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ttribute
Descriptions
Each attribute of
the WVPanelTeletype panel tag is defined below. The attribute's use is
described and the valid attribute values are listed.
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module
The module attribute identifies the
Java component that will be associated with the panel.
In order to use
the WVPanelTeletype module, this attribute must be set as:
Note that the module name is within quotation marks in order to preserve the case of
the characters.
Be sure that the spelling and the capitalization of the
module name match exactly, or WildView will not be able to locate the
module.
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name
The name attribute allows you to
assign a name to the panel.
Panel names are primarily used in
conjunction with triggers in order to identify what panel a trigger is being
sent to, or in some cases, what panel the trigger was received from.
Panel
names are also used by WildView when logging error conditions in order
to identify the panel that encountered the error.
The name attribute is
optional, but if it is not specified then you will not be able to send triggers
to this panel from other panels.
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clock
The clock attribute defines how
frequently the module will get a chance to draw in the WildView display
area.
For the WVPanelTeletype module, the clock attribute controls
how quickly characters are
"typed" in the panel's display area. Think of this attribute
as controlling how quickly the teletype keys are pressed.
The clock attribute value is expressed in milliseconds (250 milliseconds is equivalent to
¼ seconds -- which would be rather slow for this module).
To increase the typing speed, decrease the clock value; to decrease the
typing speed, increase the clock value.
A good value to try initially is 125 milliseconds (8 characters per second).
Using this value, the attribute specification will be:
If the clock attribute is not specified, then the clock value defaults to
250 milliseconds (4 characters per second). |
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x
The x attribute determines where the
left edge of the panel will be located in the WildView display area.
For
instance, if the WildView display area has a total width of 200, and if
a value of 100 is specified for the panel's x attribute, then the panel will be
drawn with its left edge located in the middle of the WildView display.
A
module will only draw within the rectangle defined by the x, y,
w, and h attributes.
In order for a panel to be completely visible in the
WildView display area, the x attribute value must be greater than or
equal to zero and less than the total width of the WildView display
area.
If the x attribute is not specified, then the attribute's value
will default to zero (i.e., the left edge of the WildView display area). |
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y
The y attribute determines where the
top edge of the panel will be located in the WildView display area.
For
instance, if the WildView display area has a total height of 100, and if
a value of 50 is specified for the panel's y attribute, then the panel will be
drawn with its top edge located in the middle of the WildView display.
A
module will only draw within the rectangle defined by the x,
y,
w, and h attributes.
In order for a panel to be completely visible in the
WildView display area, the y attribute value must be greater than or
equal to zero and less than the total height of the WildView display
area.
If the y attribute is not specified, then the attribute's value
will default to zero (i.e., the top edge of the WildView display area). |
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w
The w attribute determines the width
of the panel in the WildView display area.
For instance, if the
WildView display area has a total width of 200, and if the panel's
x attribute has a value of 20, and the panel's w attribute has
a value of 160 (positioning the right edge of the panel at 20 + 160 = 180),
then the panel will be centered horizontally in the WildView display
(there is a margin of 20 to the left of the left panel edge and a margin of
200 - 180 = 20 to the right of the right panel edge).
A
module will only draw within the rectangle defined by the x,
y, w, and h attributes.
In order for a panel to be completely visible in the
WildView display area, the w attribute value added to the x
attribute value must be less than or equal to the total width of the WildView
display area.
If the w attribute is not specified, then the attribute's
value will default to zero (i.e., the panel will not be visible in the WildView
display area). |
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h
The h attribute determines the
height of the panel in the WildView display area.
For instance,
if the WildView display area has a total height of 100, and if the
panel's y attribute has a value of 10, and the panel's h
attribute has a value of 80 (positioning the bottom edge of the panel at 10
+ 80 = 90), then the panel will be centered vertically in the WildView
display (there is a margin of 10 above the top panel edge and a margin of 100
- 90 = 10 below the bottom panel edge).
A module will only draw
within the rectangle defined by the x, y,
w, and h attributes.
In order for a panel to be completely visible in the
WildView display area, the h attribute value added to the y
attribute value must be less than or equal to the total height of the WildView
display area.
