=encoding ISO8859-1
=head1 NAME
Alien::GvaScript::TreeNavigator - Navigation in a tree structure
=head1 SYNOPSIS
<head>
<script src="prototype.js"></script>
<script src="Keymap.js"></script>
<script src="Navigator.js"></script>
<link href="Navigator.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
</head>
<body onload="new GvaScript.TreeNavigator('TN_tree')">
<div id="TN_tree">
<div class="TN_node">
<span class="TN_label">Label 1</span>
<div class="TN_content">
<div class="TN_node">
<span class="TN_label">Label 1.1</span>
<div class="TN_content">
...Content of node 1.1
</div>
</div>
<div class="TN_leaf">
<span class="TN_label">Label 1.2 for leaf</span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
=head1 DESCRIPTION
Handles navigation in a data tree. The tree
description is usual HTML, with some special classes to
identify nodes. Nodes can be browsed, closed or
opened. All operations take place directly within the
tree, not in a separate panel.
=head2 Tree structure
A tree is a collection of I<nodes>. Each node must have a I<label>
element and can have a I<content> element. A node may be either
I<open> (its content is visible) or I<closed> (its content is
invisible). The label of the node is always visible, if the node
itself is visible. Some nodes can be declared as I<leaves> : in that
case they have no content and have no open/close operations.
The content of a node may include other nodes, so a whole subtree may
become invisible if the parent node is closed. Opening or closing
nodes may be controlled by the mouse, by the keyboard, or through the
programming interface.
A node's content may also by dynamic, by
specifying C<TN:contentURL> with the URL as value:
<div class="TN_node TN_closed" TN:contentURL="/my/url.html">
<div class="TN_label">Label for dynamic node</div>
</div>
If the user opens that node, the content of the URL will by
dynamically fetched and inserted into the tree. The content then
stays there, but can be forcibly reloaded by hitting the
C<Ctrl-R> key.
=head2 HTML tree declaration
The tree can be any HTML block element. It should contain one or
several block elements declared with class C<TN_node> or class
C<TN_leaf> -- usually these are DIV elements. Other HTML elements
may be freely interspersed with nodes, although this usually does not
make much sense for navigability.
Every node must in turn contain an inline element
declared with class C<TN_label> -- usually this is
a SPAN element. If the node is not a leaf, it may
then contain a block element declared
with class C<TN_content> -- usually this is
another DIV element. Both the label and the content
should be direct children of the node element.
At initialisation time, a new SPAN element is
automatically inserted before each label, in order to
add the +/- navigation buttons.
=head2 Icons customization
By default, the navigation buttons inserted on the
left of labels are small icons representing +/- signs.
To show other icons, change the CSS rules about the
C<TN_button> class:
.TN_button {
background-image: url(myIconForOpenNodes.gif);
}
.TN_closed .TN_button {
background-image: url(myIconForClosedNodes.gif);
}
In addition, if you want another icon for illustrating
the node's content (like for example an open or closed
folder), you can proceed as follows:
=over
=item *
add an empty C<span> element within the
labels that should have the icon
<span class="TN_label"><span class="specialNode"></span>some label</span>
=item *
define CSS background images for selectors
C<.specialNode> and C<.TN_closed .specialNode>,
as in the example above
=back
=head1 Usage : navigation
Navigation in the tree is either with the mouse or with
the keyboard. At any point in time, at most one node is
I<selected> : this is the one that receives keyboard
events. Hence if the tree has no
selected node, no keyboard events are interpreted.
=head2 Mouse events
Mousing over a node label adds the class
C<TN_mouse> to that node; the default style for
that class is just to underline the label.
Clicking on a node label selects that node and
fires the C<Ping> event.
Clicking on the square +/- icon on the left of the
label toggles the open/closed status of the node.
=head2 Keyboard events
=over
=item C<keypad +>
open the node
=item C<keypad ->
close the node
=item C<keypad *>
open the node and all its subnodes
=item C<keypad />
close the node and all its subnodes
=item C<Ctrl-keypad *>
activate "show all" mode (the content of closed nodes is nevertheless
visible, which may be useful for printing)
=item C<Ctrl-keypad />
deactivate the "show all" mode
=item C<TAB>
if closed, open the node; if already opened, pass focus to the next
item (maybe the next node, or another tabindex-enabled HTML element,
such as a form control).
