topic Re: JSL: How to add the red hot-button options to an Outline Box? Or can you? in Discussions

JSL: How to add the red hot-button options to an Outline Box? Or can you?

SDF1 — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 15:54:18 GMT

Hi All,

I'm interested in learning how (if possible) to add the red hot-button menu to your own defined Outline Box. For example, with the Graph Builder platform, there's a red-hot button that allows for things like "Save Script to Data Table" and other options.

I have other scripts I wrote where I'd like to have this option. The Outline Box comes with the small grey triangle for some options, but it doesn't offer the red hot-button options. For example:

I've searched the Scripting Index and the Scripting Guide, and can't find any documentation on this.

Does anyone know if it's possible? And if so, how?

Thanks!,

Re: JSL: How to add the red hot-button options to an Outline Box? Or can you?

jthi — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 16:13:35 GMT

Are you possibly looking for << Set Menu Script? Example from scripting index

Names Default To Here(1);
New Window("Example",
	fontobj = ob = Outline Box("Outline Box",
		V List Box(
			ob2 = Outline Box("Outline Box 2",
				H List Box(
					Text Edit Box("Top Left"),
					Text Edit Box("Top Right")
				)
			),
			ob3 = Outline Box("Outline Box 3",
				H List Box(
					Text Edit Box("Bottom Left"),
					Text Edit Box("Bottom Right")
				)
			)
		)
	)
);
ob << Set Menu Script(
	{"A", Print("A"), "B", Print("B"), "B1", Print("B1"), "B2",
	Print("B2"), "B3", Print("B3"), "C", Print("C")}
);
ob << Set Submenu(2, 3);

There is also something regarding this in JMP Help, but it is very very difficult to find due to the horrible search JMP help page has (https://www.jmp.com/support/help/en/17.2/#page/jmp/construct-display-boxes-for-new-windows.shtml#ww883930)

Re: JSL: How to add the red hot-button options to an Outline Box? Or can you?

hogi — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 16:28:40 GMT

Tutorial video:
Introduction to the JMP Scripting Language chapter 5.3 @ 10:30min

Re: JSL: How to add the red hot-button options to an Outline Box? Or can you?

SDF1 — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 19:48:29 GMT

Hi @jthi and @hogi ,

Thanks for the information on where to start this process, it is very helpful. And, it's really only partly a solution right now.

I've been able to add a the menu script -- right now, I'm only adding two things: a local data filter and the save script (3 options): to data table, to scripting window and to Journal.

Right now, I have the local data filter and save script to Journal working just fine. What I'm having a harder time with is getting the save script to data table and save script to scripting window functionalities working. Below is the section of code where it activates the menu script and then assigns the action for each menu item selected.

mob << Set Menu Script(
		{"Local Data Filter", ts << Local Data Filter ; gb << Local Data Filter, "Save Script", "", "To Data Table", nwin <<
		Save Script to Data Table( "Correlation Analysis of " || ycols[1] || " vs. " || xcols[1], <<Promtp( 1 ), <<Replace( 0 ) ), "To Script Window",
		nwin << Save Script to Script Window, "To Journal", mob<<Journal}
	);
	
	mob << Set Submenu( 2, 3 );

My customized report window looks something like this:

I'd like to have the option that the user could select the save script to data table (or scripting window) and it basically saves the script that is used to generate this customized report so that this analysis can be saved to the data table and someone can click the green script arrow next to the script and re-run the analysis without having to re-run the whole add-in.

From reading the about this in the scripting index, it appears that only objects like platform reports (e.g. Graph Builder or Time Series) can individually be saved to the data table, but the entire Outline Box object, which is my report window, doesn't accept that kind of send (<<) command. I'd prefer not to save each platform object individually, but rather the entire scripting code after I've used it to do the analysis to the data table/script window.

