it visible.
I have tried to add it to my visible component, but keep it visible, but often many of its properties are set only when it is drawn, so i don't get what i need.
Is there a way to add a custom component to some sort of 'Virtual' display, that is not visible to the user?
You could add the component to an invisible Sprite - that way the component itself could both be on the stage and have its own visible property set to true.
Did you try using initialize()? After a view is added to the display list, the initialization stage begins. Calling initialize() before addChild() should let you initialize the view without needing to first add it to the stage.
For more info visit:
http://flexscript.wordpress.com/2008/10/24/flex-component-lifecycle-and-flex-component-framework/
http://blog.deadinkvinyl.com/2008/10/05/flex-3-addchild-and-initialize/
Not sure if possible without adding it to the display list, although I'd wish it were to some extent.
I once had to make custom drag proxy, which didn't work with the real component, because of some weird skinning issues. So instead I had PopupMananger add a box as a popup, added my component to the box, called validateNow on the component, drew it in a bitmap data, removed the popup, and used the bitmap data as the proxy.
So what you were trying was missing a call to validateNow most likely.
I'm trying to give a custom class that inherits from QLabel to be draggable. Towards that end, I'm trying to create a temporary copy of the class at the current mouse position using the following code inside of the class' mousePressEvent:
QLabel *child = qobject_cast{QLabel*}(this->childAt(event->pos()));
NOTE: this line has carrots instead of brackets, but stack overflow interprets it and takes it out
if (!child)
return;
The child is never created, and I can't figure out why. Any ideas?
If your code is within your QLabel-derived class, childAt() is not the right function. That would return a child widget contained within your label. It doesn't sound like that is what you are trying to do, but correct me if I am misunderstanding.
The object you want to copy is this, but "copy" can have many meanings in c++, and I am not sure exactly you are trying to do. You will probably have to implement it yourself, perhaps with a method called clone() that creates a new instance of your class and populates the values you need to reproduce.
I suspect, though, that there is a better way to implement the drag and drop functionality you are looking for without a copy.
I am new to MATE framework and I have been digging around some sample codes so that i can do the following:
On clicking a button (on a canvas)
Display a Panel.
The issue is that i am not trying to pass any value hence not sure of how/ what should be defined as sourcekey and targetkey. If this is the case, then how should one define the propertyinjector details.
most examples that are floating around contains details of reading data from a source and populating the same on a UI/ Display component.
Thanks
Srinivasan S
for this one you shouldn't use propertyInjection you should dispatch an event (you can make it custom), then you need to catch the event in the appropriate place and simply do whatever you want with it.
What is the best way to render to a UIComponent which hasn't been added to the stage? (I'm using UIComponents as renderers for objects, and want to render new copies for image export, filtering, etc.)
Two strategies I've seen/used so far include realizing the component to ensure it calls all the lifecycle methods:
Add the component to Application.application, render with BitmapData.draw(), remove component. This is similar to what I've seen done for printing unrealized components as well.
Add the component to a pop up window, render with BitmapData.draw(), dismiss popup after rendering complete.
I believe both of these just rely on the UI not refreshing while the current thread/event is executing, though (1) could also rely on the component being realized out of view.
Is there a better way?
What I've used in the past with much success is the following:
Create a new instance of your component
Add an event listener for FlexEvent.CREATION_COMPLETE
Set visible=false on the component
Add the component as a child of the main Application
When the component is created, the event listener function will be invoked. The rest of the logic should be put in / invoked from your event listener function
Remove the event listener you added in step #2.
Use ImageSnapshot.captureImage() or captureBitmapData() to capture the visual representation of the component.
Remove the component from the main Application
Process the image data as you need to.
I've used this to snapshot various Flex charting components for use in PDF's generated on the server side. After getting the BitmapData I use the PNGEncoder or JPEGEncoder classes to compress the data, then encode it in Base64 before uploading to the server.
I'm pretty sure you can use the draw() method in BitmapData without having your component on the DisplayList.
For example is use it when I need to modify images I load with the Loader Class. In the init handler I create a BitmapData instance and draw the Bitmap from the loadInfo.content property, then copyPixels() or whatever I need to modify the loaded image
So much of a UIComponent's layout can be tied to it's context. This is especially true for a lot of its derivatives (e.g. HBox) since the fluidity of the layout is tied to it's parent's size and the number of siblings sharing its parents space.
Additionally Flex can be a real pain to get to visually update. Often critical render functions aren't done synchronously ... there are callLater, callLater2 and other hacky approaches that make dealing with the auto-magical layout properties of UIComponents a major headache. Not even calling validateNow or updateDisplayList can guarantee that the layout will be correct on the current frame (instead of a few frames in the future).
I suggest the best thing you can do is not use a UIComponent and try and use a Sprite or other.
Your approach to attach it but make it invisible (alpha = 0, mouseEnabled = false, mouseChildren = false) is decent. You should listen for the FlexEvent.CREATION_COMPLETE callback before you are certain it is properly laid out. Then you can bitmapData.draw it and then remove it from the stage. If you must use UIComponents then I know of no better way.
You can call the lifecycle function manually before using the BitmapData.draw(). Do the following.
createChildren().
commitProperties().
updateDisplayList().
bmd.draw().
The first 2 steps are not 100% necessary, you can put all codes into updateDisplayList(). Because you invoke the function manually, you don't have to worry this is invoked by Flex framework many times.
I've got a QTableView for which I want to display the last column always in edit mode. (It's a QComboBox where the user should be able to always change the value.)
I think I've seen the solution in the Qt documentation, but I can't find it anymore. Is there a simple way of doing it?
I think I could archive this effect by using openPersistentEditor() for every cell, but I'm looking for a better way. (Like specifying it only one time for the whole column.)
One way to get the automatic editing behaviour is to call the view's setEditTriggers() function with the QAbstractItemView::AllEditTriggers value.
To display the contents of a given column in a certain way, take a look at QAbstractItemView::setItemDelegateForColumn(). This will let you specify a custom delegate just for those items that need it. However, it won't automatically create an editor widget for each of them (there could in principle be thousands of them), but you could use the delegate to render each item in a way that makes it look like an editor widget.
There are two possibilities:
Using setIndexWidget, but Trolltech writes:
This function should only be used to
display static content within the
visible area corresponding to an item
of data. If you want to display custom
dynamic content or implement a custom
editor widget, subclass QItemDelegate
instead.
(And it breaks the Model/View pattern…)
Or using a delegate's paint method. But here you have to implement everything like enabled/disabled elements yourself.
The QAbstractItemModel::flags virtual function is called to test if an item is editable (see Qt::ItemIsEditable). Take a look at Making the Model Editable in the Model/View Programming documentation.
I can't see an easy way to do this, but you might be able to manage by using a delegate. I honestly don't know exactly how it would work, but you should be able to get something working if you try hard enough. If you get a proper delegate, you should be able to set it on a whole view, one cell of a view, or just a column or row.