Class Browser: How to Use the ShowMenu and AddIn Methods (132440)

MORE INFORMATION

The Class Browser allows you to browse and perform diverse tasks on classes stored in visual class libraries (.VCX files). You can customize the Class Browser by modifying the properties and methods it exposes. The example provided in this article uses the ShowMenu and the Addin methods of the Class Browser.

The ShowMenu method displays a menu built from an array. The source array can have two dimensions defining a menu item and a corresponding action. When a menu option is selected, the action is executed. The example in this article creates a two-dimensional array.

The Addin method provides a way to add user-defined code to the methods exposed by the Class Browser. The code can be linked to a method exposed by the Class Browser or invoked from the Add_In menu. The example in this article calls the add-in program from the Add_In menu. For an example on how to tie a program to a method of the Class Browser, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Step-by-Step Example

1. Copy and paste the following code into a program (.PRG) file. Save the file as CBMENU.PRG. This code defines a two-dimensional array and calls the ShowMenu method.

      * Class Browser add-in example:
      * Add-in install:  _oBrowser.AddIn('Menu Example,'CBMENU')
      * Add-in uninstall:  _oBrowser.AddIn('Menu Example',.NULL.)
   
      LPARAMETERS oSource
      LOCAL laMenu
   
      DIMENSION laMenu[3,2]
      laMenu=''
      laMenu[1,1]='Apples'
      laMenu[1,2]="DO food with 'Apples'"
      laMenu[2,1]='Oranges'
      laMenu[2,2]="DO food with 'Oranges'"
      laMenu[3,1]='Plums'
      laMenu[3,2]="DO food with 'Plums'"
   
      oSource.ShowMenu(@laMenu)
      RETURN
   
      FUNCTION food
      PARAMETER cstring
      WAIT WINDOW cstring NOWAIT
      RETURN
   						

2. Start the Class Browser by using one of the following two methods.
   
   
   • Select the Class Browser option from the Tools menu, and open BUTTONS.VCX located in the SAMPLES\CONTROLS directory. -or-
     
     
   • Type DO (_BROWSER) WITH "C:\VFP\SAMPLES\CONTROLS\BUTTONS.VCX"
3. When the Class Browser starts, the _oBrowser variable is created. It refers to an instance of the Class Browser. To register the add-in program, type:

      _oBrowser.AddIn('Menu Example','CBMENU')
   						

   This adds a record to the BROWSER.DBF table and registers the CBMENU program as a menu item. Once CBMENU is registered, the string "Menu Example" will be displayed from the Add-in menu.
4. Click the AddIn button in the Class Browser window. A menu is displayed.
5. Select Menu Example. The CBMENU program is run, and it executes the ShowMenu method. The user defined menu is displayed.