Scripting Component Categories in Altium NEXUS

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The Scripting system's visual form controls, based on Embarcadero's Visual Component Library (VCL), are represented by a wide range of conventional Delphi-type component objects and two specialized Altium component categories — the Altium Standard and Instrument Controls groups.

► Refer to the component categories in the Embarcadero VCL documentation for full details on the methods, properties and events for the majority of components.

The two specialized categories (expandable sections) in the Altium NEXUS Tool PaletteAltium Standard and Instrument Controls – are derived from standard Delphi-type components, but are not specifically included in the Embarcadero reference documentation.

Component Events and Properties

To see a list of Events and Properties for a component:

  • Select a component on the Form and activate the Events or Properties tab in the Object Inspector panel.
  • Select the Events or Properties link on the appropriate component reference page in the Embarcadero documentation. In the case of the TButton control for example, select the Standard category, the TButton page and then the Events or Properties view.

Component Methods

To find a particular Method (or Property) for a Tool Palette component, use the Code Completion feature (see Script Editor Tools). For example, by typing TButton.hi the Code Completion window will show both the Hide procedure and Hint property for the TButton component object. Use Ctrl+Space to manually invoke the Code Completion window.

Use the Code Completion (Ctrl+Space) feature to search for a valid component Method or Property.Use the Code Completion (Ctrl+Space) feature to search for a valid component Method or Property.

Refer to the following sections to find the Methods and further information on the various category in the scripting Tools Palette.

Standard Controls

See the Standard Controls category in the Embarcadero VCL documentation. Select the Methods link on a component reference page to see the full information on the available methods (procedures, functions etc) for that component object.

MainMenu A menu bar and its accompanying drop-down menus.
PopupMenu A pop-up (context) menu that appears when a user right clicks.
Label A non-windowed control that displays text on a form.
Edit A single-line edit control, used to retrieve text that a user types.
Memo A multi-line edit box.
Button A conventional push button control.
CheckBox A check box object that can be on (checked) or off (unchecked).
RadioButton A wrapper for a system radio button.
ListBox A collection of items displayed in a scrollable list.
ComboBox An edit box combined with a scrollable list.
ScrollBar A scroll bar used to scroll the contents of an object.
GroupBox A Windows group box.
RadioGroup A group of radio buttons that function together.
Panel A generic panel control.
ActionList A list of actions that can be used by components and controls.

Additional Controls

See the Additional Controls category in the Embarcadero VCL documentation. Select the Methods link on a component reference page to see the full information on the available methods (procedures, functions etc) for that component object.

BitBtn A push button control incorporating a bitmap.
SpeedButton A button that is used to execute commands or set modes.
MaskEdit A generic masked edit control.
StringGrid A grid control to simplify the handling of strings etc.
DrawGrid A grid control that displays information in column/row format.
Image A control that displays a graphical image.
Shape A geometric shape that can be drawn on a form.
Bevel A beveled outline for form components.
ScrollBox A scrollable list with check boxes next to each item
CheckListBox An edit box combined with a scrollable list.
Splitter A control to divide the form client area into resizable panes.
StaticText A windowed control that displays text on a form.
ControlBar A control to manage the layout of toolbar components.

Win32 Controls

See the Win32 Controls category in the Embarcadero VCL documentation. Select the Methods link on a component reference page to see the full information on the available methods (procedures, functions etc) for that component object.

TabControl A tab set that has the appearance of notebook dividers.
PageControl A set of pages used to make a multiple page dialog box.
ImageList A collection of images, with each referred to by its index.
RichEdit A wrapper for a Windows rich text edit control.
TrackBar A wrapper for a track bar control.
ProgressBar A simple progress bar.
UpDown A wrapper for a Windows up-down control.
HotKey A wrapper for a Windows Common Control hot key.
Animate An animation control.
DateTimePicker A list box for entering dates or times.
TreeView A window that displays a hierarchical list of items.
ListView A list that can display items in several different ways
HeaderControl A set of resizable column headers.
StatusBar A status bar (row of panels) usually at the bottom of a form.
ToolBar A manager for tool buttons and other controls.
CoolBar A collection of windowed controls within editable bands.
MonthCalendar A stand-alone calendar with selectable dates.
PageScroller A display area for a narrow window, such as a toolbar.

