///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// // Name: propgrid.h // Purpose: topic overview // Author: wxWidgets team // RCS-ID: $Id: // Licence: wxWindows license ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// /** @page overview_propgrid wxPropertyGrid Overview Key Classes: @li wxPGProperty @li wxPropertyGrid @li wxPropertyGridEvent @li wxPropertyGridManager @li wxPropertyGridPage wxPropertyGrid is a specialized grid for editing properties such as strings, numbers, flagsets, fonts, and colours. It is possible, for example, to categorize properties, set up a complete tree-hierarchy, add multiple columns, and set arbitrary per-property attributes. @li @ref propgrid_basics @li @ref propgrid_categories @li @ref propgrid_parentprops @li @ref propgrid_enumandflags @li @ref propgrid_advprops @li @ref propgrid_iterating @li @ref propgrid_operations @li @ref propgrid_events @li @ref propgrid_validating @li @ref propgrid_populating @li @ref propgrid_cellrender @li @ref propgrid_customizing @li @ref propgrid_usage2 @li @ref propgrid_subclassing @li @ref propgrid_misc @li @ref propgrid_proplist @li @ref propgrid_userhelp @li @ref propgrid_notes @li @ref propgrid_newprops @li @ref propgrid_neweditors @section propgrid_basics Creating and Populating wxPropertyGrid As seen here, wxPropertyGrid is constructed in the same way as other wxWidgets controls: @code // Necessary header file #include ... // Assumes code is in frame/dialog constructor // Construct wxPropertyGrid control wxPropertyGrid* pg = new wxPropertyGrid( this, // parent PGID, // id wxDefaultPosition, // position wxDefaultSize, // size // Here are just some of the supported window styles wxPG_AUTO_SORT | // Automatic sorting after items added wxPG_SPLITTER_AUTO_CENTER | // Automatically center splitter until user manually adjusts it // Default style wxPG_DEFAULT_STYLE ); // Window style flags are at premium, so some less often needed ones are // available as extra window styles (wxPG_EX_xxx) which must be set using // SetExtraStyle member function. wxPG_EX_HELP_AS_TOOLTIPS, for instance, // allows displaying help strings as tooltips. pg->SetExtraStyle( wxPG_EX_HELP_AS_TOOLTIPS ); @endcode (for complete list of new window styles: @link wndflags Additional Window Styles@endlink) wxPropertyGrid is usually populated with lines like this: @code pg->Append( new wxStringProperty(wxT("Label"),wxT("Name"),wxT("Initial Value")) ); @endcode Naturally, wxStringProperty is a property class. Only the first function argument (label) is mandatory. Second one, name, defaults to label and, third, the initial value, to default value. If constant wxPG_LABEL is used as the name argument, then the label is automatically used as a name as well (this is more efficient than manually defining both as the same). Use of empty name is discouraged and will sometimes result in run-time error. Note that all property class constructors have quite similar constructor argument list. To demonstrate other common property classes, here's another code snippet: @code // Add int property pg->Append( new wxIntProperty(wxT("IntProperty"), wxPG_LABEL, 12345678) ); // Add float property (value type is actually double) pg->Append( new wxFloatProperty(wxT("FloatProperty"), wxPG_LABEL, 12345.678) ); // Add a bool property pg->Append( new wxBoolProperty(wxT("BoolProperty"), wxPG_LABEL, false) ); // A string property that can be edited in a separate editor dialog. pg->Append( new wxLongStringProperty(wxT("LongStringProperty"), wxPG_LABEL, wxT("This is much longer string than the ") wxT("first one. Edit it by clicking the button."))); // String editor with dir selector button. pg->Append( new wxDirProperty(wxT("DirProperty"), wxPG_LABEL, ::wxGetUserHome()) ); // wxArrayStringProperty embeds a wxArrayString. pg->Append( new wxArrayStringProperty(wxT("Label of ArrayStringProperty"), wxT("NameOfArrayStringProp"))); // A file selector property. pg->Append( new wxFileProperty(wxT("FileProperty"), wxPG_LABEL, wxEmptyString) ); // Extra: set wildcard for file property (format same as in wxFileDialog). pg->SetPropertyAttribute( wxT("FileProperty"), wxPG_FILE_WILDCARD, wxT("All files (*.*)|*.