xref: /trunk/main/offapi/com/sun/star/form/runtime/XFormController.idl (revision 96af39f7)

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#ifndef __offapi_com_sun_star_form_runtime_XFormController_idl__
#define __offapi_com_sun_star_form_runtime_XFormController_idl__

#include <com/sun/star/awt/XTabController.idl>
#include <com/sun/star/container/XChild.idl>
#include <com/sun/star/lang/XComponent.idl>
#include <com/sun/star/container/XIndexAccess.idl>
#include <com/sun/star/container/XEnumerationAccess.idl>
#include <com/sun/star/util/XModifyBroadcaster.idl>
#include <com/sun/star/util/XModeSelector.idl>
#include <com/sun/star/form/XConfirmDeleteBroadcaster.idl>
#include <com/sun/star/sdb/XSQLErrorBroadcaster.idl>
#include <com/sun/star/sdb/XRowSetApproveBroadcaster.idl>
#include <com/sun/star/form/XDatabaseParameterBroadcaster2.idl>
#include <com/sun/star/form/XFormControllerListener.idl>
#include <com/sun/star/task/XInteractionHandler.idl>
#include <com/sun/star/lang/IllegalArgumentException.idl>
#include <com/sun/star/form/runtime/XFilterController.idl>

//=============================================================================

module com { module sun { module star { module form { module runtime {

interface XFormOperations;
interface XFormControllerContext;

//=============================================================================

/** specifies a component controlling the interaction between the user and form functionality.

	<p>As soon as a form (containing controls) is to be presented to the user,
	there is a need for an instance controlling the user interaction.<br/>
	Such a <code>FormController</code> is responsible for dialog processing,
	like controlling the tab order and the grouping of controls.</p>

	<p>As a form may contain one or many subforms, a <type>FormController</type> may
	contain one or more other <type>FormController</type>s, so the form model structure or hierarchy
	is reflected in the structure of <type>FormController</type>s. That is, retrieving the parent of
    the model of a controller will give you the same object as retrieving the model of the parent of
    the controller. Similarly, retrieving the model of the <code>n</code><sup>th</sup> child of
    a controller gives you the same object as retrieving the <code>n</code><sup>th</sup> child of
    the model of the controller.</p>

	<p>A controller is called <em>active</em> if one of the controls it is responsible for has the focus,
	else inactive. To be notified whenever this activation state of a given controller changes, you can
	add listeners.</p>

    <p>This interface supersedes the <type scope="com::sun::star::form">FormController</type>.</p>

	<h3>Responsibilities</h3>
    <p>A <type>FormController</type> is responsible for a <type scope="com::sun::star::awt">UnoControlContainer</type>,
    and all controls therein.</p>

    <p>Furthermore, a form controller is responsible for preventing invalid user input. That is, if the form
    contains controls bound to a database, or to an external validator, then the form controller will
    check their current value when the current record is to be saved to the database.</p>

    <p>First, it will check whether any controls with an external validator exist. If so, those validators
    will be asked to validate the current control content. If this fails, the message provided by the validator
    is displayed to the user, the control is focused, and the update of the record is vetoed.</p>

    <p>Second, the controls are examined for NULL values. If a control is bound to a database field which
    is declared to be <code>NOT NULL</code>, no auto-increment field, but still <NULL/>, then an error
    message is shown to the user saying that input is required, the respective control is focused, and
    the update of the record is vetoed.</p>

    <p>Note that you can precent the second check - for database fields containing <NULL/> values - on
    a per-form and a per-database basis.<br/>
    For the former, you need to add a boolean property <code>FormsCheckRequiredFields</code> to the form
    (aka the <code>FormController</code>'s model), using its
    <member scope="com::sun::star::beans">XPropertyContainer::addProperty</member> method, with a value
    of <FALSE/>.<br/>
    For the latter, you need to set the respective property of the data source's <code>Settings</code>
    (also named <code>FormsCheckRequiredFields</code>) to <FALSE/>.</p>

    <p>Alternatively, you can prevent the check on a per-control basis, using the
    <member>DataAwareControlModel::InputRequired</member> property of a single control model.</p>

    <p>If a control which the controller is responsible for supports the <type scope="com::sun::star::frame">XDispatchProviderInterception</type>
    interface, the controller registers a dispatch interceptor. Then, the control can try to delegate part of its
    functionality to the controller by querying the dispatch interceptor for it.</p>

    <p>Below, there's a list of URLs which have a defined meaning - if an implementation supports one of them,
    there must be a guaranteed semantices. However, concrete implementations may support an arbitrary sub or super
    set of these URLs.</p>