=item C<ARROW_UP>
move to previous displayed node
=item C<ARROW_DOWN>
move to next displayed node
=item C<ARROW_LEFT>
if open, close the node; if already closed, move to parent node
=item C<ARROW_RIGHT>
if closed, open the node; if already open, move to next subnode
=item C<HOME>
select the first node of the tree
=item C<END>
select the last visible subnode of the tree
=item C<Ctrl-PAGE_UP>
select the enclosing node (useful if not positioned on a node, but
within a long node content)
=item C<Ctrl-PAGE_DOWN>
select the displayed node after
the current enclosing node (useful if not positioned on a node, but
within a long node content)
=item C<Ctrl-R>
refresh the node's content (if that node has an URL for dynamic
content).
=item C<RETURN>
fire the C<Ping> event
=item C<Ctrl-1>..C<Ctrl-9>
close all nodes at level of the specified digit, and open all nodes
above
=item C<char(s)>
Tree navigator supports the 'Find As You Type' feature that allows
quick node navigation when you type a series of characters.
This feature is enabled by default whenever any node is active.
The series of characters are cleared after an 800ms timeout of no character input.
After that, a new search will be effective.
=back
=head1 Programming interface
=head2 Methods
=head3 new GvaScript.TreeNavigator
var treeNavigator = new GvaScript.TreeNavigator(
elem,
{opt1:"val1", opt2:"val2", ...}
);
Creates the object that controls
navigation in the tree. Arguments are
=over
=item C<elem>
the HTML element containing the
tree, or the id of that element.
=item C<options>
an optional inline object
specifying options.
=back
The tree navigation object is returned, which may be
useful if you later want to act on the tree
programmatically (opening or closing nodes).
Unless otherwise specified, the method adds a tab
index to each label (so that the user can jump to the
next label through the C<TAB> key).
The method also registers C<onfocus>,
C<onblur>, C<onmouseover>, C<onmouseout>
and C<onclick> handlers for label elements.
Finally, as already mentioned, a new SPAN element is
automatically inserted before each label.
Available options are:
=head4 tabIndex
Which tabIndex will be assigned to node labels. If
labels should not participate in tabbing, specify a value of -1
(this is the default).
Setting C<< tabIndex >= 0 >> is especially useful for structuring
forms in treeNavigator sections : then
the user will be able to smoothly tab from section headers
(i.e. treeNavigator labels) to form fields within these sections.
=head4 treeTabIndex
Which tabIndex will be assigned to the tree element
(if not already specified in markup).
The default is 0; specifying a higher value
would give a higher priority to the tree
navigator within the tabbing order.
Setting C<tabIndex> to a negative value means
that the tree navigator receives no focus.
In that case, the keymap created for
capturing keyboard events will be bound globally
to the C<document> element (and therefore might
interact in unpredictable ways with other elements
capturing keys; so this is not a recommended setting).
=head4 flashDuration
Duration (in milliseconds) of "flashing", i.e. visual feedback when a
key is pressed in a wrong context, like for example trying to open a
node which is already open; default is 200 ms.
=head4 flashColor
Color for "flashing", expressed as standard CSS color; default is red.
=head4 selectOnButtonClick
If true, clicking on a "+/-" button next to a label will not only open
or close the node, but will also select that node; default is true.
=head4 noPingOnFirstClick
If true, clicking on an unselected node will just select that node,
without firing the C<Ping> event. Since the node will then be selected,
a second clic (or a double-clic) will fire the event.
This option is C<false> by default.
=head4 selectFirstNode
If true (the default), the first node is selected and gets focus
just after constructing the tree navigator.
=head4 createButtons
If true, creates the "+/-" buttons next to labels; default is true.
=head4 scrollingContainer
The id of the container where the tree overflows.
Default to C<tree.ownerDocument.documentElement>.
This is used for keyboard tree navigation autoscrolling.
=head4 autoScrollPercentage
Makes sure that the selected node is visible in the central area of
its offset parent; if not, the parent is scrolled.
The percentage is the ratio between the parent height and the
margin at which scrolling must occur (default is 20%);
=head4 keymap
A keymap object (see C<Keymap.js>). If that option is given, keyboard
handlers are pushed into that keymap; otherwise a new keymap is
created.
If you supply your own keymap, make
sure that:
=over
=item *
the keymap is attached to an element that properly receives keyboard
events. The document element does, but the tree DIV element does not,
unless it contains items with activated focus (with C<tabIndex>
defined and positive).
=item *
the keymap is created with options C<preventDefault:false> and
C<stopPropagation:false> (because when the tree has no selected node,
the tree navigation handlers do not consume events and try to
propagate them further).
=back
=head4 classes
Class names for various parts of the tree structure.
This should be an inline object, with keys corresponding
to the names below, and with values specified either as
a single class name or as an array of class names.
=over
=item node
Class(es) for node elements (default is C<TN_node>).
A node should contain a label element and a
content element, and should have style
C<display:block>.
=item leaf
Class(es) for leaf elements (default is C<TN_leaf>).
A leaf should contain just a label element.
=item label
Class(es) for label elements (default is C<TN_label>).
A label should have style C<display:inline>.
=item content
Class(es) for content elements (default is C<TN_content>).
=item closed
Class(es) for marking closed nodes (default is C<TN_closed>).
=item selected
Class(es) for marking the selected node (default is C<TN_selected>).
=item mouse
Class(es) added when the mouse hovers over a node
(default is C<TN_mouse>).
=item button
Class(es) for buttons added automatically by the tree navigator
(default is C<TN_button>).
=item showall
Class(es) for the special mode in which closed nodes are nevertheless
displayed
(default is C<TN_showall>).
=back
=head3 destroy
mytreenavigator.destroy();
This method will remove all handlers assigned to tree navigator.
Call this method when the tree navigator element is removed from the DOM.
=head3 Node manipulation
All methods below take a node element as
argument, i.e. are called according to pattern:
treeNavigator.method(node);
=over
=item C<open(node)>
opens the node
=item C<close(node)>
closes the node
=item C<openAtLevel(elem, level)>
walks down the tree and opens all subnodes of C<elem> until level
C<level>; closes nodes underneath
=item C<openEnclosingNodes(elem)>
walks up the DOM, starting at C<elem> (which might by any element on
the page), and opens all nodes found on the way
=item C<select(node, prevent_autoscroll)>
If there was a selected node, unselect it; then select the argument
node. The argument can be C<null>, in which case the tree no longer
has any selected node.
The second argument C<prevent_autoscroll> is optional; if true,
no autoscroll will be performed.
=item C<scrollTo(node)>
Positions the node in the middle of the screen
=item C<flash(node, duration, color)>
Changes the background color of I<node> to I<color> for I<duration>
milliseconds. Duration and color are optional and default to 200 ms
and 'red' (unless otherwise specified in the options to the
C<treeNavigator> constructor).
=item C<isClosed(node)>
Returns true if the node is closed
=item C<isVisible(node)>
Returns true if the node is visible
(i.e. does not have C<display:none>).
=back
=head3 Walking the tree
=over
=item C<nextSibling(node)>
Returns the next sibling tree node (i.e. next HTML sibling element
having class C<TN_node>; this is I<not> equivalent to
C<node.nextSibling>).
=item C<previousSibling(node)>
Returns the previous sibling tree node.
=item C<parentNode(node)>
Returns the parent tree node.
=item C<firstSubNode(node)>
Returns the first subnode within that node's content. If no argument
is given, returns the first node of the tree.
=item C<lastSubNode(node)>
Returns the last subnode within that node's content. If no argument
is given, returns the last node of the tree.
=item C<lastVisibleSubNode(node)>
Returns the last visible subnode (recursively) of the argument
node. If no argument is given, returns the last visible subnode of the
tree.
=item C<label(node)>
Returns the label of that node, i.e. the first HTML child element
having class C<TN_label>.
=item C<content(node)>
Returns the content of that node, i.e. the last HTML child element
having class C<TN_content>.
=item C<nextDisplayedNode(node)>
Returns the next tree node in page display order (i.e. next visible
node down the page).
=item C<previousDisplayedNode(node)>
Returns the previous tree node in page display order (i.e. previous
visible node up the page).
=item C<enclosingNode(elem)>
Returns the first tree node that contains the given element
(which might be for example a form input).
=back
=head2 Event handling
Manipulations to the tree generate I<events>
for which clients can register some I<handlers>,
exactly like ordinary HTML events.
=head3 Event list
=head4 C<Select> / C<Deselect>
triggered when a node is marked / unmarked as the
currently selected node. Both events are not
triggered immediately, but only after
C<selectDelay> milliseconds have elapsed :
this is an optimization to avoid too many calls
while the user is navigating quickly through the
nodes; in other words, intermediate nodes
crossed while navigating the tree will not
receive any trigger.
If label selection is associated with
focus (i.e. if C<tabIndex> was not set
to -1), then selection/deselection events
are also triggered when the user switches
to another desktop window.
=head4 C<Open> / C<Close>
triggered when a node is opened or
closed
=head4 C<BeforeLoadContent> / C<AfterLoadContent>
triggered before/after a node's content
is loaded from an URL (throug opening the node,
or hitting the C<Ctrl-R> key) -- see
the section below about dynamic tree
updates).
=head4 C<inspect>
triggered when a user calls the
I<inspector> for a node (either by
hitting the RETURN key or by
double-clicking the node's label)
=head3 Event structure passed to handlers
Handlers can access an C<event> structure,
similar to what is passed to ordinary HTML events;
the entries are:
=over
=item C<type>
the name of the triggered event
(i.e. C<Select>, C<Deselect>, C<Open>, etc.)
=item C<target>
the node element on which the event was
triggered
=item C<srcElement>
synonym for C<target>
=item C<treeNavigator>
the tree navigator object controlling the
target node
=back
=head3 Registering event handlers
Event handlers can be registered in several ways:
=head4 additional attributes on node elements
<div class="TN_node" TN:onOpen="handleOpen(this, treeNavigator)">
The additional attribute is the event name,
prefixed by the constant C<TN:on>; so in
the example above, a hander is registered for
event C<Open>.
The string containing handler code is
evaluated in a context where some special
variables are predefined:
=over
=item C<targetNode>
the node element
=item C<this>
the node element (synonym for C<targetNode>)
=item C<treeNavigator>
the tree navigator object
=item C<event>
an event structure as described above
=back
If the string just contains the name of a
handler function (i.e. without the
parentheses), then that function will be
called with a single argument, namely the
event structure described above. Therefore
<div class="TN_node" TN:onOpen="handleOpen">
is equivalent to
<div class="TN_node" TN:onOpen="handleOpen(event)">
=head4 additional attributes on the tree element
<div id="theTree" TN:onOpen="handleOpen(targetNode, this)">
Handlers can be registered on the tree element,
exactly like for node elements. The only
difference is that C<this> is then bound to
the tree element instead of the target node.
=head4 additional properties on the tree navigator object
var treeNavigator = new Tree.Navigator('myTree', {onOpen: myOpenHandler});
treeNavigator.onClose = function(event){doSomethingWith(event.target)};
Handlers can be inserted as properties on the
tree navigator object, either through options to
the constructor, or later on through ordinary
property assignments. These properties start
with the constant C<on> followed by the
event name, but without the C<TN:> prefix.
Handlers are called with a single argument,
namely the event structure described above.
=head2 Dynamic tree expansion
treeNavigator.initSubTree(subtree);
Whenever a subtree was added programmatically into the
tree, this method should be called in order to install the
navigation buttons, mouse event handlers and tabbing
behaviour. The C<initSubTree> method expects to find
at least one C<TN_label> element within the
subtree.
This method is called automatically when a subtree
is dynamically fetched through the
C<TN:contentURL> property.