Creating a custom ComboBox

Click here to get the sample associated with this walkthrough.

In this topic

• Creating a project in Visual Studio
• Setting combo box properties
• Populating the combo box
• Adding the rotate note functionality
• Compiling the project
• Using the add-in in ArcGIS Explorer
• Debugging the add-in

Creating a project in Visual Studio

1. Start Visual Studio.

3. Click the Visual C# or Visual Basic project node in the Project types pane, click the ArcGIS node, then click the Explorer node.
4. Click the ArcGIS Explorer ComboBox template in the Templates pane.
5. Name the project RotateNote, then click Browse to locate where you want to save the project. See the following screen shot:
   
   
   
6. Click OK to create the project. The New ArcGIS Explorer ComboBox Project dialog box opens where you can set the properties for the combo box.

Setting combo box properties

1. On the Project Settings page of the New ArcGIS Explorer ComboBox Project dialog box, the Display Name property is automatically added. Fill in the Description, Group Caption (displays on the Add-Ins tab), and Publisher text boxes as appropriate. See the following screen shot:
   
   
   

2. Click Next. The ComboBox Settings page of the New ArcGIS Explorer ComboBox Project dialog box opens as shown in the following screen shot:
   
   
   

3. Type a caption, for example, ComboBox Walkthrough in the Caption text box; and type a ToolTip, for example, Choose an amount to rotate the selected polygon note.
4. Change the Availability property to enable the add-in when a note is selected.
5. Change the large and small image to an appropriate icon such as the rotate icon provided in the Images folder of the sample associated with this walkthrough. The sample can be found in your install directory, i.e. Program Files\Explorer\DeveloperKit\Samples\ComboBoxWalkthrough.
6. Leave the Drop-down Rows and Width Size String options blank to accept the defaults for the add-in, and click Finish.

Populating the combo box

1. Double-click the ComboBox.cs class in Solution Explorer to view the template code.
2. Locate the ComboBox class.
3. Insert the following code example:

public ComboBox()
{
    //Add rotation options.
    ComboItem itm = new ComboItem("45");
    itm = new ComboItem("45");
    itm.Tag = 45;
    this.Items.Add(itm);
    itm = new ComboItem("90");
    itm.Tag = 90;
    this.Items.Add(itm);
    itm = new ComboItem("135");
    itm.Tag = 135;
    this.Items.Add(itm);
    itm = new ComboItem("180");
    itm.Tag = 180;
    this.Items.Add(itm);
    itm = new ComboItem("225");
    itm.Tag = 225;
    this.Items.Add(itm);
    itm = new ComboItem("270");
    itm.Tag = 270;
    this.Items.Add(itm);
    itm = new ComboItem("315");
    itm.Tag = 315;
    this.Items.Add(itm);
}

Public Sub New()
    'Add rotation options.
    Dim itm As New ComboItem("45")
    itm = New ComboItem("45")
    itm.Tag = 45
    Me.Items.Add(itm)
    itm = New ComboItem("90")
    itm.Tag = 90
    Me.Items.Add(itm)
    itm = New ComboItem("135")
    itm.Tag = 135
    Me.Items.Add(itm)
    itm = New ComboItem("180")
    itm.Tag = 180
    Me.Items.Add(itm)
    itm = New ComboItem("225")
    itm.Tag = 225
    Me.Items.Add(itm)
    itm = New ComboItem("270")
    itm.Tag = 270
    Me.Items.Add(itm)
    itm = New ComboItem("315")
    itm.Tag = 315
    Me.Items.Add(itm)
End Sub

Adding the rotate note functionality

public override void OnSelectionChange(ComboItem item)
{
    if (this.SelectedItem != null)
    {
        double degrees = Convert.ToDouble(item.Tag);

        // Grab the selected note.
        SelectedItemsCollection selItems =
            ESRI.ArcGISExplorer.Application.Application.SelectedItems;
        if ((selItems.Count == 1) && (selItems[0] is Note))
        {
            Note selected = selItems[0] as Note;

            // Rotate the geometry.
            Geometry rotated = GeometryOperations.Rotate
                             (selected.Graphic.Geometry, (degrees *  - 1),
                             Unit.Angular.Degrees);

            // Update the geometry of the graphic.
            selected.Graphic.Geometry = rotated;

            // Reset the selection of the combobox.
            this.SelectedItem = null;
        }
    }
}

Public Overrides Sub OnSelectionChange(ByVal Item As ComboItem)
If Me.SelectedItem IsNot Nothing Then
    Dim degrees As Double = Convert.ToDouble(Item.Tag)
    
    ' Grab the selected note.
    Dim selItems As SelectedItemsCollection = ESRI.ArcGISExplorer.Application.Application.SelectedItems
    If (selItems.Count = 1) AndAlso (TypeOf selItems(0) Is Note) Then
        Dim selected As Note = TryCast(selItems(0), Note)
        
        ' Rotate the geometry.
        Dim rotated As Geometry = GeometryOperations.Rotate(selected.Graphic.Geometry, (degrees * -1), Unit.Angular.Degrees)
        
        ' Update the geometry of the graphic.
        selected.Graphic.Geometry = rotated
        
        ' Reset the selection of the combobox.
        Me.SelectedItem = Nothing
    End If
End If
End Sub

Compiling the project

1. Save the project.
2. Click the Build menu and click Build Solution. If the project built correctly, a report stating that the build succeeded appears in the Output window at the bottom of the Visual Studio .NET integrated development environment (IDE).

• 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

1. Start ArcGIS Explorer and add a polygon note.
2. Select the note in the contents.
3. Click the Add-Ins tab to view the combo box.
4. Click the combo box and select a value to rotate the note. Notice that the note rotates by the value you selected in the combo box.

Debugging the add-in

See Also: