User's Guide
With your Runner part fully defined, you are now ready to use it
in a visual part.
In the VisualAge Organizer, create a visual part named
RoadRaceView.
In the Composition Editor, construct a visual part that looks similar to
this:

Set the settings for the three Text parts as follows:
- For the Runner number Text part, set the maxLength
property to 3 and set enabled to true.
Select converter and then
.... In the Converters window, select
String for the Data Type, set min to
1, and set defaultObjectFromEmptyString to
100; then select OK.
- For the Finish time Text part, set the converter
property's Data type to Time, set the data
type's timeFormat to 24-hour, and set its
showSeconds to true; then select OK in
the Converters and Properties windows.
- For the Result Text part, set editable to
false, reformatOnFocusChange to false, and
the converter data type to String.
Add your Runner part as follows:
- Select Add Part from the Options menu.
- In the Add Part window, type Runner in the Class
Name entry field and runner in the Part Name entry
field. Then select OK.
- Move the pointer over the open space of the free-form surface and
click.
- Note:
- This is the informal way of adding your part to a visual part. You can
also formally add your part to the parts palette and use it directly from
there. To learn how, see Extending the parts palette.
Select Connect from the runner part's pop-up
menu and notice that the three attributes you defined for your part are listed
in the dialog: number, finishTime, and
runnerAsResultString.
Connect your nonvisual Runner part to your visual parts as follows:
- Connect the number attribute of runner to the object
attribute of the Runner number Text part.
- Connect the finishTime attribute of runner to the
object attribute of the Finish time Text part.
- Connect the runnerAsResultString event of runner to the
object attribute of the Result Text part.
- Connect the asResultString attribute of runner to the
value parameter of the connection created in Step 3.
When you have made all the connections, your view in the Composition Editor
looks like the following:

Select Save Part from the File menu.
Select
to test your visual part.
Try entering a Runner number of 451 and a Finish
time of 13:45:21.
Notice that Result is automatically updated as Runner
number and Finish time change. Remember that this is
due to the Runner part's global runnerChanged event that
refreshes the runnerAsResultString attribute whenever the
number or finishTime attributes change. (If the
result does not update automatically on your system, click on the Runner
number text pane.)
You have now successfully created and used your own nonvisual part.
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