Function for focusing a GUI element

[Mooncat]

Request: is it possible to have a function to make player focus on a GUI element? E.g. LuaPlayer::focus_gui(guiElement), or LuaGuiElement::focus()

I have implemented the search bar in Creative Mode for searching event names. Basically it is a clone of the vanilla recipe search bar. But without the function to focus on GUI element, I can't fully replicate its functionality.
Now every time I click on the search button, I expect the search textfield is automatically focused (because I have cloned its appearance too perfectly ), but things go wrong when I try to type something.

Search bar

Screen Shot 2016-12-12 at 9.49.15 AM.png (288.36 KiB) Viewed 8402 times

[thenameipicked]

+1. I was just about to write this exact suggestion.

[Coppermine]

+1. This would be good for What Is It Used For, which also provides a search box.

[quenenni]

+1 for me too

For people using the mouse with their left-hand, it's very not nice to not have a focus possibility as I explained here: viewtopic.php?f=28&t=44378#p259711

[dgw]

This would also be useful for folk's Shuttle Train Lite mod, with the text filter and quick go-to with dot enabled.

[luffe]

+1, would be great quality of life change for couple mods like what's it really used for

[eradicator]

+1
More generally it would be nice if script.raise_event(defines.events.on_gui_click,{...}) actually behaved like a player triggered event. Currently it's weird somehow... (unless i'm doing it horribly wrong).

[Rseding91]

+1
More generally it would be nice if script.raise_event(defines.events.on_gui_click,{...}) actually behaved like a player triggered event. Currently it's weird somehow... (unless i'm doing it horribly wrong).

It's an identical call unless you setup the parameters wrong.

[eradicator]

+1
More generally it would be nice if script.raise_event(defines.events.on_gui_click,{...}) actually behaved like a player triggered event. Currently it's weird somehow... (unless i'm doing it horribly wrong).

It's an identical call unless you setup the parameters wrong.

The first time i tried this method i was attempting to force-activate a "choose-elem-button" in a my mod. The result was that i could clear the button if it already had something chosen but i couldn't open the dialogue if the button was "empty". I don't have the code for that available right now, but here's something i tried just now for focusuing a text-box. Maybe you would be so kind to point me to what i'm doing wrong?

First create an empty text-box:

Code: Select all

/c game.player.gui.center.add{type='text-box',name='txt'}.style.minimal_width=100

Then attach an event handler to see if it worked?

Code: Select all

/c script.on_event(defines.events.on_gui_click,function(event) game.print(event.element.name..' '..event.player_index) end)

Then i attempt to focus the text box:

Code: Select all

/c script.raise_event(defines.events.on_gui_click,
{name=defines.events.on_gui_click,
tick=game.tick,
element=game.player.gui.center.txt,
player_index=game.player.index,
button=defines.mouse_button_type.left,
alt = false,
control = false,
shift = false,
})

The event handler fires (i.e. prints name+index), but the text-box is not focused (i.e. does not have a cursor) afterwards.

[Rseding91]

Events have nothing to do with focusing GUI elements. I'm not sure why you'd think that "gui clicked" event would also focus the GUI element?

[eradicator]

Events have nothing to do with focusing GUI elements. I'm not sure why you'd think that "gui clicked" event would also focus the GUI element?

Because there's no other way in the API i know of to emulate input, which i needed at the time. So i tried the only thing that seemed remotely like it might work ?

[Rseding91]

There is no way to emulate player input in the API because that's not what the API is for. User input is user input and the API is completely independent.

I'm not sure on this original request. There are safety concerns such as making sure a mod doesn't try to focus a GUI element that isn't visible or focus one that shouldn't ever have focus.

[eradicator]

I'm not sure on this original request. There are safety concerns such as making sure a mod doesn't try to focus a GUI element that isn't visible or focus one that shouldn't ever have focus.

Visibility sounds easy to account for, unless you mean things like off-screen elements and not the .visibility property. As for "should never have focus" is that situationaly dependant or specific to certain types of element? I.e. if it's just "frames/flows should never have focus" then a focus method for only a limited subset of element-types would still be useful.

[dgw]

I'm not sure on this original request. There are safety concerns such as making sure a mod doesn't try to focus a GUI element that isn't visible or focus one that shouldn't ever have focus.

Look at the HTMLElement.focus() method in JavaScript, for example: "The `HTMLElement.focus()` method sets focus on the specified element, if it can be focused." So, if you try to `focus()` an element that can't receive focus, it does nothing.

Focusing a hidden element can either show it (the parent frame/dialog) or behave as if the element cannot be focused. Either would be safe, as long as the behavior is consistent and documented.

Trying to focus an off-screen element is the stickiest case, but if an element is off screen it's probably either in a dialog or in a part of a (visible) frame that is too large for the Factorio window. Move the dialog (center it?), refuse to focus off-screen elements, whatever—again, as long as the behavior is consistent and documented.

I'm sure there are safety concerns I haven't addressed (my GUI programming experience is quite limited), but I doubt there are any insoluble issues.

[Rseding91]

Ok, I've added a focus() function to LuaGuiElement for 0.16.

[npuldon]

Thank you!

[Mooncat]

Ok, I've added a focus() function to LuaGuiElement for 0.16.

Many thanks.