topic Re: Can you create a multi-level dropdown button to organize and select features? in ArcGIS Pro SDK Questions

Can you create a multi-level dropdown button to organize and select features?

DerekSalinas — Tue, 27 Oct 2020 19:27:50 GMT

Hello All,

Within ArcMap, we could create a custom button, via python, to act as an organized catalog to add features to a map from a geodatabase. All the menu items were neatly organized depending on the category of the feature. This was a nice way to present the data because there is a lot to organize. In addition it would call up the feature class from a geodatabase and utilize the symbology from a specified layer.

Now i have created a very basic button in ArcPro to call up features from a specified geodatabase, however i can't find any information on how to organize the buttons into further dropdown categories or utilize layer symbology.

Any help on code or a point in the right direction would be incredibly helpful and I appreciate your time.

Thanks,

Derek Salinas

Re: Can you create a multi-level dropdown button to organize and select features?

GKmieliauskas — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 06:53:37 GMT

Hi Derek,

If your structure is always the same you can define it in config.daml splitbuttons section. More info here:

ProGuide Palettes and Split Buttons · Esri/arcgis-pro-sdk Wiki · GitHub

Re: Can you create a multi-level dropdown button to organize and select features?

DerekSalinas — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 17:37:50 GMT

Good Morning Gintautas,

Thanks for your timely reply. It was very helpful for a base case addin. Im curious, if i had too many button elements in a split button and they needed further organization, is there a way I can "subgroup" a list of split buttons in an existing split button? Would that just require inserting split buttons in the parent?

Regards,

Derek

Re: Can you create a multi-level dropdown button to organize and select features?

UmaHarano — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 17:46:32 GMT

Along with split buttons, another way you can organize multiple buttons/tools is to use "galleries".

Here are a couple of samples and screenshots of galleries you can create with Pro SDK:

1. OpenItemDialogBrowseFilter sample creates this gallery

2. Couple of Framework Gallery samples: Gallery Configure Gallery

3. ProGuide: Gallery

Thanks

Uma

Re: Can you create a multi-level dropdown button to organize and select features?

DerekSalinas — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 22:25:20 GMT

Thanks for the suggestions Uma! Although I think with the amount of data that there is to organize and the subcategories needed a simple menu structure like the previous ArcMap python example i have above would be best. Galleries just seem too invasive from a UX standpoint.

Currently I just have the simple button pallet with drop down that contains a few feature class buttons. I read somewhere that it is not possible to contain several button_pallets or splits within one but im hoping that is wrong.

Re: Can you create a multi-level dropdown button to organize and select features?

GKmieliauskas — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 07:26:53 GMT

Hi Derek,

I thought that we can add spiltbutton to another splitbutton. But it impossible now. I have made test. So better solution would be customControl where inside you have wpf tree or bunch of expanders with styled lists of buttons. Then you can manage them on fly depending on your situation. This is more advanced way which requires more WPF knowledge.

Custom control sample you can find: arcgis-pro-sdk-community-samples-master\Framework\RibbonControls

It is not what you exactly need but you can find how to add custom control to ribbon and how it works with mvvm.

Re: Can you create a multi-level dropdown button to organize and select features?

DerekSalinas — Thu, 29 Oct 2020 16:36:22 GMT

Good Morning Gintautas,

Its strange though, there is a section in the 'Insert' Tab that makes me think you can do a split button in a split button. Within 'Insert,' you will see the button 'Task' in the 'Projects' group is a split button that drops down to a regular button and another split button. I'm just not sure how to organize that properly within the code.

Re: Can you create a multi-level dropdown button to organize and select features?

GKmieliauskas — Fri, 30 Oct 2020 09:50:31 GMT

Hi Derek,

Intellisense wrotes what elements of splitbutton can be button, gallery, or customcontrol. So your next level item must be customcontrol which acts as splitbutton.

It would be nice if Esri would implemented possibility to add splitbutton to splitbutton.

