Plugin Area Display Basics (Mac OS X)

[RJ Sharp-2]

I want to build a plug-in with a plugin area, which I've never done
before. I've seen the section in the 4D Plugin SDK docs on setting
this up, and I've used the 2004 Plugin Wizard "external area" option.

What kind of objects can you load into the area? Views? Windows? Should
I use Interface Builder and use a NIB? I'm just not sure where to begin.

Thanks,

- RJ Sharp
InquireTec

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[Rob Laveaux]

On 27-dec-2007, at 19:56, RJ Sharp wrote:

> I want to build a plug-in with a plugin area, which I've never done
> before. I've seen the section in the 4D Plugin SDK docs on setting
> this up, and I've used the 2004 Plugin Wizard "external area" option.
>
> What kind of objects can you load into the area? Views? Windows?  
> Should
> I use Interface Builder and use a NIB? I'm just not sure where to  
> begin.

That's a very broad question.
What is it you want to achieve and which platforms do you want to  
target?


- Rob Laveaux

--------------------------------------------------------
Pluggers Software
Bleriotlaan 62
24978 BM  Den Haag
The Netherlands

Email: rob.laveaux@...
Website: http://www.pluggers.nl

--------------------------------------------------------


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[RJ Sharp-2]

On Dec 28, 2007, at 3:24 AM, Rob Laveaux wrote:

> On 27-dec-2007, at 19:56, RJ Sharp wrote:
>
>> What kind of objects can you load into the area? Views? Windows?  
>> Should
>> I use Interface Builder and use a NIB? I'm just not sure where to  
>> begin.
>
> That's a very broad question.
> What is it you want to achieve and which platforms do you want to  
> target?

Rob,

This is only for Mac OS X.4 and X.5.

I want to create a plugin area to load and communicate with a Quartz
Composer file. If I were to use Interface Builder 3, I could create a
special view (QCView) for this, but I'm not sure a NIB created in IB3
would work in Tiger, would it? Anyhow, I've read that "QCView is not
supported in Carbon environments", and since I write everything in C
and not Objective-C, doesn't that matter? All the example Carbon code
involves opening a Cocoa window from within a Carbon application to
display a Quartz composition, which I don't want. Can I use a Cocoa
based NIB in a 4D plugin?

Another option was to use 4D Live Window, which will load QTZ files,
but in that case I need to use Javascript to update input variables
and that doesn't seem to work on the Mac (from my Summit notes).

-RJ
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[Rob Laveaux]

On 28 dec 2007, at 18:18, RJ Sharp wrote:

> I want to create a plugin area to load and communicate with a Quartz
> Composer file. If I were to use Interface Builder 3, I could create a
> special view (QCView) for this, but I'm not sure a NIB created in IB3
> would work in Tiger, would it?

Yes it can, if you set the deployment target to 10.4.

> Anyhow, I've read that "QCView is not
> supported in Carbon environments", and since I write everything in C
> and not Objective-C, doesn't that matter?

Two remarks:
1. No, you can mix and match Objective-C and C code.
2. I suggest you get used to writing Objective-C code.

> All the example Carbon code
> involves opening a Cocoa window from within a Carbon application to
> display a Quartz composition, which I don't want.

Integrating Cocoa with Carbon is the true problem here. You can open a  
Cocoa window from a Carbon application, but you can't embed a Cocoa  
view in a Carbon window .... unless you only want to target Leopard.  
In Leopard you can use HICocoaView.

> Can I use a Cocoa based NIB in a 4D plugin?

Yes that should be possible, although I never tried it myself.

> Another option was to use 4D Live Window, which will load QTZ files,
> but in that case I need to use Javascript to update input variables
> and that doesn't seem to work on the Mac (from my Summit notes).

Can't you put the input variables in hidden from fields inside the  
HTML and let the JavaScript code read the values from those form fields?

A third option would be to research how far you get with QuickTime.  
QuickTime Player seems to be able to play Quartz Composer files.

HTH,

- Rob Laveaux

--------------------------------------------------------
Pluggers Software
Bleriotlaan 62
2497 BM  Den Haag
The Netherlands

Email: rob.laveaux@...
Website: http://www.pluggers.nl

--------------------------------------------------------


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[RJ Sharp-2]

On Dec 28, 2007, at 12:17 PM, Rob Laveaux wrote:

> you can't embed a Cocoa view in a Carbon window .... unless you only
> want to target Leopard. In Leopard you can use HICocoaView.

Rob,

Thanks. I'll probably target Leopard only, so I can use a HICocoaView.
However a QCView is a special view for Quartz Compositions only. I'll
play around with it once I get going.

Could you (or anyone else) please post a little sample code how to load
a NIB object? I assume this is done in the init phase of the area? I've
been experimenting based on other posts here, including a helpful post
from Thibaud Arguillere back in May '04, but I can't seem to load any
objects, even a Carbon based NIB window, but then maybe I have it all
wrong. I'd like to just load a view but don't know if that's allowed?

FWIW I'm working in Leopard using the v11 SQL plugin wizard.

Regarding the HTML option, I need to update the input variables in real
time, without having to refresh the page or create new HTML, to avoid
reloading the composition. I probably won't use this option.

Thanks,

-RJ

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