*") ); @endcode Operations on properties should be done either via wxPropertyGrid's (or wxPropertyGridManager's) methods, or by acquiring pointer to a property (Append returns a wxPGProperty* or wxPGId, which is typedef for same), and then calling its method. Note however that property's methods generally do not automatically update grid graphics. Property container functions operating on properties, such as SetPropertyValue or DisableProperty, all accept a special wxPGPropArg, argument which can automatically convert name of a property to a pointer. For instance: @code // A file selector property. wxPGPropety* p = pg->Append( new wxFileProperty(wxT("FileProperty"), wxPG_LABEL, wxEmptyString) ); // Valid: Set wildcard by name pg->SetPropertyAttribute( wxT("FileProperty"), wxPG_FILE_WILDCARD, wxT("All files (*.*)|*.*") ); // Also Valid: Set wildcard by ptr pg->SetPropertyAttribute( p, wxPG_FILE_WILDCARD, wxT("All files (*.*)|*.*") ); @endcode Using pointer is faster, since it doesn't require hash map lookup. Anyway, you can allways get property pointer (wxPGProperty*) as Append/Insert return value, or by calling GetPropertyByName. Below are samples for using some of the more commong operations. See wxPropertyGridInterface and wxPropertyGrid class references for complete list. @code // wxPGId is a short-hand for wxPGProperty*. Let's use it this time. wxPGId id = pg->GetPropertyByName( wxT("MyProperty") ); // There are many overloaded versions of this method, of which each accept // different type of value. pg->SetPropertyValue( wxT("MyProperty"), 200 ); // Setting a string works for all properties - conversion is done // automatically. pg->SetPropertyValue( id, wxT("400") ); // Getting property value as wxVariant. wxVariant value = pg->GetPropertyValue( wxT("MyProperty") ); // Getting property value as String (again, works for all typs). wxString value = pg->GetPropertyValueAsString( id ); // Getting property value as int. Provokes a run-time error // if used with property which value type is not "long". long value = pg->GetPropertyValueAsLong( wxT("MyProperty") ); // Set new name. pg->SetPropertyName( wxT("MyProperty"), wxT("X") ); // Set new label - we need to use the new name. pg->SetPropertyLabel( wxT("X"), wxT("New Label") ); // Disable the property. It's text will appear greyed. // This is probably the closest you can get if you want // a "read-only" property. pg->DisableProperty( id ); @endcode @section propgrid_categories Categories wxPropertyGrid has a hierarchial property storage and display model, which allows property categories to hold child properties and even other categories. Other than that, from the programmer's point of view, categories can be treated exactly the same as "other" properties. For example, despite its name, GetPropertyByName also returns a category by name, and SetPropertyLabel also sets label of a category. Note however that sometimes the label of a property category may be referred as caption (for example, there is SetCaptionForegroundColour method that sets text colour of a property category's label). When category is added at the top (i.e. root) level of the hierarchy, it becomes a *current category*. This means that all other (non-category) properties after it are automatically added to it. You may add properties to specific categories by using wxPropertyGrid::Insert or wxPropertyGrid::AppendIn. Category code sample: @code // One way to add category (similar to how other properties are added) pg->Append( new wxPropertyCategory(wxT("Main")) ); // All these are added to "Main" category pg->Append( new wxStringProperty(wxT("Name")) ); pg->Append( new wxIntProperty(wxT("Age"),wxPG_LABEL,25) ); pg->Append( new wxIntProperty(wxT("Height"),wxPG_LABEL,180) ); pg->Append( new wxIntProperty(wxT("Weight")) ); // Another one pg->Append( new wxPropertyCategory(wxT("Attrikbutes")) ); // All these are added to "Attributes" category pg->Append( new wxIntProperty(wxT("Intelligence")) ); pg->Append( new wxIntProperty(wxT("Agility")) ); pg->Append( new wxIntProperty(wxT("Strength")) ); @endcode @section propgrid_parentprops Tree-like Property Structure As a new feature in version 1.3.1, basicly any property can have children. There are few limitations, however. @remarks - Names of properties with non-category, non-root parents are not stored in hash map. Instead, they can be accessed with strings like "Parent.Child". For instance, in the sample below, child property named "Max. Speed (mph)" can be accessed by global name "Car.Speeds.Max