Re: Inserting specific text with an Editor Action or Command

On 12 August 2016 at 04:59, Craig Richards <craig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I think last time I looked at User Key Actions ( which is
where you can define key shortcuts to call RDi actions )
- I have already set some of
those up for "splitAndShift" and "pasteOverlay".

But I think with regard to my current requirement I couldn't
see how that would work as IIRC the actions don't allow
you to pass parameters, the "paste" action for example
just pastes from the clipboard, you can't
provide a string as a parameter.

I'm trying to be concise vs my typical long windedness. Wish us luck!
What I know about plug-ins is strictly the result of getting scratched
whilst walking through the pricker bushes. You are right: Actions don't
take parameters per se. Commands can.

I did have an attempt at creating my own
er, I think it was a user action, but I didn't manage to
get it to work, I think I found much of the literature
on the subject to be a bit confusing and potentially
out of date.

Like subfiles, there are several moving parts which need to be developed
together with the end in mind. I managed it (ish) and that gives me
honest hope that anyone reading these words can too. Did you check the
wiki?

http://wiki.midrange.com/index.php/Plugin_development
http://wiki.midrange.com/index.php/RDP_ToPrefixArea

That said, I have seen posts in this forum, possibly
around the subject of converting source to free-format,
where there were links to working examples. Maybe I
need to dig those out if I can and use them as a start -
I have done a small amount of java programming, so I
guess I could muddle through it.

I'm the trouble-maker responsible for most of that noise.

Going back to Actions, they cannot accept parameters, but they can read
editor settings (called Parameters). You can see how this works if you
press Escape (to get to the RDi command line), type query version and
press Enter. RDi shows the Lpex version. Press Escape to get back to
editing. The point of this is that you could set a Parameter ahead of
time and then retrieve it in an Action.

The main reason I make note of this is to show you that RDi supports
Commands and Actions performed /on the command line/. This may be
germane to your initial request (hey, I'm on topic!)

Imagine an SQL statement that you want to mark for later work.
exec sql
select column
from table
where where_clause;

Position the cursor at the end of the 'exec sql' line,
Press Escape to get to the command line,
insertText -- eyecatcher --
Press Enter
-> RDi inserts the text at the cursor position
Press Escape
-> Now you are editing again