If the h attribute is not specified, then the attribute's
value will default to zero (i.e., the panel will not be visible in the WildView
display area). |
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mouseX
The mouseX attribute is an optional
attribute that defines the left most side of a rectangle in which mouse events
will be recognized by the panel.
Normally, the mouse area (defined by
the mouseX, mouseY, mouseW, and
mouseH attributes) is identical to the panel display area
(defined by the x, y, w,
and h attributes).
Occasionally it is useful to
define a mouse area that is different from the display area. For instance, you
might have a small panel in a corner of a WildView display that contains
vertically scrolling text. If you want the scrolling to pause whenever the mouse
enters the WildView display area (as opposed to when the mouse enters
the panel area), you can define a mouse area equal to the entire WildView
display area (of which the scrolling text panel occupies just a part).
A
module will only respond to mouse events that occur within the rectangle
defined by the mouseX, mouseY,
mouseW, and mouseH attributes.
The
illustration below shows a panel with a mouse area that is smaller than the
panel area.
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If the mouseX attribute is not specified, then the
attribute's value will default to value of the x attribute.
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mouseY
The mouseY attribute is an optional
attribute that defines the top most side of a rectangle in which mouse events
will be recognized by the panel.
Normally, the mouse area (defined by
the mouseX, mouseY, mouseW, and
mouseH attributes) is identical to the panel display area
(defined by the x, y, w,
and h attributes).
Occasionally it is useful to
define a mouse area that is different from the display area. For instance, you
might have a small panel in a corner of a WildView display that contains
vertically scrolling text. If you want the scrolling to pause whenever the mouse
enters the WildView display area (as opposed to when the mouse enters
the panel area), you can define a mouse area equal to the entire WildView
display area (of which the scrolling text panel occupies just a part).
A
module will only respond to mouse events that occur within the rectangle
defined by the mouseX, mouseY,
mouseW, and mouseH attributes.
The
illustration below shows a panel with a mouse area that is smaller than the
panel area.
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If the mouseY attribute is not specified, then the
attribute's value will default to value of the y attribute.
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mouseW
The mouseW attribute is an optional
attribute that defines the width of a rectangle in which mouse events
will be recognized by the panel.
Normally, the mouse area (defined by
the mouseX, mouseY, mouseW, and
mouseH attributes) is identical to the panel display area
(defined by the x, y, w,
and h attributes).
Occasionally it is useful to
define a mouse area that is different from the display area. For instance, you
might have a small panel in a corner of a WildView display that contains
vertically scrolling text. If you want the scrolling to pause whenever the mouse
enters the WildView display area (as opposed to when the mouse enters
the panel area), you can define a mouse area equal to the entire WildView
display area (of which the scrolling text panel occupies just a part).
A
module will only respond to mouse events that occur within the rectangle
defined by the mouseX, mouseY, mouseW,
and mouseH attributes.
The
illustration below shows a panel with a mouse area that is smaller than the
panel area.
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If the mouseW attribute is not specified, then the
attribute's value will default to value of the w attribute.
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mouseH
The mouseH attribute is an optional
attribute that defines the height of a rectangle in which mouse events
will be recognized by the panel.
Normally, the mouse area (defined by
the mouseX, mouseY, mouseW, and
mouseH attributes) is identical to the panel display area
(defined by the x, y, w,
and h attributes).
Occasionally it is useful to
define a mouse area that is different from the display area. For instance, you
might have a small panel in a corner of a WildView display that contains
vertically scrolling text. If you want the scrolling to pause whenever the mouse
enters the WildView display area (as opposed to when the mouse enters
the panel area), you can define a mouse area equal to the entire WildView
display area (of which the scrolling text panel occupies just a part).
A
module will only respond to mouse events that occur within the rectangle
defined by the mouseX, mouseY, mouseW,
and mouseH attributes.
The
illustration below shows a panel with a mouse area that is smaller than the
panel area.
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If the mouseH attribute is not specified, then the
attribute's value will default to value of the h attribute.
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font
This attribute specifies the typeface to be used when drawing the text.
The font name can be any of the standard Java fonts:
- "Dialog"
- "Helvetica"
- "TimesRoman"
- "Courier"
- "Symbol"
Note that the font name must be surrounded with quotation marks in order for Java to find and load the
correct font.