Speed (mph)". - If you want to property's value to be a string composed based on the values of child properties, you must use wxStringProperty as parent and use value "". - Events (eg. change of value) that occur in parent do not propagate to children. Events that occur in children will propagate to parents, but only if they are wxStringProperties with "" value. - Old wxParentProperty class is deprecated, and remains as a typedef of wxStringProperty. If you want old value behavior, you must specify "" as wxStringProperty's value. Sample: @code wxPGId pid = pg->Append( new wxStringProperty(wxT("Car"),wxPG_LABEL,wxT("")) ); pg->AppendIn( pid, new wxStringProperty(wxT("Model"), wxPG_LABEL, wxT("Lamborghini Diablo SV")) ); pg->AppendIn( pid, new wxIntProperty(wxT("Engine Size (cc)"), wxPG_LABEL, 5707) ); wxPGId speedId = pg->AppendIn( pid, new wxStringProperty(wxT("Speeds"),wxPG_LABEL,wxT("")) ); pg->AppendIn( speedId, new wxIntProperty(wxT("Max. Speed (mph)"),wxPG_LABEL,290) ); pg->AppendIn( speedId, new wxFloatProperty(wxT("0-100 mph (sec)"),wxPG_LABEL,3.9) ); pg->AppendIn( speedId, new wxFloatProperty(wxT("1/4 mile (sec)"),wxPG_LABEL,8.6) ); // Make sure the child properties can be accessed correctly pg->SetPropertyValue( wxT("Car.Speeds.Max. Speed (mph)"), 300 ); pg->AppendIn( pid, new wxIntProperty(wxT("Price ($)"), wxPG_LABEL, 300000) ); // Displayed value of "Car" property is now: // "Lamborghini Diablo SV; [300; 3.9; 8.6]; 300000" @endcode @section propgrid_enumandflags wxEnumProperty and wxFlagsProperty wxEnumProperty is used when you want property's (integer or string) value to be selected from a popup list of choices. Creating wxEnumProperty is more complex than those described earlier. You have to provide list of constant labels, and optionally relevant values (if label indexes are not sufficient). @remarks - Value wxPG_INVALID_VALUE (equals 2147483647 which usually equals INT_MAX) is not allowed as value. A very simple example: @code // // Using wxArrayString // wxArrayString arrDiet; arr.Add(wxT("Herbivore")); arr.Add(wxT("Carnivore")); arr.Add(wxT("Omnivore")); pg->Append( new wxEnumProperty(wxT("Diet"), wxPG_LABEL, arrDiet) ); // // Using wxChar* array // const wxChar* arrayDiet[] = { wxT("Herbivore"), wxT("Carnivore"), wxT("Omnivore"), NULL }; pg->Append( new wxEnumProperty(wxT("Diet"), wxPG_LABEL, arrayDiet) ); @endcode Here's extended example using values as well: @code // // Using wxArrayString and wxArrayInt // wxArrayString arrDiet; arr.Add(wxT("Herbivore")); arr.Add(wxT("Carnivore")); arr.Add(wxT("Omnivore")); wxArrayInt arrIds; arrIds.Add(40); arrIds.Add(45); arrIds.Add(50); // Note that the initial value (the last argument) is the actual value, // not index or anything like that. Thus, our value selects "Omnivore". pg->Append( new wxEnumProperty(wxT("Diet"), wxPG_LABEL, arrDiet, arrIds, 50)); // // Using wxChar* and long arrays // const wxChar* array_diet[] = { wxT("Herbivore"), wxT("Carnivore"), wxT("Omnivore"), NULL }; long array_diet_ids[] = { 40, 45, 50 }; // Value can be set from string as well pg->Append( new wxEnumProperty(wxT("Diet"), wxPG_LABEL, array_diet, array_diet_ids); @endcode wxPGChoices is a class where wxEnumProperty, and other properties which require label storage, actually stores strings and values. It is used to facilitiate reference counting, and therefore recommended way of adding items when multiple properties share the same set. You can use wxPGChoices directly as well, filling it and then passing it to the constructor. Infact, if you wish to display bitmaps next to labels, your best choice is to use this approach. @code wxPGChoices chs; chs.Add(wxT("Herbivore"),40); chs.Add(wxT("Carnivore"),45); chs.Add(wxT("Omnivore"),50); // Let's add an item with bitmap, too chs.Add(wxT("None of the above"), wxBitmap(), 60); // Note: you can add even whole arrays to wxPGChoices pg->Append( new wxEnumProperty(wxT("Diet"), wxPG_LABEL, chs) ); // Add same choices to another property as well - this is efficient due // to reference counting pg->Append( new wxEnumProperty(wxT("Diet 2"), wxPG_LABEL, chs) ); @endcode If you later need to change choices used by a property, there is function for that as well. @code // // Example 1: Add one extra item wxPGChoices& choices = pg->GetPropertyChoices(wxT("Diet")); choices.Add(wxT("Custom"),55); // // Example 