Creating a custom Button

Summary This walkthrough topic shows how to create a custom Button for ArcGIS Explorer.

Click here to get the sample associated with this walkthrough.

In this topic

Creating a project in Visual Studio

This topic shows how to create a custom button for ArcGIS Explorer. The easiest way to create a Button is to use the templates provided with this software development kit (SDK).
Do the following steps to create a custom Button:
  1. Start Visual Studio.
While this topic refers to and shows screen shots from Visual Studio 2008 running on Windows Vista, you can also follow the steps in Visual Studio 2010, Visual Basic or Visual C# Express, and Windows XP or Windows 7.
  1. Click File, click New, and click New Project. The New Project dialog box appears.
To complete this scenario, use C# or VB .NET. The code for both is shown; however, this topic only shows the C# dialog boxes in the screen shots, since the dialog boxes and views you interact with in VB .NET are very similar.
  1. On the New Project dialog box, click the Visual C# or Visual Basic Projects node under the Project types pane, click the ArcGIS node, then click the Explorer node.
  2. Click the ArcGIS Explorer Button template under the Templates pane.
  3. Name the project AddGraphicToMap, then click Browse to locate where you want to save the project. See the following screen shot:
  1. Click OK on the New Project dialog box to create the project. The New ArcGIS Explorer Button Project dialog box appears where you can set additional properties for your button.

Setting additional Button properties

Do the following steps to set additional Button properties:
  1. On the New ArcGIS Explorer Button Project (Enter Project Settings) dialog box, the Name property is automatically added. In the Description, Group Caption (displays on the Add-Ins tab), and Publisher text boxes, type an appropriate name. See the following screen shot:

  1. Click Next on the preceding dialog box. The second page (Enter Button Settings) of the New ArcGIS Explorer Button Project dialog box appears. See the following screen shot:

  1. Type a caption, for example, Button Walkthrough in the Caption text box; in the ToolTip text box, type a ToolTip for the button, for example, Click on the map to place a graphic at the desired location.
  2. Click Finish. At this point, you do not have to select any conditions from the Availability drop-down list or alternate images for the add-in.

Adding the Add Graphic to Map functionality

Do the following steps to add the Add Graphic to Map functionality:
  1. Double-click the Button.cs class in the Solution Explorer to view the template code.
  2. Locate the OnClick method in the Button.cs class.
  3. Insert the following code example:
[C#] 
//Access the ActiveMapDisplay of the application.
MapDisplay md = Application.ActiveMapDisplay;

//Click on the map to create a new point
ESRI.ArcGISExplorer.Geometry.Point trackedPoint = md.TrackPoint();
//Turn the Point in to a Graphic.
Graphic pointGraphic = new Graphic(trackedPoint);
//Set the Graphic's symbol to a red pushpin.
pointGraphic.Symbol = Symbol.Marker.Pushpin.Red;
//Add the graphic to the map.
md.Graphics.Add(pointGraphic);
[VB.NET] 
'Access the ActiveMapDisplay of the application.
Dim md As MapDisplay = Application.ActiveMapDisplay
'Click on the map to create a new Point
Dim trackedPoint As ESRI.ArcGISExplorer.Geometry.Point = md.TrackPoint()
'Turn the Point in to a Graphic.
Dim pointGraphic As Graphic = New Graphic(trackedPoint)
'Set the Graphic's symbol to a red pushpin.
pointGraphic.Symbol = Symbol.Marker.Pushpin.Red
'Add the graphic to the map.
md.Graphics.Add(pointGraphic)

Compiling the project

Do the following steps to build your project:
  1. Save your project.
  2. Click the Build menu and click Build Solution.
  3. If your project built correctly, a report states the build succeeded in the Output window at the bottom of the Visual Studio .NET integrated development environment (IDE).
You can also check the results of the build operation by reviewing the subdirectories of your project. By default, you will build a debug version of your project. The dynamic-link library (DLL) that results from the build operation will be stored in the Bin\Debug subdirectory of your project. This directory also contains debug information (.pdb) and a type library (.tlb) file, produced by the Assembly Registration tool.
 
The obj subdirectory of the project directory contains temporary files used by the compiler and Visual Studio.
  1. If you successfully followed this walkthrough, your build will succeed. Close Visual Studio now that your button has been created. If your build operation did not succeed, click View and click Task List to view the errors, correct the errors as indicated, then close Visual Studio when you have a successful build.
If you double-click the task, the line of code causing the error is automatically selected.
On a successful build, the necessary files are automatically added to the following locations:
  • For Windows Vista and Windows 7—C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\ESRI\ArcGIS Explorer\Addins.
  • For Windows XP—C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\ESRI\ArcGIS Explorer\AddIns.

Using the add-in in ArcGIS Explorer

Do the following steps to use the button in ArcGIS Explorer:
  1. Start ArcGIS Explorer and zoom to a location, such as a city or neighborhood.
  2. Click the Add-Ins tab to view your button.
  3. Click the button and then click a location on the map. A red pushpin is added to the map and the result appears on the Contents pane. See the following screen shot:

Debugging the add-in

Running the add-in in debug mode allows you to step through the code when it is executed. This is helpful when you encounter bugs in custom add-ins. If you followed the steps in this topic, you should not have to debug the add-in you have created in this walkthrough. However, for more information about debugging add-ins, see How to debug add-ins in Visual Studio.


See Also:

Sample: Button walkthrough
How to debug add-ins in Visual Studio