    <p>In general, all URLs start with the same prefix, namely <em>.uno:FormController/</em>. To this, a suffix is
    appended which describes the requested functionality.<br/>
    Example: The URL suffix for deleting the current record is <em>deleteRecord</em>, so the complete URL for
    requesting a dispatcher for this functionality is <em>.uno:FormController/deleteRecord</em>.</p>

    <p>Some URLs may require parameters. For this, the sequence of <type scope="com::sun::star::beans">PropertyValue</type>s
    passed to the <member scope="com::sun::star::frame">XDispatch::dispatch</member> call is used - every property value is
    used as one named parameter.</p>

    <p>For all URLs, interested parties can register as status listeners (<type scope="com::sun::star::frame">XStatusListener</type>)
    at the dispatchers, and be notified whenever the functionality associated with the URL becomes enabled or
    disabled.<br/>
    For instance, the URL with the suffix <em>moveToFirst</em> is associated with moving the form to the first
    record, and it will be disabled in case the form is already positioned on the first record.</p>

    <table style="width:100%;" border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2"><tbody>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><b>URL suffix</b></td>
        <td><b>functionality</b></td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>positionForm</em></td>
        <td>positions the form on a record given by absolute number.<br/>
        There's one parameter for this functionality, named <em>Position</em>, which must be a long
        value specifying the absolute position to which the form should be moved</td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>RecordCount</em></td>
        <td>This is a passive functionality: It cannot be dispatched, instead, interested parties may
        use the dispatcher to add as <type scope="com::sun::star::frame">XStatusListener</type>, and be
        notified when the record count changes.<br/>
        The status value which is being notified (<member scope="com::sun::star::frame">FeatureStateEvent::State</member>)
        is a string which can be used to display the record count. In particular, if the record count is not yet known
        (<member scope="com::sun::star::sdb">RowSet::IsRowCountFinal</member> is <FALSE/>), this is indicated in the
        string, too.</td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>moveToFirst</em></td>
        <td>moves the form to the first record</td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>moveToPrev</em></td>
        <td>moves the form to the record preceding the current one</td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>moveToNext</em></td>
        <td>moves the form to the record after the current one</td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>moveToLast</em></td>
        <td>moves the form to the last record</td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>moveToNew</em></td>
        <td>moves the form to the virtual "insert row", where new records can be inserted</td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>saveRecord</em></td>
        <td>Commits any potentially pending changes in the current control, and saves the current record to
        the database, or inserts a new record if the form is currently positioned on the virtual insertion row.</td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>undoRecord</em></td>
        <td>reverts the changes done to the current record. Basically, this means refreshing the
        current row from the database, and updating all controls with the new content.</td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>deleteRecord</em></td>
        <td>deletes the current record, after asking the user for confirmation.</td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>refreshForm</em></td>
        <td>reloads the complete form. After this, the form is positioned on the first record</td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>sortUp</em></td>
        <td>Adds an order clause to the form, to sort it ascending by the field which the current control is bound to,
        and then reloads the form.</td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>sortDown</em></td>
        <td>Adds an order clause to the form, to sort it descending by the field which the current control is bound to,
        and then reloads the form.</td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>sort</em></td>
        <td>opens an dialog, which allows the user to manipulate the current sorting order of the form. If the dialog
        is closed with OK, the form is reloaded after setting the new sorting order.</td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>autoFilter</em></td>
        <td>creates, from the current control, a filter for the form. This is, if the current control is bound to
        the field, say, "customer", and contains the value "Furs, Inc.", then a filter "customer = 'Furs, Inc.'"
        is created and set at the form. After this, the form is reloaded.</td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>filter</em></td>
        <td>opens an dialog, which allows the user to manipulate the current filter of the form. If the dialog
        is closed with OK, the form is reloaded after setting the new filter.</td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>applyFilter</em></td>
        <td><p>Toggles the <member scope="com::sun::star::sdb">RowSet::ApplyFilter</member> property
        of the form.</p>
        <p>Additionally, status listeners will be provided with the current (boolean) state of this property
        in the <member scope="com::sun::star::frame">FeatureStateEvent::State</member> member of the event
        notified by the dispatcher.</p></td>
      </tr>

      <tr style="vertical-align: top;">
        <td><em>removeFilterOrder</em></td>
        <td>completely removes any filter and sorting order from the form, and reloads it.</td>
      </tr>

    </tbody></table>

    @see ::com::sun::star::form::component:Form
    @see ::com::sun::star::form::binding::BindableControlModel
    @see ::com::sun::star::sdb::DataSource::Settings

    @since OpenOffice 3.3
 */
interface XFormController
{
	/** is used for tab controlling and grouping of the controls.