2: Replace all the choices wxPGChoices chs; chs.Add(wxT(""),0); pg->SetPropertyChoices(wxT("Diet"),chs); @endcode If you want to create your enum properties with simple (label,name,value) constructor, then you need to create a new property class using one of the supplied macro pairs. See @ref pgproperty_creating for details. wxEditEnumProperty is works exactly like wxEnumProperty, except is uses non-readonly combobox as default editor, and value is stored as string when it is not any of the choices. wxFlagsProperty is similar: @code const wxChar* flags_prop_labels[] = { wxT("wxICONIZE"), wxT("wxCAPTION"), wxT("wxMINIMIZE_BOX"), wxT("wxMAXIMIZE_BOX"), NULL }; // this value array would be optional if values matched string indexes long flags_prop_values[] = { wxICONIZE, wxCAPTION, wxMINIMIZE_BOX, wxMAXIMIZE_BOX }; pg->Append( new wxFlagsProperty(wxT("Window Style"), wxPG_LABEL, flags_prop_labels, flags_prop_values, wxDEFAULT_FRAME_STYLE) ); @endcode wxFlagsProperty can use wxPGChoices just the same way as wxEnumProperty (and also custom property classes can be created with similar macro pairs). Note: When changing "choices" (ie. flag labels) of wxFlagsProperty, you will need to use SetPropertyChoices - otherwise they will not get updated properly. @section propgrid_advprops Specialized Properties This section describes the use of less often needed property classes. To use them, you have to include . @code // Necessary extra header file #include ... // Date property. pg->Append( new wxDateProperty(wxT("MyDateProperty"), wxPG_LABEL, wxDateTime::Now()) ); // Image file property. Wildcard is auto-generated from available // image handlers, so it is not set this time. pg->Append( new wxImageFileProperty(wxT("Label of ImageFileProperty"), wxT("NameOfImageFileProp")) ); // Font property has sub-properties. Note that we give window's font as // initial value. pg->Append( new wxFontProperty(wxT("Font"), wxPG_LABEL, GetFont()) ); // Colour property with arbitrary colour. pg->Append( new wxColourProperty(wxT("My Colour 1"), wxPG_LABEL, wxColour(242,109,0) ) ); // System colour property. pg->Append( new wxSystemColourProperty(wxT("My SysColour 1"), wxPG_LABEL, wxSystemSettings::GetColour(wxSYS_COLOUR_WINDOW)) ); // System colour property with custom colour. pg->Append( new wxSystemColourProperty(wxT("My SysColour 2"), wxPG_LABEL, wxColour(0,200,160) ) ); // Cursor property pg->Append( new wxCursorProperty(wxT("My Cursor"), wxPG_LABEL, wxCURSOR_ARROW)); @endcode @section propgrid_iterating Iterating through a property container You can use somewhat STL'ish iterator classes to iterate through the grid. Here is a simple example of forward iterating through all individual properties (not categories or sub-propeties that are normally 'transparent' to application code): @code wxPropertyGridIterator it; for ( it = pg->GetIterator(); !it.AtEnd(); it++ ) { wxPGProperty* p = *it; // Do something with the property } @endcode As expected there is also a const iterator: @code wxPropertyGridConstIterator it; for ( it = pg->GetIterator(); !it.AtEnd(); it++ ) { const wxPGProperty* p = *it; // Do something with the property } @endcode You can give some arguments to GetIterator to determine which properties get automatically filtered out. For complete list of options, see @link iteratorflags List of Property Iterator Flags@endlink. GetIterator() also accepts other arguments. See wxPropertyGridInterface::GetIterator() for details. This example reverse-iterates through all visible items: @code wxPropertyGridIterator it; for ( it = pg->GetIterator(wxPG_ITERATE_VISIBLE, wxBOTTOM); !it.AtEnd(); it-- ) { wxPGProperty* p = *it; // Do something with the property } @endcode wxPython Note: Instead of ++ operator, use Next() method, and instead of * operator, use GetProperty() method. GetIterator() only works with wxPropertyGrid and the individual pages of wxPropertyGridManager. In order to iterate through an arbitrary property container, you need to use wxPropertyGridInterface::GetVIterator(). Note however that this virtual iterater is limited to forward iteration. @code wxPGVIterator it; for ( it = manager->GetVIterator(); !it.AtEnd(); it.Next() ) { wxPGProperty* p = it.GetProperty(); // Do something with the property } @endcode @section propgrid_operations More About Operating with Properties Getting value of selected