If a value for this attribute is not specified, then the text font will default to "Courier".
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fontSize
This attribute assigns the size of the font used to draw the text.
If a value for this attribute is not specified, then the text font size will default to 10.
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fontStyle
This attribute assigns the style of the font used to draw the text.
The value for the style attribute can be any one of the following:
- plain
- bold
- italic
- italic+bold
- bold+italic
If a value for this parameter is not specified, then the font style will default to "plain".
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fontColor
This attribute assigns the font color used to draw the text.
The value for this attribute must be a RGB value in hexadecimal format.
For instance, the color red would be FF0000,
and a medium gray would be 888888.
If a value for this attribute is not specified, then the font color will default to black.
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cursorColor
If a color value is specified for this attribute, then a "block cursor" will be
displayed to highlight the current character being typed.
The value for this attribute must be an RGB value in hexadecimal format.
For instance, the color red would be FF0000,
and a medium gray would be 888888.
NOTE: it is recommended that if you are using the
cursorColor attribute, that you use a solid
background color for the panel. If a solid
background color is not used, then the
performance of the module could be negatively impacted.
If a value for this attribute is not specified, then the block cursor will not
be displayed.
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cursorCharColor
If a color value is specified for this attribute, then the current character being typed
will be drawn using the specified color.
This attribute can be used in combination with the cursorColor
attribute to create a "block cursor" with the character inside the cursor
being drawn in a different color than the color of the rest of the text.
The value for this attribute must be an RGB value in hexadecimal format.
For instance, the color red would be FF0000,
and a medium gray would be 888888.
NOTE: it is recommended that if you are using the
cursorCharColor attribute, that you use a solid
background color for the panel. If a solid
background color is not used, then the
performance of the module could be negatively impacted.
If a value for this attribute is not specified, then the character being typed will
be drawn using the normal fontColor.
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clearClock
When the WVPanelTeletype module has has filled the display area with the
text it has "typed," it will pause before it clears the display area
and begins typing subsequent text (or starting over at the beginning of the text
if the end of the text has been reached).
The clearClock attribute controls how long the module will pause before it performs
the clear operation and begins typing again.
The clearClock attribute value is expressed in milliseconds (1000 milliseconds is equivalent to
1 second).
To increase the delay before the display area is cleared, increase the clearClock value;
to decrease the delay, decrease the clearClock value.
A good value to try initially is 1500 milliseconds (1½ seconds).
Using this value, the attribute specification will be:
If the clearClock attribute is not specified, then the clearClock value defaults to
2000 milliseconds (2 seconds). |
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justify
The justify attribute enables you to specify the text justification within the panel display area.
The valid values for the justify attribute are:
- left - text is justified against the left side of the panel display area
- center - text is justified in the center of the panel display area
- right - text is justified against the right side of the panel display area
If a value for this attribute is not specified, then the text will be left justified.
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pause
The pause attribute allows you to specify an action that, when detected, will cause the
typing animation to pause. By allowing the panel display to be paused, you give the person
reading the text the ability to pause the typing animation in a situation where
the text is being typed too quickly.
There are three valid values that can be assigned to this attribute:
- false - the animation cannot be paused
- enter - the animation will pause whenever the mouse enters the panel's mouse area
- click - the animation will pause whenever the mouse is clicked within the panel's mouse area
(See the mouseX, mouseY, mouseW,
and mouseH attributes for details concerning the mouse area.)
There are some situations where you will want to be sure that the animation can not be
paused. For instance, if you are using triggers to synchronize animation in two or more
panels, then allowing the user to pause one or more of those panels might cause the
panel synchronization to become unsynchronized.
If this attribute is not specified, then the attribute default value will be "false"
(animation cannot be paused).
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background
The background color of the panel's display area is assigned using this attribute.
The attribute's value may be a color in RGB hexadecimal format (for example,
the color red would be FF0000,
and a medium gray would be 888888), or it may be
the special value "clear".
If the special value "clear" is used as the background color, then the panel area
will not be filled with a color, but rather the text will be typed over whatever image
lies under the panel area.
Note that if you use the "clear" special value for the background attribute, and
if you also use the cursorColor or the
cursorCharColor attribute,
then the typing animation may be significantly
slowed due to the extra processing required.
If the background attribute is not specified, then the background color will default
to "clear".
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lineWidth
The lineWidth attribute controls the maximum width of a line of text that can be drawn
within the panel's display area.
The lineWidth value can be set to a value less than the width of the panel's display area
in order to allow extra space to the right of the text (if the text is left justified),
or to the left of the text (if the text is right justified), or to either side of the
text (if the text is center justified).
If this attribute is not specified, then the lineWidth will default to the same value
as the panel's display width.
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initWait
The initWait attribute can be used to assign an id that the panel will wait for before
drawing anything in its display area. In other words, the panel will wait until it
receives a <TRIGGER> with the specified id, before it will begin
to type the text.
One of the more common ways of using this attribute is in conjunction with a
<CLEAR> tag embedded in the text to be typed.
When embedding a <CLEAR> tag in the text for a WVPanelTeletype
panel, you may set the panel's background to an image contained
in a WVPanelImage panel. However, when WildView
initializes a WVPanelTeletype panel, there is no guarantee that the image
in the WVPanelImage panel has been completely loaded.
Since a WVPanelImage panel can send a trigger to another panel when its image
has been completely loaded, we can use the WVPanelTeletype initWait attribute
to cause the WVPanelTeletype panel to wait until it receives this trigger before
it begins typing the text and executing the <CLEAR> tags embedded in
the text.
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leading
The leading attribute is used to control the space between each line of text.
If you specify a negative value, then the space between each line of text will be
decreased by that number of pixels. For instance, a value of -3 would decrease
the space between each line of text by three pixels.
If a positive value is specified, then the space between each line of text will be
increased by that number of pixels. For instance, a value of 2 would increase
the space between each line of text by two pixels.
Note that the actual amount of space between lines of text may vary depending upon
the browser and operating system being used. Also, a leading adjustment value may not
be larger than the total height of the line of text. If you specify a value that is
too large, it will automatically be changed to the largest value allowed.
If this attribute is not specified, then no adjustment will be made to the default
spacing between lines of text (i.e., the value will default to zero).
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ags
The text that is to be typed follows the <PANEL> tag. The WVPanelTeletype module
allows the following tags to be embedded in the text:
- <BR> - insert a line break in the text
- <P> - insert a paragraph break in the text
- <WAIT> - stop typing the text
- <TRIGGER> - send a trigger to a panel
- <CLEAR> - clear the display area and optionally set a background image.
- <SET> - load another panel set
- <LOAD> - load one or more URLs
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<BR>
The <BR> tag places a line break in the panel's formatted text
following the character of text that immediately precedes the tag. A line break is equivalent
to a carriage return and a line feed.
The format of the <BR> tag is:
An example of the <BR> tag is:
Text in panel set:
... this is some<BR> sample text ...
Text as displayed:
... this is some
sample text ...
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A line break tag can be placed immediately before another tag in order to ensure that
the tag which follows the <BR> tag is
associated with line that begins with the first character following the
<BR> tag.
This can sometimes be important because
the automatic line formatting behavior of the panel will yield different results
depending upon the version of Java and the operating
system being used. The variation in line formatting on different platforms
will thus make it difficult (if not impossible in some cases) to predict exactly
what line an individual word will be associated with.
By using a <BR> tag
you can define precisely where one line ends and where the next line begins.
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<P>
The <P> tag places a paragraph break in the panel's formatted text
following the character that immediately precedes the tag. A paragraph break is a line break
followed by a blank line.
The format of the <P> tag is:
An example of the <P> tag is:
Text in panel set:
... this is some<P> sample text ...
Text as displayed:
... this is some
sample text ...
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A paragraph break tag can be placed immediately before another tag in order to ensure that
the tag which follows the <P> tag is
associated with the line of text that begins the following paragraph.
This can sometimes be important because
the automatic line formatting behavior of the panel will yield different results
depending upon the version of Java and the operating
system being used. The variation in line formatting on different platforms
will thus make it difficult (if not impossible in some cases) to predict exactly
what line an individual word will be associated with.
By using a <P> tag
you can define precisely where one paragraph ends and where the next paragraph begins.
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<WAIT>
The <WAIT> tag allows you stop the typing animation immediately before the line
of text that contains the <WAIT> tag is displayed. Typing is resumed
when the panel receives a <TRIGGER>, or when an (optional) timeout expires.
