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Chapter 11 Creating Actions and Data Types Using Create Action
Create Action is a tool for creating:
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An action to start an application
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One or more data types for an application's data files
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Actions for opening and printing the application's data files
Create Action is also useful for creating simple actions for running
operating system commands and shell scripts.
For reference information, see the dtcreate(1X) man page.
What Create Action Does
Create Action includes a main window
and a set of dialog boxes for creating an action and its associated data types.
Create Action does the following:
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Creates an action definition that runs a command.
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Creates a file HomeDirectory/.dt/types/action_name.dt. This file stores the action and data type definitions created
for the application.
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Creates an action file in the user's
home directory. The action file is an executable file with the same name as
the action.
The action file's representation in File Manager is called an application icon because double-clicking it starts the application.
Optionally, you can make the action icon a drop zone by specifying dropable
data types when you create the action.
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Creates one or more data types for the application's data
files (optional).
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Creates an Open action for each data type.
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Creates a Print action for each data type (optional).
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Reloads the database of actions and data types. This makes
the actions and data types take effect immediately.
Limitations of Create Action
Create Action is designed to create actions and data types for running
applications. However, actions and data types are very flexible, and include
additional functionality that can only be accessed if you create the definitions
manually.
For more information, see:
Action Limitations
You cannot use Create
Action to create the action for an application if any of the following conditions
are true:
-
The command line requires a non-file argument (parameter).
For example, you cannot use Create Action to write an action for the
command:
lp -ddevice filename
where the user has to supply device each
time the command is executed.
-
The application icon must have a different label than the
action name.
For example, you cannot use Create Action to provide a local-language
version of an existing action.
Data Type Limitations
You cannot use Create Action to create the data type for
an application if any of the following conditions are true:
-
The data type must have additional actions associated with
it other than Open and Print.
-
The Open action for the data type is not the action's command.
For example, you cannot use Create Action to create the data type that
provides a unique icon for the directory representing the application's application
group.
Creating an Action and Data Type for an Application with Create Action
There are some things you'll need to know
about the application before you run Create Action.
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The command line for starting the application.
You'll need to know whether the command line includes a required file
argument, an optional file argument, or no file argument.
If the application requires a non-file argument, you cannot use Create
Action to create the action.
-
The types of data files an application can accept.
Some applications can accept only one type of data. Others (for example,
an ASCII editor or graphics editor) can accept multiple data types.
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The way the application identifies its data files.
This may be a naming convention (for example, file names ending with.doc), and/or may depend on the content of the file. If the application
does not use a file-name convention, you can still set one up for the action
icon.
To Create an Action for an Application
-
Double-click Create Action in the Desktop_Apps application group.
Figure 11–1 Create Action icon in Application Manager
This displays the main Create Action window.
Figure 11–2 Create Action main window
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Type the name that will label the action icon into the Action Name text
field.
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Use the Action Icons controls to specify the icon for the application.
Initially, the default icon is shown.
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In the Command When Action Icon Is Opened text field, type the command
to start the application.
Use the syntax $n for
a file argument; for example:
emacs
bitmap $1
diff $1 $2
lp -oraw $1
If the command line includes a file argument ($n), then the action icon will be a drop zone for files.
The command lines are not passed to a shell unless you explicitly specify
the use of a shell. For example, these lines use shell processing:
/bin/sh -c 'ps | lp'
/bin/sh -c 'spell $1 | more'
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Type the On Item help text for the action icon into the Help Text For
Action Icon text field.
The text will automatically wrap in the text field. However, these line
breaks are not preserved online. If you want to specify a hard line break,
use \n.
-
Choose the windowing support required by the action from the Window
Type option menu.
Graphical (X-Window)—the application creates its own window
Terminal (Auto-Close)—the application will run in a terminal emulator
window that closes automatically when the user exits the application
Terminal (Manual Close)—the application will run in a terminal
emulator window that remains open until the user explicitly closes it
No Output—the application does not produce output to the display
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Proceed as follows:
To Create One or More Data Types for an Application
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Define the action for the application using the procedure in the previous
section, To Create an Action for an Application.
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Click the Advanced button in the Create Action window to expand the
window.
Figure 11–3 Advanced features in the main Create Action window
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If you want the application icon to prompt for a file argument when
the icon is double-clicked, type the text of the prompt into the ``When Action
Opens, Ask Users for'' text field.
