I have undertaken a major project which I am hoping the RAD controls will help me accomplish.
I had started the project with webparts using connection and catalog zones of the webparts.
What I have is this
I need docks to be distributed accross tabs. And this needs to happen dynamically. I am tryng to use the rad dock from the prometheus controls. So i have the tabstrip and the dock layout in the the default.aspx. In the code behind in the page load I am dynamically creating the various tabs and the zones and the initial docks. I am getting this information from am xml file that is the layout defined per user.
The docks are user controls , which are rad grids. The rad grids are various reports of the logged in users activities . So the user controls need to recognize the user, his account details and generate the reports accordingly.
A user can have multiple accounts, so the system needs to allow the user to change the account to the one he needs. Also the user should be able to regenerate the reports for different dates. Also some of the user controls need to talk to each other. so selecting rows from one user control grid, should change a report generated at another user control docked in a diffferent zone. And all this needs to be done ajaxified.
Also, there should be a way to have a drop down at the top of the page with all accounts that a user has access to , and a calendar. Selecting an account and a date should regenerate all / some (Each dock should have a configurable property allowing / disallowing this feature) the docks for the account and date selected.
Also need a way to maximize each doc to a complete screen, with a detailed version of the report.
First question, is all this possible?
Second the roadblocks so far -
1. When I distribute zones accross tabs , for some reason docks in only the initial tab works. Basically when the tab indes set by selectedIndex property on the docklayout. So when I change tabs , I see the dock title on the docs but nothing else, not even a maximize button. Some code that I have -
| For Each page In Me.TabPages |
| Dim g As New Tab |
| ' Dim g As New AjaxControlToolkit.TabPanel |
| g.ID = page.Name |
| g.Text = page.Name |
| If (counter = 0) Then |
| g.Visible = True |
| End If |
| ' g.HeaderText = page.Name |
| Dim pv As New PageView |
| pv.ID = page.Name |
| Dim tabl As New Table() |
| tabl.Width = Unit.Percentage(100) |
| tabl.Height = Unit.Percentage(100) |
| Dim tbr As New TableRow() |
| For Each z As ZoneDesc In page.Zones |
| ' Next |
| ' For i As Integer = 1 To page.Cols |
| Dim tbc As New TableCell() |
| 'If page.Cols = 3 Then |
| 'Select Case i |
| ' Case 1 |
| 'tbc.Width = Unit.Percentage(15) |
| ' Case 2 |
| 'tbc.Width = Unit.Percentage(70) |
| ' Case 3 |
| 'tbc.Width = Unit.Percentage(15) |
| ' End Select |
| ' Else |
| tbc.Width = Unit.Percentage(100 / page.Zones.Count) |
| 'End If |
| tbc.Height = Unit.Percentage(100) |
| tbc.VerticalAlign = VerticalAlign.Top |
| ' Dim zone As WebPartZone = New WebPartZone() |
| Dim zone As New RadDockZone |
| zzone.ID = z.Name |
| zone.BorderWidth = Unit.Pixel(1) |
| zone.Width = Unit.Percentage(100) |
| 'zone.Height = Unit.Percentage(50) |
| zone.CssClass = "zone" |
| Dim c As Integer = 0 |
| For Each d As Dockdesc In z.Docks |
| Dim dock As New RadDock |
| ddock.Tag = d.Tags |
| Dim widget As Control = Me.LoadControl(dock.Tag, d.Value, "06/14/07") |
| dock.ContentContainer.Controls.Add(widget) |
| ddock.Title = d.Name |
| dock.EnableDrag = False |
| dock.Height = Unit.Percentage(100) |
| dock.Width = Unit.Percentage(100) |
| dock.ID = page.Name & "_" & d.Name & "_" & z.Name & "_" & c |
| dock.Width = Unit.Percentage(100) |
| zone.Controls.Add(dock) |
| cc = c + 1 |
| Next |
| tbc.Controls.Add(zone) |
| tbr.Cells.Add(tbc) |
| Next |
| tabl.Rows.Add(tbr) |
| ' Dim txt As New Label |
| ' txt.Text = page.Name.ToString() |
| pv.Controls.Add(tabl) |
| RadMultiPage1.PageViews.Add(pv) |
| RadTabStrip1.Tabs.Add(g) |
| countercounter = counter + 1 |
| Next |
2. I am trying to do it so I can pass parameters in the loadcontrol method. I have overloaded the loadcontrol by the code
| Private Overloads Function LoadControl(ByVal UserControlPath As String, ByVal ParamArray constructorParameters As Object()) As UserControl |
| Dim constParamTypes As New List(Of Type) |
| For Each constParam As Object In constructorParameters |
| constParamTypes.Add(constParam.[GetType]()) |
| Next |
| Dim ctl As UserControl = TryCast(Page.LoadControl(UserControlPath), UserControl) |
| ' Find the relevant constructor |
| Dim constructor As Reflection.ConstructorInfo = ctl.[GetType]().BaseType.GetConstructor(constParamTypes.ToArray()) |
| 'And then call the relevant constructor |
| If constructor Is Nothing Then |
| Throw New MemberAccessException("The requested constructor was not found on : " + ctl.[GetType]().BaseType.ToString()) |
| Else |
| constructor.Invoke(ctl, constructorParameters) |
| End If |
| ' Finally return the fully initialized UC |
| Return ctl |
| End Function |
This is something I ot of a blog. It was in C and I converted to VBnet and as of now it does not work. Still working on it, but ould appreciate if someone can point me in a better direction.