The format of the <WAIT> tag is:
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<WAIT id=idName timeout=seconds>
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The <WAIT> tag attributes are:
- id
This optional attribute is the ID that a
<TRIGGER> must send in order for typing to resume. If the attribute
is omitted, then any <TRIGGER> sent to this panel will cause the
typing to resume.
- timeout
If a timeout attribute is specified, then the typing will resume if a <TRIGGER>
is received (with the appropriate id, if specified), or when the number of
seconds specified for the timeout attribute have elapsed.
A <WAIT> tag with a timeout attribute
is a good way to insert a pause of a specific number of seconds
between paragraphs or
between sections of text, if desired.
Note that the <WAIT> causes typing to stop immediately before the line
that contains the <WAIT> tag is displayed. Since WildView
automatically creates line breaks in the text based on the width of the display area
(or based on the lineWidth attribute, if specified),
occasionally you might be surprised at where the <WAIT> occurs.
A method that can be used to
ensure that a <WAIT> occurs on a specific line is to use the <P>
paragraph tag or the <BR> line break tag to force a line break in the
text immediately before the <WAIT> tag.
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<TRIGGER>
The <TRIGGER> tag allows you send a message
to one or more panels immediately before the line
of text that contains the <TRIGGER> tag is displayed.
The format of the <TRIGGER> tag is:
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<TRIGGER panel=panelName id=idName ... >
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The <TRIGGER> tag attributes are:
- panel
This required
attribute is the name of
a panel (or panels) to which this trigger should be sent.
The attribute value can be the name of a single panel to which the trigger should be
sent, as for example:
or, multiple panels can be sent a trigger by separating the panel names with commas,
like:
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panel=panel1,panel2,panel3
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Note that without quotation marks, you cannot put spaces in the attribute value. If you
surround the attribute value with quotation marks, however, you can place spaces in the
attribute value: in fact, you can use spaces instead of commas to separate the panel names to
which triggers should be sent.
With quotation marks, you can use spaces after a comma:
panel="panel1, panel2, panel3"
Or you can use spaces instead of commas:
panel="panel1 panel2 panel3"
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- id
This optional attribute is
commonly used, and so it is documented here.
The attribute is most often specified
when another panel has executed a <WAIT>
tag and is waiting for a <TRIGGER> with a specific ID.
In this case, you can
cause the <WAIT>ing panel to resume by sending it a <TRIGGER>
with an id attribute that matches the id for which the panel is
<WAIT>ing.
- ...
The ellipse indicates that there can be any number of additional attribute/value
pairs that can be sent to the panel.
The attributes in the <TRIGGER> that are
recognized by the target panel depends upon the module that was used to create the
panel.
See the documentation for the appropriate module to determine what
<TRIGGER> attributes can be sent to the particular target panel.
Note that the <TRIGGER> is sent immediately before the line
that contains the <TRIGGER> tag is displayed. Since WildView
automatically creates line breaks in the text based on the width of the display area
(or based on the lineWidth attribute, if specified),
occasionally you might be surprised at where the <TRIGGER> occurs.
A method that can be used to
ensure that a <TRIGGER> occurs on a specific line is to use the <P>
paragraph tag or the <BR> line break tag to force a line break in the
text immediately before the <TRIGGER> tag.
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<CLEAR>
The <CLEAR> tag causes the display area to be cleared by removing all text
from the display area.
Optionally, the panel's background can also be replaced by an image being displayed in a
WVPanelImage panel.
Note that the panel's display area is cleared before the line that contains
the <CLEAR> tag is displayed.
The format of the <CLEAR> tag is:
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<CLEAR grab=ImagePanelName>
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The optional <CLEAR> tag attribute, grab,
allows you to "grab" the image that is currently being displayed
by an image panel and use it as a background image for the WVPanelTeletype
panel (i.e., the text will be typed over the "grabbed" image).
Note that the image panel does not need to be visible in order to
"grab" its image. If you are using the image panel only to provide
a background image for the WVPanelTeletype panel, then you can position the
image panel at a location outside of the WildView display area.