wxSystemColourProperty (which value type is derived from wxObject): @code wxPGId id = pg->GetSelection(); if ( id ) { // Get name of property const wxString& name = pg->GetPropertyName( id ); // If type is not correct, GetColour() method will produce run-time error if ( pg->GetPropertyValueType() == wxT("wxColourPropertyValue") ) ) { wxColourPropertyValue* pcolval = wxDynamicCast(pg->GetPropertyValueAsWxObjectPtr(id), wxColourPropertyValue); // Report value wxString text; if ( pcolval->m_type == wxPG_CUSTOM_COLOUR ) text.Printf( wxT("It is custom colour: (%i,%i,%i)"), (int)pcolval->m_colour.Red(), (int)pcolval->m_colour.Green(), (int)pcolval->m_colour.Blue()); else text.Printf( wxT("It is wx system colour (number=%i): (%i,%i,%i)"), (int)pcolval->m_type, (int)pcolval->m_colour.Red(), (int)pcolval->m_colour.Green(), (int)pcolval->m_colour.Blue()); wxMessageBox( text ); } } @endcode @section propgrid_populating Populating wxPropertyGrid Automatically @subsection propgrid_fromvariants Populating from List of wxVariants Example of populating an empty wxPropertyGrid from a values stored in an arbitrary list of wxVariants. @code // This is a static method that initializes *all* builtin type handlers // available, including those for wxColour and wxFont. Refers to *all* // included properties, so when compiling with static library, this // method may increase the executable size significantly. pg->InitAllTypeHandlers(); // Get contents of the grid as a wxVariant list wxVariant all_values = pg->GetPropertyValues(); // Populate the list with values. If a property with appropriate // name is not found, it is created according to the type of variant. pg->SetPropertyValues( my_list_variant ); // In order to get wxObject ptr from a variant value, // wxGetVariantCast(VARIANT,CLASSNAME) macro has to be called. // Like this: wxVariant v_txcol = pg->GetPropertyValue(wxT("Text Colour")); const wxColour& txcol = wxGetVariantCast(v_txcol,wxColour); @endcode @subsection propgrid_fromfile Loading Population from a Text-based Storage Class wxPropertyGridPopulator may be helpful when writing code that loads properties from a text-source. In fact, the supplied xrc handler (src/xh_propgrid.cpp) uses it. See that code for more info. NOTE: src/xh_propgrid.cpp is not included in the library by default, to avoid dependency to wxXRC. You will need to add it to your application separately. @subsection propgrid_editablestate Saving and Restoring User-Editable State You can use wxPGEditableState and wxPGMEditableState classes, and wxPropertyGrid::SaveEditableState() and wxPropertyGrid::RestoreEditableState() to save and restore user-editable state (selected property, expanded/ collapsed properties, and scrolled position). For convience with program configuration, wxPGEditableState has functions to save/load its value in wxString. For instance: @code // Save state into config wxPGEditableState edState; pg->SaveEditableState(&edState); programConfig->Store(wxT("PropertyGridState"), edState.GetAsString()); // Restore state from config wxPGEditableState edState; edState.SetFromString(programConfig->Load(wxT("PropertyGridState"))); pg->RestoreEditableState(edState); @endcode @section propgrid_events Event Handling Probably the most important event is the Changed event which occurs when value of any property is changed by the user. Use EVT_PG_CHANGED(id,func) in your event table to use it. For complete list of event types, see wxPropertyGrid class reference. The custom event class, wxPropertyGridEvent, has methods to directly access the property that triggered the event. Here's a small sample: @code // Portion of an imaginary event table BEGIN_EVENT_TABLE(MyForm, wxFrame) ... // This occurs when a property value changes EVT_PG_CHANGED( PGID, MyForm::OnPropertyGridChange ) ... END_EVENT_TABLE() void MyForm::OnPropertyGridChange( wxPropertyGridEvent& event ) { wxPGProperty *property = event.GetProperty(); // It may be NULL if ( !property ) return; // Get name of changed property const wxString& name = property->GetName(); // Get resulting value wxVariant value = property->GetValue(); } @endcode Another event type you might find useful is EVT_PG_CHANGING, which occurs just prior property value is being changed by user. You can acquire pending value using wxPropertyGridEvent::GetValue(), and if it is not acceptable, call