Message area type

The AbstractMDIApplication.preparePanels(int, int, boolean, boolean, MDIMenuFactory) method in the GUI application specifies the type of the message area.

Overview

The int parameter specifying the message area type is an OR of the following elements:

• The type of the message area specifying if there is:
  • MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_NONE: no message area
  • MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_GLOBAL: a global message area for all tabs
  • MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_PER_TAB: a message area specific for each tab
• The MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_SAVE_AS_TEXT parameter specifies if there is a "save" option in the message area to save the content of the tab as text
• The editability if the message area:
  • MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_EDITABLE_GLOBAL parameter specifies if the message area is editable (or all message areas if there is a message area specific for each tab)
  • MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_EDITABLE_PER_TAB parameter specifies if the message area can be editable for each tab. In that case the editability of the message area will depend on the FileProperties.isEditable() value

For example, if you use the following parameter values:

• The MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_GLOBAL value will create one message area global to all tabs
• The MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_PER_TAB | MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_EDITABLE_GLOBAL value will create one editable message area specific for each tab. Each message area will be editablle
• The MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_PER_TAB | MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_SAVE_AS_TEXT | MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_EDITABLE_PER_TAB value will create one message area global specific for each tab. The message area for a tab will be editable if the

Message area editability

By default the message area is not editable. It is possible to specify:

• That all message areas will be editable by setting the MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_EDITABLE_GLOBAL parameter. The global message area is editable (or all message areas if there is a message area specific for each tab)
• That each message area can be set as editable by setting the MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_EDITABLE_PER_TAB parameter. In that case the editability of the message area will depend on the FileProperties.isEditable() value

Examples

Global message area

The following example initializes the GUI with a global message area:

   public class TestMDIApplication extends AbstractMDIApplication {
      public TestMDIApplication() {
        super("TestMDIApplication");

        this.initConfiguration();

        mfactory = new SimpleMenuFactory();
        super.preparePanels(4, MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_GLOBAL, true, true, mfactory);
        this.setSize(500, 500);
        this.getStatusBar().setMessage("Hello World!");
      }
   }

Per-tab message area

The following example initializes the GUI with a per-tab message area:

   public class TestMDIApplication extends AbstractMDIApplication {
      public TestMDIApplication() {
        super("TestMDIApplication");

        this.initConfiguration();

        mfactory = new SimpleMenuFactory();
        super.preparePanels(4, MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_PER_TAB, true, true, mfactory);
        this.setSize(500, 500);
        this.getStatusBar().setMessage("Hello World!");
      }
   }

Editable global message area

The following example initializes the GUI with a global editable message area:

   public class TestMDIApplication extends AbstractMDIApplication {
      public TestMDIApplication() {
        super("TestMDIApplication");

        this.initConfiguration();

        mfactory = new SimpleMenuFactory();
        super.preparePanels(4, MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_GLOBAL | MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_EDITABLE_GLOBAL, true, true, mfactory);
        this.setSize(500, 500);
        this.getStatusBar().setMessage("Hello World!");
      
        this.getMessageArea().addHandler(new MessageAreaHandler() {
          @Override
          public void handleEditText(String theText) {
            System.out.println(theText);
          }
        });      
      }
   }

Editable per-tab message area

The following example initializes the GUI with a per-tab message area which is editable depending on the value of the FileProperties.isEditable() method:

   public class TestMDIApplication extends AbstractMDIApplication {
      public TestMDIApplication() {
        super("TestMDIApplication");

        this.initConfiguration();

        mfactory = new SimpleMenuFactory();
        super.preparePanels(4, MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_PER_TAB | MessageAreaType.MESSAGEAREA_EDITABLE_PER_TAB, true, true, mfactory);
        this.setSize(500, 500);
        this.getStatusBar().setMessage("Hello World!");
      }
   }