System Controls

See the System Controls category in the Embarcadero VCL documentation. Select the Methods link on a component reference page to see the full information on the available methods (procedures, functions etc) for that component object.

Timer An encapsulation of the Windows API timer functions.
PaintBox A canvas that applications can use for rendering an image.
MediaPlayer A Media Control Interface (MCI) device controller.
OleContainer A control to embed or link OLE objects.

Dialog Controls

See the Dialog Controls category in the Embarcadero VCL documentation. Select the Methods link on a component reference page to see the full information on the available methods (procedures, functions etc) for that component object.

OpenDialog A file selection dialog.
SaveDialog A 'Save As' dialog for saving files.
OpenPictureDialog A graphics-file selection dialog.
SavePictureDialog A 'Save As' dialog for saving graphics files.
FontDialog A font-selection dialog.
ColorDialog A modal color-selection dialog.
PrintDialog A Print dialog.
PrinterSetupDialog A print-setup dialog for configuring printers.
FindDialog A Find dialog that allows users to search for text in a file.
ReplaceDialog A search-and-replace dialog.

Altium Standard Controls

The Tool Palette's Altium Standard category consists of standard components with the Altium Theme (look and feel) applied. In most cases, additional methods and properties are available.

► See Altium Standard Controls for more information on the scripting system's Standard Controls.

WinXPPageControl Related to the PageControl component (Win32).
WinXPTabControl Related to the TabControl component (Win32).
XPBitBtn Related to the BitBtn component (Additional).
XPButton Related to the Button component (Standard).
XPButtonEdit Related to the Edit component (Standard).
XPButtonEx Related to the Button component (Standard).
XPCheckBox Related to the CheckBox component (Standard).
XPComboBox Related to the ComboBox component (Standard).
XPDirectoryEdit Related to the Edit component (Standard).
XPEdit Related to the Edit component (Standard).
XPExtPanel Related to the Panel component (Standard).
XPFileNameEdit Related to the Edit component (Standard).
XPGroupBox Related to the GroupBox component (Standard).
XPHistoryEdit Related to the Edit component (Standard).
XPImageList Related to the ImageList component (Win32).
XPSpinnerImage Related to the Image component (Additional).
XPLabel Related to the Label component (Standard).
XPListBox Related to the ListBox component (Standard).
XPProgressBar Related to the ProgressBar component (Win32).
XPRadioButton Related to the RadioButton component (Standard).
XPRadioGroup Related to the RadioGroup component (Standard).
XPScrollBar Related to the Scrollbar component (Standard).
XPSpeedButton Related to the SpeedButton component (Additional).
XPSpinEdit Related to the Edit component (Standard).
XPSplitButton Related to the Button component (Standard).
XPSplitter Related to the Splitter component (Additional).
XPTrackBar Related to the Trackbar component (Win32).
XStatusBar Related to the StatusBar component (Win32).

Instrument Controls

The Tool Palette's Instrument Controls category contains components (controls) that are used to design an Altium NEXUS Custom Instrument panel GUI (legacy).

► See Instrument Controls for more information on the scripting system's Instrument Controls.

SignalLinkManager Instrument signal linking manager.
InstrumentBackgroundPanel Instrument panel background color.
InstrumentBackground Instrument background color.
InstrumentButton Instrument push button.
InstrumentCaption Instrument panel caption.
InstrumentCheckBox Instrument check box.
InstrumentEdit Instrument edit box.
InstrumentGauge Analog style instrument gauge/meter.
InstrumentGlyphButton Instrument speed button graphic image.
InstrumentGraph Instrument graph display.
InstrumentKnob Instrument rotary control knob.
InstrumentLabel Instrument panel label.
InstrumentLEDDigits 7-segment digital LED display.
InstrumentLEDsPanel Grouped LED indicator row.
InstrumentMultiGraph Multiple trace graph display.
InstrumentNumericPanel Instrument numeric readout.
InstrumentPanel Instrument panel area.
InstrumentProgressBar LED bar signal/progress indicator
InstrumentRadioButton Instrument radio button selector.
InstrumentRadioGroup Instrument group control for radio buttons.
InstrumentScrollbar Instrument scroll bar control.
InstrumentShape Instrument panel geometric shape.
InstrumentSilkScreen Instrument panel silk screen overlay.
InstrumentTerminal Instrument character display terminal window.
InstrumentTrackBar Instrument slider bar control.
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