        <p>The model obtained via <member scope="com::sun::star::awt">XTabController::getModel</member> is the form for which the
        controller is responsible.</p>
	 */
	interface ::com::sun::star::awt::XTabController;

    /** allows access to the parent controller.
	 */
	interface ::com::sun::star::container::XChild;

	/** allows access to the sub controllers.
	 */
	interface ::com::sun::star::container::XIndexAccess;

    /** allows enumerating sub controllers
     */
    interface ::com::sun::star::container::XEnumerationAccess;

    /** allows life time control of the controller.
	 */
	interface ::com::sun::star::lang::XComponent;

    /** allows to register as listener for modifications in the controls which the controller is responsible
        for.
     */
    interface ::com::sun::star::util::XModifyBroadcaster;

    /** used to notify deletions of data in the form before they happen.

		<p>A form controller listens for deletion events at the form it is responsible for. If and only if no
        <type scope="com::sun::star::form">XConfirmDeleteListener</type> is registered at
		the controller, it uses an own dialog to ask the user for confirmation.</p>
	*/
    interface ::com::sun::star::form::XConfirmDeleteBroadcaster;

	/** is used to notify errors which happen in the form the controller is responsible for.

		<p>A form controller listens for error events at the form it is responsible for. If and only if no
        <type scope="com::sun::star::sdb">XSQLErrorListener</type> is registered at the controller, it
		uses an own dialog to notify the user of the error.</p>

	*/
	interface ::com::sun::star::sdb::XSQLErrorBroadcaster;

    /** is used for multiplexing row set events happening on the form which the controller is responsible for.
	*/
	interface ::com::sun::star::sdb::XRowSetApproveBroadcaster;

    /** is used broadcasting parameter events in the form.

		<p>A form controller listens for parameter events at the form it is responsible for. If and only if no
        <type scope="com::sun::star::form">XDatabaseParameterListener</type> is registered at the controller, it
        uses an own dialog to ask the user for parameter values.</p>
	*/
	interface ::com::sun::star::form::XDatabaseParameterBroadcaster2;

    /** allows switching the form controller to different operation modes.

        <a name="mode_selector"></a>
        <p>The two modes usually (but not necessarily) supported by a form controller are the <code>DataMode</code>
        and the <code>FilterMode</code>, where the former is the usual modus operandi for displaying and modifying
        data, and the latter is a special mode to enter a filter for the database form which the controller is
        responsible for.</p>
    */
    interface ::com::sun::star::util::XModeSelector;

    /** allows controlling the filter mode.

        <p>If the form controller supports a <a href="#mode_selector">form based filter mode</a>, then it shall also
        support the <type>XFilterController</type> interface, which allows controlling this mode.</p>
    */
    [optional] interface XFilterController;

    /** denotes the instance which is used to implement operations on the form which the controller
        works for.

        <p>This instance can be used, for instance, to determine the current state of certain form features.</p>
    */
    [attribute, readonly] XFormOperations FormOperations;

	/** provicdes access to the currently active control
      */
    [attribute, readonly] ::com::sun::star::awt::XControl CurrentControl;

    /** allows to delegate certain tasks to the context of the form controller
    */
    [attribute] XFormControllerContext  Context;

    /** used (if not <NULL/>) for user interactions triggered by the form controller.
    */
    [attribute] ::com::sun::star::task::XInteractionHandler InteractionHandler;

    /** adds the specified listener to receive notifications whenever the activation state of
		the controller changes.
	 */
    void addActivateListener( [in] ::com::sun::star::form::XFormControllerListener _Listener );

    /** removes the specified listener from the list of components to receive notifications whenever the activation
        state of the controller changes.
	 */
    void removeActivateListener( [in] ::com::sun::star::form::XFormControllerListener _Listener );

    /** adds a controller to the list of child controllers
        @throws ::com::sun::star::lang::IllegalArgumentException
            if the given controller is <NULL/>, or cannot rightfully be a child controller. Since controllers
            mirror the hierarchy of the forms the are responsible for, this means that the form of the given
            child controller must be a child of the controller at which the method is invoked.
    */
    void addChildController( [in] XFormController _ChildController )
        raises ( ::com::sun::star::lang::IllegalArgumentException );
};

//=============================================================================

}; }; }; }; };

//=============================================================================

#endif