Command & Control a Mashup from an M3 program

Here’s an illustration of how to Command & Control a Mashup from an M3 program with a Smart Office Script, for example to launch a Mashup, to set values in a Mashup, to attach event handlers, to get values from the Mashup, and to close the Mashup. I learned this technique from norpe’s MashupBrowse post.

This is useful to add functionality in a Mashup where XAML alone is not sufficient.

You can attach the script to an M3 program, via Tools > Personalize > Scripts, via Tools > Personalize > Shortcut, or you can execute a stand-alone script.

Steps

First, create and deploy a simple Hello World Mashup (no values nor event handlers, to illustrate the point):

<Grid xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation">
    <StackPanel>
        <Label Name="lblMessage" Content="Message" />
        <TextBox Name="txtValue" />
        <Button Name="btnOK" Content="OK" />
    </StackPanel>
</Grid>

Then, create a script that starts the Mashup:

var uri : String = "mashup:///?BaseUri=HelloWorld.mashup&RelativeUri=HelloWorld.xaml";
var task : Task = new Task(uri);
var handler : RunnerStatusChangedEventHandler = Mashup_OnStatusChanged;
DashboardTaskService.Current.LaunchTask(task, null, handler);

Then, get a reference to the Mashup:

function Mashup_OnStatusChanged(sender : Object, e : RunnerStatusChangedEventArgs) {
    if (e.NewStatus == RunnerStatus.Running) {
        // the Mashup is starting
        var runner : Runner = e.Runner;
    } else if (e.NewStatus == RunnerStatus.Closed) {
        // the Mashup is closing
    }
}

Then, set values in the Mashup:

txtValue = runner.Host.HostContent.FindName("txtValue");
txtValue.Text = "Hello World!";

Then, attach event handlers:

var btnOK : Button = runner.Host.HostContent.FindName("btnOK");
btnOK.add_Click(Mashup_OnBtnOK);

Result

And here’s the result, the Mashup launched, the value “Hello World!” set in the TextBox, the Click event handler added to the button, and the value of the TextBox retrieved back, all that commanded & controlled from the Script, which would not have been all possible with XAML alone:

Source code

Here’s the complete source code:

import System;
import System.Windows;
import System.Windows.Controls;
import Mango.Services;
import Mango.UI.Core;
import Mango.UI.Services;

package MForms.JScript {

class HelloWorldCC {
    var debug;
    var txtValue : TextBox;
    public function Init(element : Object, args : Object, controller : Object, debug : Object) {
        try {
            this.debug = debug;
            // launch the Mashup
            var uri : String = "mashup:///?BaseUri=HelloWorld.mashup&RelativeUri=HelloWorld.xaml";
            var task : Task = new Task(uri);
            var handler : RunnerStatusChangedEventHandler = Mashup_OnStatusChanged;
            DashboardTaskService.Current.LaunchTask(task, null, handler);
        } catch (ex : Exception) {
            debug.WriteLine(ex);
        }
    }
    function Mashup_OnStatusChanged(sender : Object, e : RunnerStatusChangedEventArgs) {
        try {
            if (e.NewStatus == RunnerStatus.Running) {
                // the Mashup is starting
                debug.WriteLine("Mashup is starting");
                var runner : Runner = e.Runner;
                // set values in the Mashup
                txtValue = runner.Host.HostContent.FindName("txtValue");
                txtValue.Text = "Hello World!";
                // attach an event handler to the Mashup
                var btnOK : Button = runner.Host.HostContent.FindName("btnOK");
                btnOK.add_Click(Mashup_OnBtnOK);
            } else if (e.NewStatus == RunnerStatus.Closed) {
                // the Mashup is closing
                debug.WriteLine("Mashup is closing");
            }
        } catch (ex : Exception) {
            debug.WriteLine(ex);
        }
    }
    function Mashup_OnBtnOK(sender : Object, e : RoutedEventArgs) {
        try {
            // get values from the Mashup
            MessageBox.Show(txtValue.Text);
        } catch (ex : Exception) {
            debug.WriteLine(ex);
        }
    }
}
}

Finally

Norpe’s code is more complete and you should implement its features in your script as well. For example norpe’s script checks if there is already an open instance of the Mashup, it can control the Mashup with keyboard shortcuts, it puts values back in the M3 panel, it closes the Mashup, it detaches event handlers, and it does cleanup.

That’s it!