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Applet, Desklet and Extension Settings Reference

mtwebster edited this page Feb 18, 2013 · 26 revisions

Applet, Desklet and Extension Settings Reference


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Widget Types and required fields

###checkbox

  • type : should be "checkbox"
  • default : true or false (no quotes)
  • description : String describing the setting

A simple checkbox that controls a boolean type value


###entry

  • type : should be "entry"
  • default : default string value
  • description : String describing the setting

A text entry field that stores a string


###colorchooser

  • type : should be "colorchooser"
  • default : default color string - can be "red" or "rgba(x,x,x,x)", etc...
  • description : String describing the setting

A Color button that lets you choose a RGBA color code as a string


###radiogroup

  • type : should be "radiogroup"
  • default : default value from the list of options, or it can be a custom value if custom is defined
  • description : String describing the setting
  • options : node of desc:val pair options, where desc is the displayed option name, val is the stored value

A group of radio buttons whose description and values are defined by options in description:value pairs. Values may be string or number. One option entry may also have a value of custom, and a text entry will be provided next to that option, to allow entering a custom value.

options might be:

options : {
    "Option 1" : "this value",
    "Option 2" : "that value",
    "Option 3" : "other value"
}

###filechooser

  • type : should be "filechooser"
  • description : String describing the setting
  • default : Default filename to use
  • select-dir (optional) - true or false, or leave off entirely. Forces directory selection.
  • allow-none (optional) - true or false, or leave off entirely. Allows no file to be selected

Opens a file picker dialog to allow you to choose a filename. If select-dir is true, it will only allow directories to be selected. If allow-none is true, A checkbox is added, that allows you to unset the chosen file. Stores as a string.


###iconfilechooser

  • type : should be "iconfilechooser"
  • description : String describing the setting
  • default : default icon path or icon name to use

Provides a preview button and text entry field. You can open a file dialog to pick an image-type file, or enter a registered icon name in the text field. Stores as a string.


###combobox

  • type : should be "combobox"
  • default : default value to set
  • description : String describing the setting
  • options : node of desc:val pair options, where desc is the displayed option name, val is the stored value

Provides a dropdown list from which you can select from description:value pairs defined by options. The values can be string or number.


###spinbutton

  • type : should be "spinbutton"
  • default : default value to use - int or leading 0 float
  • min : minimum value
  • max : maximum value
  • units : String describing what the number is a unit of (pixels, bytes, etc..)
  • step : adjustment amount
  • description : String describing the setting

Provides a spin button and entry for changing setting a number value. This can be integer or floating point format. For floating point, all values must have leading 0's.


###scale

  • type : should be "scale"
  • default : default value to use - int or leading 0 float
  • min : minimum value
  • max : maximum value
  • step : adjustment amount
  • description : String describing the setting

Provides a scale widget to allow you to pick a number value between min and max, by step amount. Integer or floating point numbers can be used. For floating point, all values must have leading 0's.


###header

  • type : should be "header"
  • description : String to display as a bold header

A non-setting widget, this provides a bold-faced label for assisting in organizing your settings


###separator

  • type : should be "separator"

A non-setting widget, this draws a horizontal separator for assisting in organizing your settings


###button

  • type : should be "button"
  • description : Label for the button
  • callback : string of callback method name (no "this", just "myFunc")

A non-setting widget, this provides a button, which, when clicked, activates the callback method in your applet. Note: the callback value should be a string of the method name only. For instance, to call this.myCallback(), you would put "myCallback" for the callback value.


###Additional Setting Options

###These fields can be added to any widget:

  • indent: true - Indent the widget by one tab stop, to help with organizing your layout
  • dependency : <key> - where key is the name of a checkbox setting. If that checkbox setting is un-checked, this setting will be made insensitive (greyed out). NOTE: The checkbox must occur before the setting that depends on it.

AppletSettings/DeskletSettings/ExtensionSettings Constructors

new AppletSettings.AppletSettings(this, "settings-example@cinnamon.org", instanceId);

new DeskletSettings.DeskletSettings(this, "settings-example@cinnamon.org", instanceId);

new ExtensionSettings.ExtensionSettings(this, "settings-example@cinnamon.org");


AppletSettings/DeskletSettings/ExtensionSettings provider public methods

boolean bindBoolean(sync_type, key_name, applet_var, applet_callback, user_data)

Binds a boolean-type setting to the applet_var property

  • sync_type: BindingDirection
  • key_name: string of JSON key name
  • applet_var: string of applet property
  • applet_callback: applet callback method (i.e. this.on_settings_changed)
  • user_data : extra data to be sent to callback method (optional)
  • Returns: Whether the binding was successful

boolean bindString(sync_type, key_name, applet_var, applet_callback, user_data)

Binds a string-type setting to the applet_var property

  • sync_type: BindingDirection
  • key_name: string of JSON key name
  • applet_var: string of applet property
  • applet_callback: applet callback method (i.e. this.on_settings_changed)
  • user_data : extra data to be sent to callback method (optional)
  • Returns: Whether the binding was successful

boolean bindNumber(sync_type, key_name, applet_var, applet_callback, user_data)

Binds a number-type setting to the applet_var property

  • sync_type: BindingDirection
  • key_name: string of JSON key name
  • applet_var: string of applet property
  • applet_callback: applet callback method (i.e. this.on_settings_changed)
  • user_data : extra data to be sent to callback method (optional)
  • Returns: Whether the binding was successful

getValue(key_name)

Returns the currently stored value of the key key_name. May be boolean, string, or number.

  • key_name : The key name to fetch the value for

setValue(key_name, value)

Sets the value of key_name to value. May be boolean, string, or number.

  • key_name : The key name to set the value for
  • value : The new value

AppletSettings/DeskletSettings/ExtensionSettings Signals

settings-changed

Signals when the underlying config file has changed and the in-memory values have been updated


Binding Directions

AppletSettings.BindingDirection.SYNC_ONCE DeskletSettings.BindingDirection.SYNC_ONCE ExtensionSettings.BindingDirection.SYNC_ONCE

  • Only set the property this one time, no permanent binding is set up. This is useful if you have a setting you wish to read at startup only, but allow it to be changed (by the user or otherwise) during runtime, and those changes not stored.

AppletSettings.BindingDirection.ONE_WAY DeskletSettings.BindingDirection.ONE_WAY ExtensionSettings.BindingDirection.ONE_WAY

  • Set the property at binding time, and automatically update the property and execute the callback when the setting file changes. This is probably the most common mode.

AppletSettings.BindingDirection.BIDIRECTIONAL DeskletSettings.BindingDirection.BIDIRECTIONAL ExtensionSettings.BindingDirection.BIDIRECTIONAL

  • Same behavior as BindingDirection.ONE_WAY, but also allows the applet to update the settings file simply by changing the value of the property.