If used in conjunction with the <TRIGGER> tag, you can change the
background image depending on the text that is being displayed. See the documentation
for the WVPanelImage module for additional information regarding this capability.
An example of this tag using
an image panel name is:
If the grab attribute is not specified, then the display area
will just be cleared (i.e., the background will remain unchanged).
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<SET>
The <SET> tag can be used to load another panel set (i.e., a layout file) to
replace the panel set currently being displayed. The <SET> tag is executed
immediately before the line containing the <SET> tag is displayed.
The format of the <SET> tag is:
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<SET panelSet="panelSetToLoad" stop=stopDisplay loadMessage="messageText">
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The <SET> tag attributes are:
- panelSet
This required attribute is the panel set file name or the number
of the panel set that should be loaded.
If a file name is specified, then the file name must exactly match a file
name assigned to
one of the panelSet parameters entered with
<APPLET> tag.
An example of a <SET> tag using a file name is:
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<SET panelSet="SecondPanelSet.TXT">
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Remember, in order
to preserve upper and lower case characters, you must surround the attribute value
with quotation marks.
If a panel set number is entered, then it should correspond to one of the
panelSet parameters entered with
<APPLET> tag.
An example of a <SET> tag using a number is:
The above example would load the panel set associated with the panelSet2
applet parameter.
- stop
If this optional attribute is set to "true", then all WildView
animation will
be stopped while the new panel set is loaded.
If the attribute value is set to
"false", then animation will continue while the next panel set is loaded.
If the stop attribute is not specified, then its value will default to
"false".
- loadMessage
If a text string is specified for this optional attribute, then the text will be displayed
on a single line in the center of the applet display area
while the next panel set is loaded.
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<LOAD>
The <LOAD> tag is used to load one or more URLs just before the line
containing the <LOAD> tag is displayed.
The format of the <LOAD> tag is:
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<LOAD url="url1 url2 url3 ..."
target="target1 target 2 target3 ...">
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The <LOAD> tag attributes are:
- url
The value of the url attribute can be any valid URL, or it can be a list
of URLs separated by at least one space character. For instance,
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url=http://www.modernminds.com
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or
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url="../HTML/Home.html http://www.microsoft.com http://home.netscape.com"
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Note that if you specify more than one URL, then the list must be
enclosed within quotation marks.
Also, you should specify a
target for each of the URLs.
If you do not specify targets when multiple URLs are used, then the URLs will just load
on top of each other, each URL replacing the URL that was previously loaded.
If you specify a partial URL, as for example,
then the root of the URL will be based on the URL of the directory that
contains the the Java code.
For instance, if the WildView
Java classes are in a directory called "Java", and if a HTML
file called "Home.html" is in a
directory called "HTML" which is in the "Java"
directory (i.e., "Java/HTML/Home.html"), then the
attribute would be:
Note that you can also use the "mailto" option to launch a user's mail
client. For example:
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url=mailto:comments@modernminds.com
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Make sure that you do not use the target
attribute if you are using "mailto."
If a value for this attribute is not specified, then the tag will be ignored.
- target
For each URL specified in the url attribute, a target can be specified.
If a target is not specified, then the URL will load over the current page
and replace the applet.
The value of the target attribute can be any valid
target frame name or symbol (some browsers will open a new browser window if the
target name does not exist).
Some special symbolic values are (warning:
these values might not work for every browser):
- _blank - Always load the URL into a new, unnamed window
- _self - Always load the URL over the current page
- _parent - Always load this URL over the parent page (becomes self if there was no parent)
- _top - Always load this link at the top level (becomes self if current page is at the top)
If more than one URL is specified for the url attribute, then the
corresponding targets must be listed within quotation marks in the same order as the URLs.
For example:
<LOAD
url="http://www.modernminds.com
http://www.microsoft.com
http://home.netscape.com"
target="MMFrame MSFrame NSFrame">
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This example will load http://www.modernminds.com in MMFrame,
http://www.microsoft.com in MSFrame, and
http://home.netscape.com in NSFrame.
If you do not wish to specify a target for a URL in a list, then you may enter a dash (i.e., "-")
for the target. For instance:
<LOAD
url="http://www.modernminds.com
mailto:support@modernminds.com
http://home.netscape.com"
target="MMFrame - NSFrame">
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