3. Can doks be configured to be connected like webparts? If so I can 1. connec my docks to each other and 2. create a dock that has the account dropdowns and connect that to all docks. And can this connection be dynamic so the user can decide if the connection be enabled/ disabled?
4. How do we maximize the dock to be a complete page size - and also again regenerate the reports to get a detailed version.
I am putting this out in the hope that someone says ' thats easy , and this is the code that will do it'! But I am sure thats high hopes. But any help on any of the issues will be appreciated. By the way I am doing all this using trial versions of the rad controls. My boss will authorize the purchase if I can show that this can work.
Again, any help will be appreciated.
6 Answers, 1 is accepted
To keep the forum content consistent I moved this post to the RadDock "Prometheus" forum.
RadDock "Prometheus" was designed to be very simple and behave as regular ASP:Panel with the addition that it can be moved around the screen and docked in RadDockZone controls. If you need other functionality such as connecting the inner controls in RadDock controls you will need to implement it by yourself.
Regarding the questions:
1) Did you try with the latest version of RadDock "Prometheus" from this thread:
http://www.telerik.com/community/forums/thread/b311D-mkedd.aspx
I am pretty sure that it will be able to resolve the problem with RadTabStrip. If you still struggle with the problems, send me a simple page, which could be used to observe them. I will respond with a solution ASAP.
2) I am not sure why this doesn't work, you could ask the blog owner for help. However, this approach is virtually equivalent to creating a method which initializes the UserControl properties, e.g. it does not need to be a constructor. You could create a method with the needed number of parameters and just call it by casting the loaded control to your UserControl type, or if you want to, use Reflection to invoke it.
3) No. The RadDock controls cannot be connected as WebParts.
4) RadDock cannot be resized yet. This is the next feature which will be implemented most probably by the end of the summer.
All the best,
Valeri Hristov (Senior Developer, MCSD)
the Telerik team
Instantly find answers to your questions at the new Telerik Support Center
Rank 1
Thanks for the quick reply! I saw it late as somehow my spam blocker did not like it!
"If you need other functionality such as connecting the inner controls in RadDock controls you will need to implement it by yourself. "
Can you point me in the right direction to go about connecting docks? Actually, connecting doks is something I need in phase2 of my development phase. All I need now is a way of feeding parameters to a dock from outside and getting it to update ajaxed. Say all docks have date as a parameter. All I need now is a way of changing the global date and have docs update. Any ideas on this?
Now the questions.
1. I did download and install the said version of Prometheus, but no change. Unfortunately I am working off a firewalled server, that is not on the public domain. I will try to put it on a public server and will show it to you. Or I will get screen shots.
2. I got the constructor thing to work. I needed a New() sub on the user control. That works.
3. Any plans of integrating webparts into Prometheus?
4. I am taking your word and am not going to bother to work on a solution for this.
Rank 1
Apologies for the delayed answer, however Telerik did not work for a couple of days and we are trying to catch up the best way we can.
1. Currently there are no plans for integrating web parts into Prometheus.
2. RadAjax and RadDock Prometheus work fine together. It depends on your particular scenario how easy it is to achieve it and if it is the best option. If you encounter problems with your project, please write us again.
Greetings,
Petya
the Telerik team
Instantly find answers to your questions at the new Telerik Support Center
Rank 1
I am trying to integrate RadDock with radAjaxManager, and am running into roadblocks.
I am dynamically creating Zones and docks off an xml file. Then I want to separately populate the docks using AjaxManager. I am not able to find the docks that I created earlier. I did give each doc a uniquename, and then used findcontrol() to find the dock, but I get nothing.
Here'r some snippets of my code. The first function creates all the zones and docks on the page.The docks are mere placeholders. The second function is called by an ajaxed button, and this is supposed to load different user controls on each of the existing docks. I hoped the findcontrol with the ID given to dock while creating it should do the trick.. but it obviously is not.
Apreciate any help .