Use these guidelines for this text field:
-
If the file argument in the application's command line is
optional, you have a choice. If you supply the prompt text, the action icon
will prompt for the file when double-clicked. If you do not supply the prompt
text, the action will be executed with a null string as the file argument.
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Specify the types of files that the action will accept as arguments:
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If the action can accept only the data type(s) you create
for the application, select Only Above List.
Initially, the Datatypes That Use This Action list is empty. As you
create data types for the application, they are added to the list.
-
Click Add beside the Datatypes That Use This Action list box to display
the Add Data Type dialog box.
Figure 11–4 Create Action's Add Datatype dialog box
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Optional: If you don't want to use the default data type name, type
a new name for the data type into the Name of Datatype Family text field.
The name cannot include spaces. The data type name is not visible to
application users; it is used in the actions/data types database to identify
the data type definition.
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Click the Edit button beside the Identifying Characteristics box to
display the Identifying Characteristics dialog box.
Figure 11–5 Create Action's Identifying Characteristics dialog box
Characteristics of a data type are the criteria used to differentiate
the data type from others. You can choose one or more of the following criteria:
Files or Folder—the data type applies only to files or only to
folders
Name Pattern—data typing based on the file name
Permission Pattern—read, write, execute permissions
Contents—contents of a specified portion of the file
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Select whether the data type represents a file or folder.
Figure 11–6 Specifying a file or directory characteristic for a data type.
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If the data typing depends on the name, select the Name Pattern check
box and fill in the text field.
Figure 11–7 Specifying the file name characteristic for a data type
You can use * and ? as wildcards:
*—matches any sequence of characters
?—matches any single character
-
If the data typing depends on the permissions, select the Permission
Pattern check box and select the permissions for the data type.
Figure 11–8 Specifying the permission characteristics for a data type
On—the file must have the specified permission
Off—the file must lack the specified permission
Either—the specified permission does not matter
-
If the data typing depends on the contents, select the Contents check
box and supply the requested information—Pattern to search for and Type
of contents. Optionally, you can supply the byte location where the search
should start.
Figure 11–9 Specifying the contents characteristics for a data type
Note –
Use of content-based data typing may affect the performance of
the system.
-
Click OK to close the Identifying Characteristics dialog box.
The characteristics will be displayed in the Identifying Characteristics
field using this coding:
d—a directory
r—the file has read permission
w—the file has write permission
x—the file has execute permission
!—logical operator NOT
&—logical operator AND
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Type the help text for the data files into the Help Text text field.
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Use the Datatype Icons controls to specify the icon for the data files.
Initially, the default icon is shown.
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Verify the command in the Command to Open this Datatype text field.
This is the command that will be executed when the user double-clicks a data
file.
-
Optional: If the application supplies a print command for printing data
files from the command line, type the command into the Command to Print this
Datatype text field, using the syntax $n
for a file argument.
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Do one of the following to save the data type definition:
Using the Find Set Dialog Box To Specify an Icon
The Find Set dialog box is displayed when you click Find
Set in the Create Action main window or in the Add Datatype window. Use the
dialog box to specify the icon that will be used for the action or data type.
Figure 11–10 Find Set dialog box
The Find Set dialog box lets you specify a set of icon image files located:
-
In a registration package that will be integrated with the
desktop using dtappintegrate. These icons are not yet located
in a directory on the icon search path, but will be placed there by dtappintegrate.
Note –
The action and data type definitions created using Create Action
write out the base name for the icon files (the file name minus the file-name
suffixes for size and type). Icons for actions and data types created with
Create Action must eventually be placed in directories on the icon search
path.
 To Specify a Set of Icons Located on the Icon Search Path
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In the Find Set dialog box's Icon Folders list, double-click the folder
path containing the icon.
The Icon Files list will show all the icon files in that folder.
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In the Icon Files list, click the icon you want to use.
This places the base name of the icon file in the Enter Icon File name
text field.
-
Click OK.
To Specify an Icon in a Registration Package
If you are a system administrator or programmer creating a registration
package, the icon image files are initially located in a directory in the
registration package:
app_root/dt/appconfig/icons/language
After registration with dtappintegrate, the icon
files will be copied to /etc/dt/appconfig/icons/language, which is on the icon search path.
Use this procedure to specify icons that are part of a registration
package:
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In the Find Set dialog box's Enter Icon Filename text field, type the
base name of the icon file.
-
Click OK.
Create Action displays a dialog box to inform you that the icons were
not found in directories on the icon search path.
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In the information dialog box that appears, choose No Change.
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