I'm not sure exactly why, but perhaps it's because my code is structure differently, because I'm using several Expr statements. As a rough idea, my code is structured as follows:

Names Default To Here( 1 );

//any variable definitions
var1 = .;
var2 = .;//etc

//Expression to recall roles
RecallRoles = Expr(
//inside is the code to recall roles
);

//Expression to clear roles
ClearRoles = Expr(
//similar code to clear roles
);

//User interface window
ValueDlg = Expr(
	nwin = New Window( 
		// opens a new window with the main outline box and subpanels 
		//and action buttons
		mob = Outline Box( 
			//this is the main outline box that contains the subpanels and 
			//time series and graph builder platforms
			//it also contains the action buttons that perform certain tasks
		)
	);
	mob << Set Menu Script(
		//this is where I'm trying to save the evaluated script to the data
		//table so a usercan just cick it, and the script will execute with
		//the variables already evaluated and not have to cast columns into
		//roles, etc.
	);
);

ValueDlg;//this calls the ValueDlg Expr and evaluates it.

If either of you have any ideas or thoughts on how I could do this (which I hope my explanation makes sense), I appreciate any feedback on it.

Thanks!,

Re: JSL: How to add the red hot-button options to an Outline Box? Or can you?

hogi — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 19:58:20 GMT

To add Data Filter and Save Script of the Report to Data Table - if you work on a Windows PC, your could consider using the Report Toolbar:

argh ...

Re: JSL: How to add the red hot-button options to an Outline Box? Or can you?

hogi — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 20:06:04 GMT

Asking the Outline Box for the script just returns something like the Display Tree.
So, this also doesn't work.

When you generate the Report, you have the whole Expression to generate the report.

So, when the user clicks on save script, you could just use this expression and save it as a script.

[then changes which the user made afterwards will not be saved]

Names Default To Here( 1 );
dt = Open( "$SAMPLE_DATA/Big Class.jmp" );
gb = dt << Graph Builder(
	Size( 437, 413 ),
	Graph Spacing( 4 ),
	Variables( X( :height ), Y( :weight ), Overlay( :sex ) ),
	Elements( Points( X, Y, Legend( 1 ) ), Smoother( X, Y, Legend( 2 ) ) )
);

New Window( "test",
	ob = Outline Box( "test",
		V List Box( Text Box( "hello" ), gb = dt << Graph Builder( Variables( X( :height ), Y( :weight ), Overlay( :sex ) ) ) )
	)
);


ob << get script(); // Display Tree
ob << get scriptable Object (); // Empty

Re: JSL: How to add the red hot-button options to an Outline Box? Or can you?

jthi — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 20:11:25 GMT

Saving the script which creates that customized window will be generally very difficult as you would have to basically include whole add-in in that script, with the user choices applied (and then it would be the same as user basically re-running the add-in). I have had at least few different solutions for something like this (I don't try to save the whole window as my add-ins are usually too complicated for that):

Save some sort of settings variable to the data table that user can then load in your add-in to "refill" it
Don't save the whole script but rather some sort of "dashboard" type of solution with not that many features
Save just some simpler parts as table script(s)
And maybe few more that I don't remember for now...

Re: JSL: How to add the red hot-button options to an Outline Box? Or can you?

hogi — Sat, 01 Jun 2024 08:56:01 GMT

I think the best idea is to generate the Report NOT manually - but via Dashboard Builder.

In the generated Dashboard, there is a red-triangle menu with an option to save the (Dashboard) Script

... and since Jmp17 there is even an option to save a simplified version which looks like a manually generated script:

Re: JSL: How to add the red hot-button options to an Outline Box? Or can you?

Jeff_Perkinson — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 20:22:31 GMT

Adding to the suggestions from @jthi, you could create a function that you call in your add-in and then your Save Script is just the function call. It'll take some management to make sure the function is well-designed and handles the options you need but if you're building a dialog box to launch your add-in then you've probably already defined many of the arguments.

Re: JSL: How to add the red hot-button options to an Outline Box? Or can you?

SDF1 — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 20:32:49 GMT

Hi @jthi , @hogi , and @Jeff_Perkinson ,

I appreciate the feedback, thoughts, and discussion. Well, it seems like it might be trickier than I thought. That's not to say it's not doable, but it's not going to be as "simple" as adding the menu script to the outline box. I might have to stew and chew on some of the ideas here.

@hogi , I did try the Save Script to Window as well as the Save Script for All Objects to Data Table, but neither of those worked as I had intended.

If I do find the solution I'm after, I'll be sure to update this post with how I solved it in case others come across this and are interested.

Thanks everyone!,

Re: JSL: How to add the red hot-button options to an Outline Box? Or can you?

hogi — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 21:40:15 GMT

Application/Dashboard Builder is amazingly useful - it's worth to try it :)

Youtube video (Jmp 10)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyiQqUELc2A

here is a longer video with a lot of details:

short version:

Re: JSL: How to add the red hot-button options to an Outline Box? Or can you?

jthi — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 06:15:50 GMT

It is basically something you should design for from the beginning to make it "easily" doable.

Here is one example I have, the add-in is fairly simple in that sense, that it only contains graph builders (and partition/bootstrap forest).

But trying to save the script that builds that would be a nightmare. There are many hidden things that couldn't be captured by JMP's Get Script or save script to data table (or any of the methods) and the add-in is divided into 10+ different .jsl files. Even if I was able to save the UI to the datatable, it wouldn't work when user re-runs the script due to my tight management of namespaces (UI wouldn't have access to all of the different functions for example). So in this case I only provide user an option to save the column selections and the order (they can save multiple). They can then load different inputs when they have the same table open and re-run the addin.

I could most likely refactor this add-in to work in such a way, that I could save (most of it) to table script or script window, but I would have to rewrite it from the start.

Other add-in (I cannot show pictures of that) I have which queries data based on user inputs, performs some calculations and then displays the results with few graph builders and some extra column switchers/data filters, does save that "platform" /UI/visualization immediately to the data table after the query and calculations have finished. Then I run that table script to show the results to the user. This is fairly simple add-in so I could fairly easily do this with some expressions (initial version I had didn't save the visualization, but it was a request from the users so I did implement it).

And third one which I'm currently working on (again cannot show it), does similar thing. It gets data based on user inputs, performs calculations on it, shows the analysis results and visualizes them. Again, I cannot save the whole UI to datatable due to it being too big of a hassle with all the options I provide users with BUT I will add a button which is basically "pop-out dashboard" which will then only create dashboard of only some parts of the UI and within this "popout dashboard" I can add few extra functionalities as I will design for it from the start. And this popout dashboard can be then saved (hopefully) to data table.

Edit: I also fairly rarely add recall buttons to my scripts as it can also be hassle and take a long time to get working properly. I know there is one script which can help with this, but it cannot perform the task (always) good enough for me to use. If users start requesting recall buttons to most of the tools I have written, I might consider writing script for that which hopefully would work in most of the cases.

Re: JSL: How to add the red hot-button options to an Outline Box? Or can you?

hogi — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 07:34:34 GMT

With a GUI that is generated via Application Builder, all this is super easy - you can work on the GUI, optimize it and save the latest version of the full functionality as a new Table Script. Noticing an implicit "better don't use application builder to do this" - is there a functionality which is not possible via Application Builder?

One drawback I noticed:

For dashboards that go beyond a simple collection of platform objects, some JSL code has to be added to automate the GUI.

Debugging this JSL code feels much more complicated than in a JSL editor.

Maybe I just don't know how to do it right.
Are there any suggestions from Application Builder users on how to debug part of the code, e.g. start the application from Application Builder and in parallel run snippets of the code in JSL editor to check what they do? Is there a framework how to get access to the namespace of the application so that I can use snippets of the code in JSL editor without any changes?