Widget Launching

There are several ways to launch a widget:

  • From the GUI Builder. This method is mostly used when testing a new widget.
  • Using the Launch Widget action of the Widget Context. For relative widgets, this method will launch the widget and have it process data from the context specified by the Default Context widget property.
  • Using a Launch Widget action (see below) to start a relative widget for a certain Device or system resource.

Launch Widget Action

This action may be found in every context for those widget's validity expression is true. When the Launch Widget action is started in some context, this context becomes a default context for the running widget. For example, if a Custom User Info Form widget is created for a User context (e.g. has Validity Expression {.#type} == 'user'), an action called Custom User Info Form will appear in the context of every Iotellect Server user. Its description is the same as that of the widget itself. Actions that are used to start widgets may be easily recognized by a icon.

Here is what a Launch Widget action looks like in a context menu within Iotellect Client:

Relative widgets will install their Launch Widget Action only into contexts that are accessible for the widget owner according to his permissions.

To be able to launch this action, the user must have an effective permission level of Observer in two contexts:

  • Widget context of the actual widget being launched
  • The context on which the widget operates, i.e. the one where Launch Action is defined

Widget Window

In addition to the standard window toolbar buttons, widget window has several additional buttons:

Edit. Stops current widget and opens it for editing in GUI Builder.

Event Log. Opens widget event log.

Standalone Widget Player

It's often necessary to run a widget as a standalone application, without starting Iotellect Client or other Iotellect Server user interface. For example, the widget may be displayed on a touch screen panel of embedded PC that provides instant control/monitoring for some equipment.

To run a widget in standalone mode, use Widget Player application that is a part of Iotellect Client.

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