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V24.1

Add an Action that Displays a Pop-Up Window

  • 4 minutes to read

This lesson explains how to create an Action that shows a pop-up window. This type of Action is useful when users want to input multiple parameters in a pop-up dialog before they execute an Action.

Note

Before you proceed, take a moment to review the previous lessons:

In this tutorial, you will implement the ability to add notes from a predefined list to task descriptions.

Implement a New Entity

  1. Expand the MySolution.Module project and right-click the Business Objects folder. Choose Add | Class…. Specify Note.cs as the new class name and click Add.

  2. Replace the generated class declaration with the code sample below:

    using DevExpress.ExpressApp.DC;
    using DevExpress.Persistent.Base;
    using System.ComponentModel;
    using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations;
    
    namespace MySolution.Module.BusinessObjects;
    
    [DefaultProperty(nameof(Text))]
    [ImageName("BO_Note")]
    public class Note {
    
        [Key, Browsable(false)]
        [DevExpress.ExpressApp.Data.Key]
        [VisibleInDetailView(false), VisibleInListView(false), VisibleInLookupListView(false)]
        public virtual Guid ID { get; set; }
        public virtual String Author { get; set; }
        public virtual DateTime? DateTime { get; set; }
    
        [FieldSize(FieldSizeAttribute.Unlimited)]
        public virtual String Text { get; set; }
    }
    
  3. Register the Note type in DbContext. Edit the BusinessObjects\MySolutionDbContext.cs file as shown below:

    public class MySolutionEFCoreDbContext : DbContext {
        // ...
        public DbSet<Note> Notes { get; set; }
    }
    
  4. Add a migration and update the database. See the following section for details: Use a DBMS: Setup Migrations.

Create a View Controller

  1. Add a new View Controller to the MySolution.Module project. Name it PopupNotesController.
  2. In the PopupNotesController.cs file, specify the controller properties:

    using DevExpress.ExpressApp;
    using MySolution.Module.BusinessObjects;
    // ...
    public partial class PopupNotesController : ViewController {
        // ...
        public PopupNotesController() {
            InitializeComponent();
            //Target the required Views and create their Actions
            TargetObjectType = typeof(DemoTask);
            TargetViewType = ViewType.DetailView;
        }
        // ...
    }
    
  3. Add the ShowNotesAction action and handle its CustomizePopupWindowParams event:

    public partial class PopupNotesController : ViewController {
        public PopupNotesController() {
            InitializeComponent();
            TargetObjectType = typeof(DemoTask);
            TargetViewType = ViewType.DetailView;
            /*Invoke a pop-up window with a specified View and execute custom code
              when a user clicks the OK or Cancel button.*/
            PopupWindowShowAction showNotesAction = new PopupWindowShowAction(this, "ShowNotesAction", PredefinedCategory.Edit) {
                Caption = "Show Notes"
            };
    
            showNotesAction.CustomizePopupWindowParams += ShowNotesAction_CustomizePopupWindowParams;
        }
    
        private void ShowNotesAction_CustomizePopupWindowParams(object sender, CustomizePopupWindowParamsEventArgs e) {
            //Create a List View for Note objects in the pop-up window.
            e.View = Application.CreateListView(typeof(Note), true);
        }
        // ...
    }
    
  4. Add and handle the ShowNotesAction‘s Execute event. It occurs when a user clicks OK in the pop-up window. The event handler code appends the Note.Text property value to the Task.Description property value.

    // ...
    public PopupNotesController() {
        // ...
        showNotesAction.Execute += ShowNotesAction_Execute;
    }
    
    private void ShowNotesAction_Execute(object sender, PopupWindowShowActionExecuteEventArgs e) {
        DemoTask task = (DemoTask)View.CurrentObject;
        foreach(Note note in e.PopupWindowViewSelectedObjects) {
            if(!string.IsNullOrEmpty(task.Description)) {
                task.Description += Environment.NewLine;
            }
            // Add selected note texts to a Task's description
            task.Description += note.Text;
        }
        View.ObjectSpace.CommitChanges();
    }
    

    The event handler’s e.PopupWindowViewSelectedObjects parameter provides an object that a user selects in the pop-up window.

  5. Run the application.

    Open a Task item’s Detail View. The Detail View toolbar displays the Show Notes button. This is the action implemented in this lesson.

    Click the button to open the pop-up window. The pop-up window displays a list view for the Note objects. Create a Note object.

    Click this Note object in the list. After that, the Task.Description property value changes.

    ASP.NET Core Blazor
    ASP.NET Core Blazor pop-up window action
    Windows Forms
    Windows Forms pop-up window action

For an example of how to create and show a Detail View, refer to the following topic: How to: Create and Show a Detail View of the Selected Object in a Popup Window.

Note

CodeRush allows you to add Actions and Controllers with a few keystrokes. To learn about the Code Templates for XAF, refer to the following help topic: XAF Templates.

Next Lesson

Add an Action with Option Selection

See Also