Maybe it is enough for Esri to expose existing their solution (you found) to public

But you can search internet for free or commercial wpf splitbutton and add it inside your customcontrol.

Re: Can you create a multi-level dropdown button to organize and select features?

NarelleChedzey — Sun, 12 Dec 2021 10:59:02 GMT

Derek,

The Task button/dropdown that you reference above is achieved using the daml menu structure. Here is the code

<menus>
  <menu id="esri_task_insertMenu" caption="Task" extendedCaption="Ribbon add task items menu" keytip="TA"         
         largeImage="pack://application:,,,/ArcGIS.Desktop.Resources;component/Images/TaskItem32.png"
         smallImage="pack://application:,,,/ArcGIS.Desktop.Resources;component/Images/TaskItem16.png">
    <tooltip heading="Task">Add task items to your project.</tooltip>
       <button refID="esri_tasks_NewProjectTaskItem" />
        <menu refID="esri_tasks_ImportTaskFileMenu"/>
  </menu>
  <menu id="esri_tasks_ImportTaskFileMenu" caption="Import and Open Task File"
         largeImage="pack://application:,,,/ArcGIS.Desktop.Resources;component/Images/GenericImport32.png" 
         smallImage="pack://application:,,,/ArcGIS.Desktop.Resources;component/Images/GenericImport16.png">
      <button refID="esri_tasks_ImportTaskFileBrowse"/>
      <dynamicMenu refID="esri_tasks_ImportMenu" inline="true"/>
  </menu>
 </menus>‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

The dynamicMenu can be replaced by other button references.

The "esri_task_insertMenu" is inserted into a group as a buttonPalettte item

<group id="test" caption="Test">
  <insertButtonPalette refID="esri_task_insertMenu" size="middle"/>
</group>‍‍‍

Hope this helps.

Narelle

Re: Can you create a multi-level dropdown button to organize and select features?

DerekSalinas — Fri, 06 Nov 2020 23:26:27 GMT

Awesome Narelle!

Thanks so much for getting me this! I did have a couple questions though. In your "group" section, you have "insertButtonPallet" as the call but im pretty sure it is supposed to be "buttonPallet", correct?

Also, the path for the menu goes to a slightly different item than the rest of your menus (task & tasks), and im wondering if you have to add the detail for the buttonPallet you insert in the groups into a different item?

Forgive me for my crap nomenclature, I hope im conveying my questions adequately.

Thanks!

Derek

Re: Can you create a multi-level dropdown button to organize and select features?

NarelleChedzey — Sun, 12 Dec 2021 10:59:05 GMT

Derek

<group id="test" caption="Test">
  <insertButtonPalette refID="esri_task_insertMenu" size="middle"/>
</group>

and

<group id="test" caption="Test">
  <buttonPalette refID="esri_task_insertMenu" size="middle"/>
</group>

are exactly the same. You can do either. Mostly we use the tag without the insert prefix. Sorry for the confusion.

re the ids of "esri_task_xxx" vs "esri_tasks_xxx". This was a typo in our source code with respect to consistency. Good pickup.

When you define a button / tool / menu / etc. the key attribute is "id". Internally at Esri we use a particular naming convention of "esri_(modulename)_xxx". We recommend a similar pattern for add-in developers of (moduleName)_xxx, but the id string can be anything. The important thing is it must be unique within your module.

Any item in groups, tabs, menus etc that use a "refID" attribute must have a corresponding entry in the <controls> section of the combined ArcGIS Pro daml file that defines that id. In this way, you have the ability to reference any of our Esri daml buttons, tools, menus etc in your add-in not just those defined by you.

Regards

Narelle

Re: Can you create a multi-level dropdown button to organize and select features?

DerekSalinas — Sat, 07 Nov 2020 02:14:47 GMT

Wow!

That was all a major help and it worked out perfectly. Thank you so much for taking the time.

Regards,

Derek