Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!mailrus!chablis!shane
From: shane@chablis.cc.umich.edu (Shane Looker)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Editable TextItems in Dialogs - Help!
Message-ID: <887@mailrus.cc.umich.edu>
Date: 25 Jan 89 16:11:26 GMT
References: <3543@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu>
Sender: usenet@mailrus.cc.umich.edu
Reply-To: shane@chablis.cc.umich.edu (Shane Looker)
Organization: University of Michigan Computing Center, Ann Arbor
Lines: 28

In article <3543@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> jedeline@deneb.ucdavis.edu (Jim Deline) writes:
>
>I would like to be able to parse a string as it is being typed
>into an editable textitem field of a dialog, and have all numbers
>typed appear subscripted relative to the rest of the string.
>
>For instance, if I were to type the string 'C6H6' I would like
>the number six to be subscripted in all occurrences - as in
>a molecular formula.  I would like to be able to do this 'on
>the fly' - ie. as the string is being typed.
>
>Does anyone know if this can be done? 
>
>Jim Deline

An interesting idea.  I don't think you can do it with the normal EditText
item, since it uses TextEdit.  Probably your best bet is to create a UserItem
which is modified (the text in it) based on what field you are in, and what key is hit.  The way to do that is to create a filter proc which interecpts keydown
events, and modifies a global variable.  Then return a hit in the UserItem
from the filter proc, and re-draw the UserItem with the current string.  You
could use just a 1 character buffer to decide what to do with the key which
was just hit.

If you do this, remember to accept <return> and <enter> as button 1, and cmd-.
as button 2.  (Standard Mac interface.)


Shane Looker   |  Looker@um.cc.umich.edu | shane@chablis.cc.umich.edu