Thanks
| Private Sub AddPages1(ByVal TabId As String) |
| Me.tab_id = tabid |
| Dim counter As Integer = 0 |
| Dim page As Tabdesc |
| For Each page In Me.TabPages |
| If page.Name.ToString() = tabid Then |
| Dim tabl As New Table() |
| Dim tbr As New TableRow() |
| For Each z As ZoneDesc In page.Zones |
| Dim tbc As New TableCell() |
| tbc.VerticalAlign = VerticalAlign.Top |
| ' Dim zone As WebPartZone = New WebPartZone() |
| Dim zone As New RadDockZone |
| zzone.ID = z.Name |
| zone.CssClass = "zone" |
| Dim c As Integer = 0 |
| For Each d As Dockdesc In z.Docks |
| Dim dock As New RadDock |
| ddock.Tag = d.Tags |
| ddock.Title = d.Name |
| dock.EnableDrag = False |
| 'dock.Collapsed = True |
| dock.Width = 400 |
| dock.ID = page.Name & "_" & d.Name & "_" & z.Name & "_" & c |
| dock.UniqueName = page.Name & "_" & d.Name & "_" & z.Name & "_" & c |
| ' AddHandler dock.Command, AddressOf RadDock_Command |
| Dim panelMain As New UpdatePanel() |
| panelMain.ID = "panelMain" |
| dock.ContentContainer.Controls.Add(panelMain) |
| Dim pnl As New Panel |
| pnl.ID = "pnl" & page.Name & "_" & d.Name & "_" & z.Name & "_" & c |
| RadAjaxManager1.AjaxSettings.AddAjaxSetting(ImageButton1, pnl) |
| pnl.Width = Unit.Percentage(100) |
| pnl.Height = Unit.Percentage(100) |
| panelMain.ContentTemplateContainer.Controls.Add(pnl) |
| ' Dim ctl As Control = LoadControl(dock.Tag, d.Value, "", True) |
| 'ctl.ID = "uc" & page.Name & "_" & d.Name & "_" & z.Name & "_" & c |
| 'panelMain.ContentTemplateContainer.Controls.Add(ctl) |
| Dim pdfcommand As New DockCommand() |
| pdfcommand.AutoPostBack = True |
| pdfcommand.CssClass = "pdficon" |
| 'command.Name = "Command1" |
| pdfcommand.OnClientCommand = "OpenMasterBoxEditor" |
| dock.Commands.Add(pdfcommand) |
| Dim detcommand As New DockCommand() |
| detcommand.AutoPostBack = True |
| detcommand.CssClass = "deticon" |
| 'command.Name = "Command1" |
| pdfcommand.OnClientCommand = "OpenMasterBoxEditor" |
| dock.Commands.Add(detcommand) |
| dock.Commands.Add(New DockCloseCommand()) |
| dock.Commands.Add(New DockExpandCollapseCommand()) |
| dock.Commands.Add(New DockPinUnpinCommand()) |
| zone.Controls.Add(dock) |
| Dim apt As New AsyncPostBackTrigger() |
| apt.ControlID = dock.ClientID |
| apt.EventName = "Command" |
| panelMain.Triggers.Add(apt) |
| cc = c + 1 |
| Next |
| tbc.Controls.Add(zone) |
| tbr.Cells.Add(tbc) |
| Next |
| tabl.Rows.Add(tbr) |
| ' Dim txt As New Label |
| ' txt.Text = page.Name.ToString() |
| countercounter = counter + 1 |
| Panel1.Controls.Add(tabl) |
| End If |
| Next |
| End Sub |
| Private Sub AddPages2(ByVal TabId As String) |
| Dim counter As Integer = 0 |
| Dim page As Tabdesc |
| For Each page In Me.TabPages |
| If page.Name.ToString() = TabId Then |
| For Each z As ZoneDesc In page.Zones |
| Dim c As Integer = 0 |
| For Each d As Dockdesc In z.Docks |
| 'Dim dock As New RadDock |
| 'ddock.Tag = d.Tags |
| 'ddock.Title = d.Name |
| 'dock.EnableDrag = False |
| 'dock.ID = page.Name & "_" & d.Name & "_" & z.Name & "_" & c |
| Dim dock As RadDock |
| dock = Me.FindControl(page.Name & "_" & d.Name & "_" & z.Name & "_" & c) |
| ' AddHandler dock.Command, AddressOf RadDock_Command |
| Dim panelMain As New UpdatePanel() |
| panelMain.ID = "panelMain" |
| Dim ctl As Control = LoadControl(dock.Tag, d.Value, "06/14/07", True) |
| ctl.ID = "uc" & page.Name & "_" & d.Name & "_" & z.Name & "_" & c |
| panelMain.ContentTemplateContainer.Controls.Add(ctl) |
| dock.ContentContainer.Controls.Add(panelMain) |
| cc = c + 1 |
| Next |
| Next |
| End If |
| Next |
| End Sub |
Hi,
Keep in mind, that you must update all RadDockZones and RadDockingManager when the Ajax is made. Also if you create dockObjects dynamically, you must create them in OnInit to allow proper viewstate loading and recreate them on every postback(ajax).
Unfortunately your code snippets didn't help me much. If the suggestion above didn't help you, please open a new support ticket and send us a simple running project where we can observe this issue.
All the best,
Petio Petkov
the Telerik team
Instantly find answers to your questions at the new Telerik Support Center