wxPropertyGridEvent::Veto() to prevent the value change from taking place. @code // Portion of an imaginary event table BEGIN_EVENT_TABLE(MyForm, wxFrame) ... // This occurs when a property value changes EVT_PG_CHANGING( PGID, MyForm::OnPropertyGridChanging ) ... END_EVENT_TABLE() void MyForm::OnPropertyGridChanging( wxPropertyGridEvent& event ) { wxPGProperty* property = event.GetProperty(); if ( property == m_pWatchThisProperty ) { // GetValue() returns the pending value, but is only // supported by wxEVT_PG_CHANGING. if ( event.GetValue().GetString() == g_pThisTextIsNotAllowed ) { event.Veto(); return; } } } @endcode @remarks On Sub-property Event Handling - For aggregate type properties (wxFontProperty, wxFlagsProperty, etc), events occur for the main parent property only. For other properties events occur for the children themselves.. - When property's child gets changed, you can use wxPropertyGridEvent::GetMainParent to obtain its topmost non-category parent (useful, if you have deeply nested properties). @section propgrid_validating Validating Property Values There are various ways to make sure user enters only correct values. First, you can use wxValidators similar to as you would with ordinary controls. Use wxPropertyGridInterface::SetPropertyValidator() to assign wxValidator to property. Second, you can subclass a property and override wxPGProperty::ValidateValue(), or handle wxEVT_PG_CHANGING for the same effect. Both of these methods do not actually prevent user from temporarily entering invalid text, but they do give you an opportunity to warn the user and block changed value from being committed in a property. Various validation failure options can be controlled globally with wxPropertyGrid::SetValidationFailureBehavior(), or on an event basis by calling wxEvent::SetValidationFailureBehavior(). Here's a code snippet of how to handle wxEVT_PG_CHANGING, and to set custom failure behaviour and message. @code void MyFrame::OnPropertyGridChanging(wxPropertyGridEvent& event) { wxPGProperty* property = event.GetProperty(); // You must use wxPropertyGridEvent::GetValue() to access // the value to be validated. wxVariant pendingValue = event.GetValue(); if ( property->GetName() == wxT("Font") ) { // Make sure value is not unspecified if ( !pendingValue.IsNull() ) { wxFont font << pendingValue; // Let's just allow Arial font if ( font.GetFaceName() != wxT("Arial") ) { event.Veto(); event.SetValidationFailureBehavior(wxPG_VFB_STAY_IN_PROPERTY | wxPG_VFB_BEEP | wxPG_VFB_SHOW_MESSAGE); } } } } @endcode @section propgrid_cellrender Customizing Individual Cell Appearance You can control text colour, background colour, and attached image of each cell in the property grid. Use wxPropertyGridInterface::SetPropertyCell() or wxPGProperty::SetCell() for this purpose. In addition, it is possible to control these characteristics for wxPGChoices list items. See wxPGChoices::Item() and wxPGChoiceEntry class reference for more info. @section propgrid_customizing Customizing Properties (without sub-classing) In this section are presented miscellaneous ways to have custom appearance and behavior for your properties without all the necessary hassle of sub-classing a property class etc. @subsection propgrid_customimage Setting Value Image Every property can have a small value image placed in front of the actual value text. Built-in example of this can be seen with wxColourProperty and wxImageFileProperty, but for others it can be set using wxPropertyGrid::SetPropertyImage method. @subsection propgrid_customvalidator Setting Validator You can set wxValidator for a property using wxPropertyGrid::SetPropertyValidator. Validator will work just like in wxWidgets (ie. editorControl->SetValidator(validator) is called). @subsection propgrid_customeditor Setting Property's Editor Control(s) You can set editor control (or controls, in case of a control and button), of any property using wxPropertyGrid::SetPropertyEditor. Editors are passed using wxPG_EDITOR(EditorName) macro, and valid built-in EditorNames are TextCtrl, Choice, ComboBox, CheckBox, TextCtrlAndButton, ChoiceAndButton, SpinCtrl, and DatePickerCtrl. Two last mentioned ones require call to static member function wxPropertyGrid::RegisterAdditionalEditors(). Following example changes wxColourProperty's editor from default Choice to