[Xerte-dev] Re: navigating to page name

Tue Feb 14 14:44:42 GMT 2012

Yeah, carry on, you're much closer to this than I am at the minute.

We're currently in a wait and see about some funding for HTML5 output from toolkits: in the long run that's likely to be where my effort goes, and it's something we're going to do anyway - the funding will just help us prioritise the work.

I don't know what the answer is, but we do need to think about how those two tools (Toolkits, primarily outputting HTML5) and Xerte (making .xml for an AS2 runtime) complement each other. The wizard is possibly the only thing in common in the end: our first attempts will be to take the existing data from toolkits and run it into HTML(5) somehow. I can see the two things existing in parallel for a good while yet (think, maybe 3 - 5 years) but ultimately I can see toolkits de-coupling from Xerte. There is a lot of traction in toolkits, and a lot more potential if it didn't rely on Flash.

From: xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk [mailto:xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Kemp Johnathan
Sent: 14 February 2012 14:36
To: For Xerte technical developers
Subject: [Xerte-dev] Re: navigating to page name

I don't know if you have had a chance to work with the version of the Xerte interface that includes Tom's modifications for individual page templates, but it has really enhanced desktop Xerte as a development environment.

I can pick a page from a menu and see hints and thumbnails, just as you do in XOT or a page templates project. When I select a page from the menu it creates a folder for the page, copies the page's xwd to the folder and automatically generates the xml for the page based on the xwd, saving it in the page's folder. In addition it adds a new page to the project tree using the page's rlm file.

This then leaves me in the desktop xerte environment with each page having its own xwd and xml contained in its own folder. I can tinker with the page's icon structure or just consume the page as originally specified, whilst populating the page's data using the xwd form.

I can edit the page's xwd in FlashDevelop to add extra features and update the page's structure to consume them. I have full access to all the project's pages and every page's icons.

In desktop Xerte using individual page templates, once a page has been created any change to Xerte's copy of the xwd file or rlm file does not affect the page in the project, unlike in XOT where template.xwd and the set of  rlm files are accessed when the project runs, thus resulting in any changes to these files affecting all projects.

It is a great environment in which to develop new pages from existing ones.

Can you see any problem with the approach I am intending to take with respect to the routed paging? Are you happy for me to continue with this proposed solution to the issue?

Kind regards

Johnathan

On 14 February 2012 14:09, Julian Tenney <Julian.Tenney at nottingham.ac.uk<mailto:Julian.Tenney at nottingham.ac.uk>> wrote:
OK, maybe we're just in slightly different worlds, me toolkits, you xerte. You paste in models through the editor? (I can't remember) and then essentially don't care about that model ever again: it's just there waiting for some xml payload to drive it?

Do you actually add the child icons (i.e. essentially the same thing as pasting in the model manually at design time? Or do you create a reference to an external model file a la toolkits?

I can see it is tricky to set the icon property at design time.

There must be a way to set the name property at runtime, but maybe not so easy of you've pasted the whole set of icons into the main piece - which is what I think you do..?

From: xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk<mailto:xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk> [mailto:xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk<mailto:xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk>] On Behalf Of Kemp Johnathan
Sent: 14 February 2012 14:05

To: For Xerte technical developers
Subject: [Xerte-dev] Re: navigating to page name

There may be something wrong in my understanding of how things are working here but my reasons for not going down this route were

1) The script you quote is from templates.rlt and does not exist in an individual page template project - though something similar could perhaps be added.
2) In an individual page template project there is no project wide external xml file, rather each separate page has its own external xml file.
3) I am seeking to implement a solution that works for both pageTemplates and individual page template projects.
4) Even if this can be made to work for individual page template files I am still wary of using the name property (title field in the xwd form) as the unique identifier as I think it is already being used to meet a different purpose that could compromise it as a unique id. A project that used routing could easily be compromised by a late decision to change the title of a page. Which would affect every page that had been set up to route to it. With a separate pageID used only as the identifier for routing purposes this issue is avoided.

Since routed pages are not yet a feature of Xerte it makes sense to get a solution that is robust. Have I missed something in my approach? Is there anything in the approach that I am proposing that would be detrimental to the project?

I have performed some limited tests with this approach using my scenario page in both  pageTemplates and individual page template projects and thus far it has worked reliably.

Kind regards

Johnathan

On 14 February 2012 13:32, Julian Tenney <Julian.Tenney at nottingham.ac.uk<mailto:Julian.Tenney at nottingham.ac.uk>> wrote:
> Part of the problem has been the lack of a suitable identifier for each page that could be set within an xwd form

Why can't you set attributes on the icon in the makePages script, in these bits of code?

if (modName == 'xerteModel'){
  newXML = new XML('<PG model="' + extXML.firstChild.childNodes[i].attributes.modelFile + '"/>');
  //is there an initObject...?
  if (extXML.firstChild.childNodes[i].attributes.initObject != undefined){
    newXML.firstChild.attributes.initObject = extXML.firstChild.childNodes[i].attributes.initObject;
  }
} else {
 newXML = new XML('<PG model="templatePath + \'models/' + modName + '.rlm\'"/>');
}
newChild = newXML.firstChild;
newChild.attributes.title = extXML.firstChild.childNodes[i].attributes.name<http://attributes.name>;
newChild.attributes.linkID = extXML.firstChild.childNodes[i].attributes.linkID;

if (extXML.firstChild.childNodes[i].attributes.linkID == _level0.linkID && extXML.firstChild.childNodes[i].attributes.linkID != undefined){
  linkIndex = i;
}
ifc.appendChild(newChild);

newChild is the xml that is added to the interface. The engine then loads up the modesl identified in each page attached, but does not replace the page icons you create here.

