Legacy Document

Inside Macintosh: Interapplication Communication /

Chapter 9 - Recording Apple Events / What to Record

Recording the Selection of Nontext Objects

The selection of nontext objects differs from the selection of text objects mainly in the way a recordable application specifies the objects. For example, if the user is working in a table or spreadsheet and selects row 5, column 3, your application can send a Select event with this direct parameter:

Keyword	Descriptor type	Data
keyDirectObject	typeObjectSpecifier	(see indented record)
keyAEDesiredClass	typeType	cRow
keyAEContainer	typeObjectSpecifier	(see indented record)
keyAEDesiredClass	typeType	cColumn
keyAEContainer	typeNull	No data
keyAEKeyForm	typeEnumerated	formAbsolutePosition
keyAEKeyData	typeLongInteger	3
keyAEKeyForm	typeEnumerated	formAbsolutePosition
keyAEKeyData	typeLongInteger	5

When recording a range of cells, use a range of rows through a range of columns.

For example, if the user selects row 5 column 3 through row 6 column 4, specify columns 3 through 4 of rows 5 through 6 by sending a Select event with this direct parameter:

Keyword	Descriptor type	Data
keyDirectObject	typeObjectSpecifier	(see indented record)
keyAEDesiredClass	typeType	cRow
keyAEContainer	typeObjectSpecifier	(see indented record)
keyAEDesiredClass	typeType	cColumn
keyAEContainer	typeNull	No data
keyAEKeyForm	typeEnumerated	formRange
keyAEKeyData	typeRangeDescriptor	(see indented record)
keyAERangeStart	typeObjectSpecifier	(see indented record)
keyAEDesiredClass	typeType	cColumn
keyAEContainer	typeCurrentContainer	No data
keyAEKeyForm	typeEnumerated	formAbsolutePosition
keyAEKeyData	typeLongInteger	3
keyAERangeStop	typeObjectSpecifier	(see indented record)
keyAEDesiredClass	typeType	cColumn
keyAEContainer	typeCurrentContainer	No data
keyAEKeyForm	typeEnumerated	formAbsolutePosition
keyAEKeyData	typeLongInteger	4
keyAEKeyForm	typeEnumerated	formRange
keyAEKeyData	typeRangeDescriptor	(see indented record)
keyAERangeStart	typeObjectSpecifier	(see indented record)
keyAEDesiredClass	typeType	cRow
keyAEContainer	typeCurrentContainer	No data
keyAEKeyForm	typeEnumerated	formAbsolutePosition
keyAEKeyData	typeLongInteger	5
keyAERangeStop	typeObjectSpecifier	(see indented record)
keyAEDesiredClass	typeType	cRow
keyAEContainer	typeCurrentContainer	No data
keyAEKeyForm	typeEnumerated	formAbsolutePosition
keyAEKeyData	typeLongInteger	6

In some drawing and layout applications, users are used to dealing with insertion points at specific locations rather than relative to other objects. For example, setting an insertion point in a recordable drawing application might cause the application to send itself a Select event that places the insertion location at (235, 330)--that is, the location defined by a vertical coordinate of 235 and a horizontal coordinate of 330. A Select event that does this could have this direct parameter:

Keyword	Descriptor type	Data
keyDirectObject	typeObjectSpecifier	(see indented record)
keyAEDesiredClass	typeType	cInsertionLocation
keyAEContainer	typeNull	No data
keyAEKeyForm	typeEnumerated	formAbsolutePosition
keyAEKeyData	typeAEList	(see indented record)
	typeLongInteger	235
	typeLongInteger	330

Notice that the key data corresponds to an application's extension of the standard interpretation of key form formAbsolutePosition.

To set a selection that consists of noncontiguous objects, an application should send events that correspond to statements like these:

select {\xA8
   row 5 thru 6 of column 3 thru 4, \xA8
   row 22 of column 6}
select {circle 2, rectangle 12, text frame 2}
select {file "Guidelines", file "Test Results"}