CUSTOM
PREFERENCES
How
to
create
Windchill
custom
preferences
Abstract
This
document
shows
how
to
create
Windchill
custom
preferences
by
using
the
LoadFile
method
and
how
to
create
and
link
a
Resource
Bundle
with
the
custom
preferences.
FELCO
Solutions,
Inc.
By
J.D
Felkins
at
FELCO
Solutions
April
17,
2015
Revision
A
FELCO
Solutions
Inc.
Table of Contents
Overview
......................................................................................................................................................
2
Resource
Bundle
...........................................................................................................................................
2
Prefenece
LoadFile
.......................................................................................................................................
3
Catergory
..................................................................................................................................................
3
Combo
Box
Preference
.............................................................................................................................
4
LoadFile
................................................................................................................................................
4
Java
Resource
Bundle
...........................................................................................................................
4
Result
in
Preference
Page
.....................................................................................................................
5
Boolean
Preference
..................................................................................................................................
5
LoadFile
................................................................................................................................................
5
Java
Resource
Bundle
...........................................................................................................................
6
Result
in
Preference
Page
.....................................................................................................................
6
String
Preference
......................................................................................................................................
7
LoadFile
................................................................................................................................................
7
Java
Resource
Bundle
...........................................................................................................................
7
Result
in
Preference
Page
.....................................................................................................................
7
Using
the
Prefrence
in
the
Java
Code
...........................................................................................................
8
Deleteing
a
Preference
.................................................................................................................................
9
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Custom Preferences
Overview
Companies sometimes need custom preferences to be able to set preferences or variables
of cusotm applications. There are three comman types of preferences selections that can be
used in a perference page, and they are pull down selections, radion button selections, and
using string input fields. A LoadFile method is used to create preferences and a resource
bundle is used for labels, descriptions, displaying names, and defining variable names in
selections fields of a preference.
Resource Bundle
The resource bundle is a Java class that extends WTListResourceBundle. The class defines
the lables and values type in the cusotm preference. Labels are needed for displaying
names and descriptions of preference categories, which the new preference will be visible
under in Preference Management UI. Labels are also needed for the display names,
descriptions and long descriptions of each preference under the preference category. The
LoadFile to create the preference, discussed later, references the resource bundle labels.
Below is the example of a resource bundle.
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Prefenece LoadFile
A LoadFile is a XML fromated file that includes special keys,handlers, and tags to create
Windchill object types. It is a out of the box utility that is easy to use and supported by PTC.
The loadfile includes three handlers shown below to create preferences:
1. wt.preference.LoadPreference.createPreferenceCategory: To create a category node
2. wt.preference.LoadPreference.createPreferenceDefinition: To create a perference
3. wt.preference.LoadPreference.setClientDefinitionLink: To link the perference
To load a LoadFile, go to the windchill shell and type the below example.
windchill wt.load.LoadFromFile –d <full path>/myloadfile.xml
Catergory
The catergory node is the node of which the perference will be defined under the tree
structure within the perference utility page. The LoadFile fomat to create a catergory is
shown below.
The
java
resource
bundle
package
name.
The
java
resource
bundle
variables
to
call
out
the
labels
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Combo Box Preference
The combobox preference is shown below. The csvhandler needs to be in one line and not
sepearte lines as shown below or the preference will throw errors when selected in the
preference interface. Each Attribute in the LoadFile references the Resource Bundle shown
below.
LoadFile The
internal
name
that
is
unique
in
the
system.
A
B
C
D
The
csvhandler
needs
be
in
one
line.
Java Resource Bundle
The resource bundle is shown below for the combo box preference. The bold attributes are
referenced in the LoadFile to display the @RBEntry content in the preference page.
The
display
labels
shown
in
the
preference
page.
The
Options
shown
in
the
pull
down
menu
in
the
preference
page
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Result in Preference Page
The result is shown below for the pull down preference . The cirlce labels shows the
matching circle labels in the LoadFile displayed in the previous page.
D
B
A
C
D
Boolean Preference
The boolean preference is shown below. Each Attribute in the LoadFile references the
Resource Bundle shown on the following page. The LoadFile defines the Boolean type in the
csvhandle tag and sets the default vale in the csvdefaultValue tag.
LoadFile The
internal
name
that
is
unique
in
the
system.
A
B
C
D
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Java Resource Bundle
The resource bundle is shown below for the boolean preference. The bold attributes are
referenced in the LoadFile to display the @RBEntry content in the preference page.
Result in Preference Page
The result is shown below for the boolean preference . The cirlce labels shows the matching
circle labels in the LoadFile displayed in the previous page.
A
D
B
C
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String Preference
The string preference is shown below. Each Attribute in the LoadFile references the
Resource Bundle shown on the following page. The LoadFile defines the String type in the
csvhandle tag and sets the default vale in the csvdefaultValue tag.
LoadFile The
internal
name
that
is
unique
in
the
system.
A
B
C
D
Java Resource Bundle
The resource bundle is shown below for the boolean preference. The bold attributes are
referenced in the LoadFile to display the @RBEntry content in the preference page.
Result in Preference Page
The result is shown below for the String preference . The cirlce labels shows the matching
circle labels in the LoadFile displayed in the previous page.
A
B
D
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C
Using the Prefrence in the Java Code
Java classes can get any preferences in the system by knowing the internal name and the
and the client name of a preference. The below code shows how to retrieve a preference.
String prefValue = PreferenceHelper.service.getValue("INTERNAL NAME", "CLIENT NAME").toString();
The
Internal
Name
The
Client
Name
Custom the Preference table to view the Internal Name, Handler, Context, and Visibility.
This is help to find the information needed for retrieve a preference in the Java code.
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Deleteing a Preference
A LaodFile needs to be created to delete a custom preference as shown below. The internal
name is used to delete the preference that is defined in the csvname tag.
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