You won't see the changes at design time(i.e. populate the name property in the xerte editor), but they can be set at runtime, and thus be used for navigation.

From: xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk<mailto:xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk> [mailto:xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk<mailto:xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk>] On Behalf Of Kemp Johnathan
Sent: 14 February 2012 12:36

To: For Xerte technical developers
Subject: [Xerte-dev] Re: navigating to page name

I have considered how to implement the ability to route pages for some time now. Part of the problem has been the lack of a suitable identifier for each page that could be set within an xwd form. In page wizards I used the "name" field of the page icon, but this is not definable from an xwd form.

In pageTemplates projects the xwd defined name value is used as the page title and there is no way to set the page Icon name property. The page title is a bad candidate as a unique identifier as its main function is to be a a page title making it potentially lengthy, potentially liable to change, possibly even unique and probably more prone to error in typing when referring to it as a page destination.

As part of the move to individual page templates I am including in every xwd file an optional property pageID the purpose of which is to act solely as an identifier to enable other pages to locate it in the project.

I have a number of page wizards that I will be converting to individual page templates that offer routing i.e. the ability to specify a target page which the user will be taken to on completing an action e.g. making a selection from a multiple choice question, clicking on a link in some text etc. These will use the new pageID property.

This is achieved by using the following code.

In the rlm file's getPageID script the following opening is used for any page that offers routing

if (extXML == undefined){ // Page Wizard
    pageIcon.templateData = pageIcon.extXML.toObject();
    pageIcon.templateData = pageIcon.templateData.pageWizard[0];

    // routed pages only
    pageID_array = new Array();
    for (i = 0; i < rootIcon.pages.length; i++){
      pageID_array.push(rootIcon.pages[i].extXML.firstChild.childNodes[0].attributes.pageID);
    }

} else { // Toolkits
   myXML = new XML(extXML.firstChild.childNodes[rootIcon.getPageIndex() - pgOffset]);
   pageIcon.templateData = myXML.toObject();
   rootIcon.setTitleText(templateData.learningObject[0].name);

   // routed pages only
   pageID_array = new Array();
   for (i = 0; i < extXML.firstChild.childNodes.length; i++){
     pageID_array.push(extXML.firstChild.childNodes[i].attributes.pageID);
   }
}

This makes available to the routed page an array of every page in the project with a value for pageID where it has been defined.

Navigation to a page can then be handled in a manner such as

// navigate to destination page
for (i = 0; i < pageID_array.length; i++){
   if (pageID_array[i] == destPageName){
     pageFound = "true";
     destinationIndex = i;
     rootIcon.gotoPage(destinationIndex);
   break;
  } else {
    pageFound = "false";
  }
}

This will open up the potential to create a variety of "routed" pages which all use a standard method of page identification.

Kind regards

Johnathan

On 14 February 2012 09:50, Julian Tenney <Julian.Tenney at nottingham.ac.uk<mailto:Julian.Tenney at nottingham.ac.uk>> wrote:
Ah, the other gotcha is that those asfunc calls need the full path to the object.

From: xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk<mailto:xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk> [mailto:xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk<mailto:xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk>] On Behalf Of Ron Mitchell
Sent: 14 February 2012 08:24
To: 'For Xerte technical developers'

Subject: [Xerte-dev] Re: navigating to page name

:-)
sleep worked!
Got it working with _level0.engine.navToPage(pagetitletogoto);

From: xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk<mailto:xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk> [mailto:xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk<mailto:xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk>] On Behalf Of Dave Burnett
Sent: 14 February 2012 00:43
To: xerte-dev at lists.nottingham.ac.uk<mailto:xerte-dev at lists.nottingham.ac.uk>
Subject: [Xerte-dev] Re: navigating to page name

So much for in vino veritas.
________________________________
From: ronm at mitchellmedia.co.uk<mailto:ronm at mitchellmedia.co.uk>
To: xerte-dev at lists.nottingham.ac.uk<mailto:xerte-dev at lists.nottingham.ac.uk>
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:31:28 +0000
Subject: [Xerte-dev] Re: navigating to page name
Thanks for the suggestion Dave
but I've pretty much tried that but it's not working e.g. if I debug(myPageIndex); it's coming up undefined.
Time to shut down and have another look in the morning.
Cheers
Ron

From: xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk<mailto:xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk> [mailto:xerte-dev-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Dave Burnett
Sent: 14 February 2012 00:22
To: xerte-dev at lists.nottingham.ac.uk<mailto:xerte-dev at lists.nottingham.ac.uk>
Subject: [Xerte-dev] Re: navigating to page name

http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/pipermail/xerte/2010-April/004972.html
??

I've had a couple pints, so I may be missing the point.
:-)

________________________________
From: ronm at mitchellmedia.co.uk<mailto:ronm at mitchellmedia.co.uk>
To: xerte-dev at lists.nottingham.ac.uk<mailto:xerte-dev at lists.nottingham.ac.uk>
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:10:31 +0000
Subject: [Xerte-dev] navigating to page name
Hi
I think I'm missing something silly here :-(
In a script icon in a page templates project I want to dynamically pass a page title to navigate to that page.

I know <a href="asfunction:_level0.engine.navToPage,yourpagetitle">Click here or some other wording</a> works in xot as a hyperlink but haven't managed to call the same function in a script icon?

Or is there another/easier way of doing this e.g. navigating to a page title in a page templates project?

Cheers
Ron

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