ContainerControls and IndexOf

General
#1

Been using Xojo since RealBasic 5.5 and I have been able to find solutions to my issues on the Forums or just hammering away at it until I fix them, but this one has me stumped.

I have one container control on a window, and I’m embedding two more container controls via code EmbedWithin, which works as expected pictured below.

I am referencing these two container controls in an Array Property:

PanelList(-1) As ContainerControl

What I want to do is check if the panel is already displayed and prevent the user from displaying it again, here is a simplified version of my code below.

Sub AddPanel(w As ContainerControl)
		  Dim panelTop As Integer
		  Dim panelHeight As Integer
		  Dim result As Integer = -1
		  Dim originalHeight As Integer = w.Height
		  
		  result = PanelList.IndexOf(w)

		  if result > -1 then
		    return
		  end if

		  w.EmbedWithin(TimerWindow.AccessoryPanel, 0, panelTop, TimerWindow.AccessoryPanel.width, panelHeight)
		  w.LockRight = true
		  w.LockBottom = true
		  w.EraseBackground = false
		  
		  PanelList.Append(w)
		  
		End Sub

But the result is always -1. That is, PanelList.IndexOf(w) always results -1. Yet in the debugger, the property “PanelList” is holding a reference to the two ContainerControls. Am I doing this right? This is based on the example I found in the Language Reference, only they are not using an array.

If I click the X to dismiss the “FTD” and “Notifications” ContainerControl, ContainerControl.close works, the control is removed and I remove the reference from my PanelList array.

I’m missing something here, but what? Sometimes I can’t see the forest through the trees.
By the way, this is an Autocross Timing and Scoring application that I have been working on for a long time! :slight_smile:

I hope this makes sense, 'cause I’m stuck…

Thank you, Doug.

#2

I’m pretty sure IndexOf is reserved for base data types : integer, strings, double
not sure if you can use it for objects.

Edit : mmm: no it’s not I have examples with objects in arrays and they use indexof .

#3

You say

result = PanelList.IndexOf(w)

But where do you actually add w to the list?

Below.

#4

From http://documentation.xojo.com/index.php/Indexof it is pretty obvious IndexOf is string oriented.

Instead of using IndexOf, go through each element, and verify its name with Introspection, to see if it is already there.

#5

IndexOf of works with objects.

I tested a stripped-down version of your code, and container controls existing in PanelList are found with IndexOf.

#6

I’m guessing the code that calls your routine is creating a NEW container instance and that is why it fails.

w = New ContainerControl1
PanelList.Append(w)
result = PanelList.IndexOf(w)  // > -1 = found using the exact same object

w = New ContainerControl1
result = PanelList.IndexOf(w)   // -1= not found a different object of the same type

Walk through the array and use ISA to find a control of the same type.

#7

[quote=286356:@Tim Hare]I’m guessing the code that calls your routine is creating a NEW container instance and that is why it fails.

w = New ContainerControl1
PanelList.Append(w)
result = PanelList.IndexOf(w)  // > -1 = found using the exact same object

w = New ContainerControl1
result = PanelList.IndexOf(w)   // -1= not found a different object of the same type

Walk through the array and use ISA to find a control of the same type.[/quote]

Yes, the code that calls this routine is creating a NEW container instance from a custom class. That’s it!
[quote=286341:@Markus Winter]You say

result = PanelList.IndexOf(w)

But where do you actually add w to the list?

Below.[/quote]

PanelList.Append(w)

At the very bottom of the routine.[quote=286338:@Jean-Yves Pochez]I’m pretty sure IndexOf is reserved for base data types : integer, strings, double
not sure if you can use it for objects.

Edit : mmm: no it’s not I have examples with objects in arrays and they use indexof .[/quote]

[quote=286343:@Michel Bujardet]From http://documentation.xojo.com/index.php/Indexof it is pretty obvious IndexOf is string oriented.

Instead of using IndexOf, go through each element, and verify its name with Introspection, to see if it is already there.[/quote]

“Any valid data type” in the Syntax table and "IndexOf is not case-sensitive, but it is encoding-sensitive. " does imply that. But running the test posted by Tim does work.

OK, time to re-think this. Thank you all for your replies. I appreciate it!

Doug

#10

Looping through the ContainerControl Array using the Title property is a workable solution:

for i = 0 to panelCount if PanelList(i).Title = w.Title then return end if next

Granted that a Container Control doesn’t display a title, but the property is still accessible and by using a unique name, it works quite well!

Thanks again.

#11