TextCtrlAndButton. wxColourProperty has its internal event handling set up so that button click events of the button will be used to trigger colour selection dialog. @code wxPGId colProp = pg->Append(wxColourProperty(wxT("Text Colour"))); pg->SetPropertyEditor(colProp,wxPG_EDITOR(TextCtrlAndButton)); @endcode Naturally, creating and setting custom editor classes is a possibility as well. For more information, see wxPGEditor class reference. @subsection propgrid_editorattrs Property Attributes Recognized by Editors SpinCtrl editor can make use of property's "Min", "Max", "Step" and "Wrap" attributes. @subsection propgrid_multiplebuttons Adding Multiple Buttons Next to an Editor See wxPGMultiButton class reference. @subsection propgrid_customeventhandling Handling Events Passed from Properties wxEVT_COMMAND_BUTTON_CLICKED (corresponds to event table macro EVT_BUTTON): Occurs when editor button click is not handled by the property itself (as is the case, for example, if you set property's editor to TextCtrlAndButton from the original TextCtrl). @subsection propgrid_attributes Property Attributes Miscellaneous values, often specific to a property type, can be set using wxPropertyGrid::SetPropertyAttribute and wxPropertyGrid::SetPropertyAttributeAll methods. Attribute names are strings and values wxVariant. Arbitrary names are allowed inorder to store user values. Constant equivalents of all attribute string names are provided. Some of them are defined as cached strings, so using constants can provide for smaller binary size. For complete list of attributes, see @link attrids Property Attributes@endlink. @subsection propgrid_boolcheckbox Setting wxBoolProperties to Use Check Box To have all wxBoolProperties to use CheckBox editor instead of Choice, use following (call after bool properties have been added): @code pg->SetPropertyAttributeAll(wxPG_BOOL_USE_CHECKBOX,true); @endcode @section propgrid_usage2 Using wxPropertyGridManager wxPropertyGridManager is an efficient multi-page version of wxPropertyGrid, which can optionally have toolbar for mode and page selection, and a help text box. wxPropertyGridManager inherits from wxPropertyGridInterface, and as such it has most property manipulation functions. However, only some of them affect properties on all pages (eg. GetPropertyByName() and ExpandAll()), while some (eg. Append()) only apply to the currently selected page. To operate explicitly on properties on specific page, use wxPropertyGridManager::GetPage() to obtain pointer to page's wxPropertyGridPage object. Visual methods, such as SetCellBackgroundColour and GetNextVisible are only available in wxPropertyGrid. Use wxPropertyGridManager::GetGrid() to obtain pointer to it. Iteration methods will not work in wxPropertyGridManager. Instead, you must acquire the internal grid (GetGrid()) or wxPropertyGridPage object (GetPage()). wxPropertyGridManager constructor has exact same format as wxPropertyGrid constructor, and basicly accepts same extra window style flags (albeit also has some extra ones). Here's some example code for creating and populating a wxPropertyGridManager: @code wxPropertyGridManager* pgMan = new wxPropertyGridManager(this, PGID, wxDefaultPosition, wxDefaultSize, // These and other similar styles are automatically // passed to the embedded wxPropertyGrid. wxPG_BOLD_MODIFIED|wxPG_SPLITTER_AUTO_CENTER| // Include toolbar. wxPG_TOOLBAR | // Include description box. wxPG_DESCRIPTION | // Include compactor. wxPG_COMPACTOR | // Plus defaults. wxPGMAN_DEFAULT_STYLE ); wxPropertyGridPage* page; // Adding a page sets target page to the one added, so // we don't have to call SetTargetPage if we are filling // it right after adding. pgMan->AddPage(wxT("First Page")); page = pgMan->GetLastPage(); page->Append( new wxPropertyCategory(wxT("Category A1")) ); page->Append( new wxIntProperty(wxT("Number"),wxPG_LABEL,1) ); page->Append( new wxColourProperty(wxT("Colour"),wxPG_LABEL,*wxWHITE) ); pgMan->AddPage(wxT("Second Page")); page = pgMan->GetLastPage(); page->Append( wxT("Text"),wxPG_LABEL,wxT("(no text)") ); page->Append( new wxFontProperty(wxT("Font"),wxPG_LABEL) ); @endcode @subsection propgrid_propgridpage wxPropertyGridPage wxPropertyGridPage is holder of properties for one page in manager. It is derived from wxEvtHandler, so you can subclass it to process page-specific property grid events. Hand over your page instance in wxPropertyGridManager::AddPage. Please note that the wxPropertyGridPage itself only sports subset of wxPropertyGrid API (but unlike manager, this include item iteration). Naturally it inherits from wxPropertyGridMethods and wxPropertyGridPageState. @section propgrid_subclassing Subclassing wxPropertyGrid and wxPropertyGridManager Few things to note: - Only a small percentage of member functions are virtual. If you need more, just e-mail to wx-dev mailing list. - Data manipulation is done in wxPropertyGridPageState class. So, instead of overriding wxPropertyGrid::Insert, you'll probably want to override wxPropertyGridPageState::DoInsert. - Override wxPropertyGrid::CreateState to instantiate your derivate wxPropertyGridPageState. For wxPropertyGridManager, you'll need to subclass wxPropertyGridPage instead (since it is derived from wxPropertyGridPageState), and hand over instances in wxPropertyGridManager::AddPage calls. - You can use a derivate wxPropertyGrid with manager by overriding wxPropertyGridManager::CreatePropertyGrid member function. @section propgrid_misc Miscellaneous Topics @subsection propgrid_namescope Property Name Scope All properties which parent is category or root can be accessed directly by their base name (ie. name given for property in its constructor). Other properties can be accessed via "ParentsName.BaseName" notation, Naturally, all property names should be unique. @subsection propgrid_nonuniquelabels Non-unique Labels It is possible to have properties with identical label under same parent. However, care must be taken to ensure that each property still has unique (base) name. @subsection propgrid_boolproperty wxBoolProperty There are few points about wxBoolProperty that require futher discussion: - wxBoolProperty can be shown as either normal combobox or as a checkbox. Property attribute wxPG_BOOL_USE_CHECKBOX is used to change this. For example, if you have a wxFlagsProperty, you can set its all items to use check box using the following: @code pg->SetPropertyAttribute(wxT("MyFlagsProperty"),wxPG_BOOL_USE_CHECKBOX,true,wxPG_RECURSE); @endcode - Default item names for wxBoolProperty are [wxT("False"),wxT("True")]. This can be changed using wxPropertyGrid::SetBoolChoices(trueChoice,falseChoice). @subsection propgrid_textctrlupdates Updates from wxTextCtrl Based Editor Changes from wxTextCtrl based property editors are committed (ie. wxEVT_PG_CHANGED is sent etc.) *only* when (1) user presser enter, (2) user moves to edit another property, or (3) when focus leaves the grid. Because of this, you may find it useful, in some apps, to call wxPropertyGrid::CommitChangesFromEditor() just before you need to do any computations based on property grid values. Note that CommitChangesFromEditor() will dispatch wxEVT_PG_CHANGED with ProcessEvent, so any of your event handlers will be called immediately. @subsection propgrid_splittercentering Centering the Splitter If you need to center the splitter, but only once when the program starts, then do not use the wxPG_SPLITTER_AUTO_CENTER window style, but the wxPropertyGrid::CenterSplitter() method. However, be sure to call it after the sizer setup and SetSize calls! (ie. usually at the end of the frame/dialog constructor) @subsection propgrid_splittersetting Setting Splitter Position When Creating Property Grid Splitter position cannot exceed grid size, and therefore setting it during form creation may fail as initial grid size is often smaller than desired splitter position, especially when sizers are being used. @subsection propgrid_colourproperty wxColourProperty and wxSystemColourProperty Through subclassing, these two property classes provide substantial customization features. Subclass wxSystemColourProperty if you want to use wxColourPropertyValue (which features colour type in addition to wxColour), and wxColourProperty if plain wxColour is enough. Override wxSystemColourProperty::ColourToString() to redefine how colours are printed as strings. Override wxSystemColourProperty::GetCustomColourIndex() to redefine location of the item that triggers colour picker dialog (default is last). Override wxSystemColourProperty::GetColour() to determine which colour matches which choice entry. @section propgrid_proplist Property Class Descriptions See @ref pgproperty_properties */