Adding pages to transformation configurations

You can create custom pages for transformation configurations. You might create these pages so that transformation users can specify values for the properties that you add to a transformation. When a transformation user creates a transformation configuration, the new pages are displayed in the transformation configuration editor or wizard.

Before you begin

A transformation author must register the transformation with the transformation service. The transformation must define the properties that are associated with the new configuration tabs.

As the author of custom transformation configuration pages, you must identify a project in the workspace that contains these user interface artifacts. You can create a project that contains the Java™ code that implements the new pages, or you can define the pages in an existing project that contains a transformation.

Note: The example in this topic assumes that you define the custom pages in a different plug-in from the transformation.

For more information about the user interface classes listed in this topic, see the "Transformation UI" section of the Rational® Transformation Developer Guide.

Note: Some information, such as links to Eclipse documentation or to developer guides, is available only from the help topics that are installed with the product.

Procedure

In the project that you have identified to contain the custom pages, create the following Java classes:
- A class that extends the com.ibm.xtools.transform.ui.AbstractTransformGUI class
- For each page that you contribute to the transformation configuration, a class that extends the com.ibm.xtools.transform.ui.AbstractTransformConfigTab class
Switch to the Java perspective: Click Window > Open Perspective > Java.
In the Package Explorer view, double-click the Java class that you created in step 1, which extends the com.ibm.xtools.transform.ui.AbstractTransformGUI class.

In the Java file editor, specify the Java code to override the method named getConfigurationTabs(ITransformationDescriptor descriptor). This method returns the list of pages to display in the transformation configuration editor or wizard. You can use the following code fragment as an example:

public AbstractTransformConfigTab[] getConfigurationTabs(
			ITransformationDescriptor descriptor) {

		AbstractTransformConfigTab[] superTabs =
			super.getConfigurationTabs(descriptor);
		
		AbstractTransformConfigTab[] myTabs =
			new AbstractTransformConfigTab[superTabs.length + 1];
		
		for (int i = 0; i < superTabs.length; i++) {
			myTabs[i] = superTabs[i];
		}
		
		myTabs[myTabs.length - 1] = new MyTab(descriptor, "My tab ID", "My tab label");
		return myTabs;
	}

For each class that you created in step 1 that extends the com.ibm.xtools.transform.ui.AbstractTransformConfigTab class, implement the methods named populateContext, populateTab, and createContents, as in the following example:

public Control createContents(Composite parent) {
		Composite contents = new Composite(parent, SWT.None);
		contents.setLayout(new GridLayout());
		text = new Text(contents, SWT.None);
		text.addModifyListener(new ModifyListener() {
			public void modifyText(ModifyEvent e) {
				setDirty();
			}
		});
		
		return contents;
	}

	public void populateContext(ITransformContext context) {
		context.setPropertyValue("MyPropertyId", text.getText());
	}

	public void populateTab(ITransformContext context) {
		String newText = (String) context.getPropertyValue("MyPropertyId");
		if (newText == null) {
			newText = "";
		}

		text.setText(newText);
	}

Click File > Save; then rebuild the project.
Open the Plug-in Development perspective: Click Window > Open Perspective > Other > Plug-in Development.
In the Package Explorer view, expand the name of the project that contains the transformation for which you are creating the custom pages.
In the META-INF folder of the transformation project, double-click the MANIFEST.MF file.
On the Extensions page, in the All Extensions section, click the Transformation element to which to add the custom pages.
In the Extension Element Details section, in the transformGUI field, specify the plug-in identifier (ID) and the name of the Java package and class that you created in step 1, which overrides the getConfigurationTabs(ITransformationDescriptor descriptor) method. If the class that extends the com.ibm.xtools.transform.ui.AbstractTransformGUI class is located in the same plug-in as the transformation, do not specify the plug-in ID. A parameter named transformGUI is added to the MANIFEST.MF file, as in the following example:
```
<Transformation
    groupPath="myTrans"
    id="myTrans.transformation"
    name="Transformation"
    sourceModelType="resource"
    targetModelType="resource"
    transformGUI="com.myTransform.ui/com.myTransform.ui.MyGUI"</Transformation>
</Transformation>
```
Click File > Save.

Results

To test the custom pages, start a runtime workbench and create a transformation configuration for the transformation. The transformation configuration editor and wizard display the pages that are in the list that the getConfigurationTabs method returns.

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