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Determine Order.Contact in Snap Section

Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2010 12:25 am
by JDavis
We are adding a custom snap section to the Lender Contact screen (add new contact then choose Lender in Select). Our snap section will have a button so when you click it, a new form will display so the user can select the contact from our own list and not from the lookup tables. This is very similar to how the CustomLookupTablePackage sample works.

My question is, in a custom snap section, since the user will be clicking a normal button and not a SoftPro control, how can we get access to the ID property to match it against the contacts on the order to see which one we are on (Lender 1, 2, etc.) like is done in the CustomLookupTablePackage or the ZipCodePackage sample? Is this even possible or do we need to use the Package route and not snap section?

Also, in testing the CustomLookupTablePackage sample, I can see the OnInitialize() event fire when debugging this package, however, I can't see the button that is defined in the CTD file. Where should I be able to see this button in Select when running the package?

Re: Determine Order.Contact in Snap Section

Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 12:54 pm
by roteague
Just a follow-up to see if anyone has had a chance to look at this issue yet. This is an issue we really need to solve here.

Thanks,

Re: Determine Order.Contact in Snap Section

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 12:00 pm
by Hadi Chemaly
It sounds like what you are trying to do fits the package extension model a lot better than a custom snap section.

Packages have the necessary plumbing that allows you to access Shell services such as the IMonitorSelection service, which in turn can provide you with the selected SoftPro control. In general snap sections do not have those capabilities, especially custom ones. Snap sections are typically used for custom field additions rather than populating and manipulating built-in fields.

Concerning the "My Lookup" button, you can find it under the "Utilities" menu on the ProForm ribbon tab --> Orders group.

Re: Determine Order.Contact in Snap Section

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 5:39 pm
by roteague
Thanks Hadi,

We considered using a package, however based upon what we know:

1.) We would have to use a ribbon button, which we aren't sure if we are able to control enabling/disabling this button - we only want it enabled when the user is at the Contact edit screen.
2.) We only want to display a Contact Lookup based upon the type of screen opened (Lender, etc.).

How does SoftPro know which contact is being edited or whether it's a new contact being added? Essentially, that is what we need to know.

We need the ability to be able to add new or edit existing contacts. Unfortunately, the performance of the built in contact lookup is what is driving us to find alternate solutions.

Re: Determine Order.Contact in Snap Section

Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 1:24 pm
by John Morris
In the upcoming release of Select (code named Boylan) we will have a new and improved lookup table subsystem. This new system will resolve the performance issues in the current implementation, providing support for very large tables. This release will also provide a new, public API for working with lookup tables. It will also be adding support for full text indexing of table content.

We are also considering the ability to provide a feature that would allow for 3rd parties to provide ”external” tables. These tables would leverage our UI but the data source could come from anywhere (another database or web service for example)

At this time, the Boylan release is schedule for the second quarter of 2010.

One other note...this release will also have our Active Directory integration features.

Re: Determine Order.Contact in Snap Section

Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 3:47 pm
by JDavis
Thanks for the update John. We'll work around this for now and schedule improvements once the new version ships with those features.

Re: Determine Order.Contact in Snap Section

Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 9:06 pm
by roteague
In the meantime, I still need answers to my original questions.

Thanks,