Creating the Dialog

To create a new custom dialog, from the menus choose:

Extensions > Custom Dialog Builder for Extensions

This will launch the Custom Dialog Builder for Extensions, which is an interactive window that allows you to design and preview a custom dialog.

Figure 1. Custom Dialog Builder
The Custom Dialog Builder showing the dialog properties

In the Dialog Properties pane:

  1. Enter the value SPSSINC_RASCH_DEMO for the Dialog Name.
  2. Enter Rasch Model for the Title.
  3. Click the ellipsis (...) button in the Value column for the Menu Location property to specify the location of a new menu item for your dialog.
Figure 2. Menu Location dialog box
The Dialog Builder Menu Location dialog box

In the Menu Location dialog:

  1. Expand the items for the Analyze menu and the Scale sub-menu.
  2. Choose the last item on the Scale sub-menu.
  3. Click Add to add the new item and then enter Rasch Model Demo for the name of the item.
  4. Click Move Down to position the new menu item at the bottom of the Scale sub-menu, and then click OK.
Figure 3. Source Variable List Properties
Custom Dialog Builder with source list control selected and showing source variable list properties
  1. Drag a Source List control, a Target List control, a Radio Group control, and a Static Text control from the Tools Palette onto the canvas.
  2. Click the source list control to display the Source Variable List Properties pane.
  3. Enter source_vars for the value of the Identifier property.
  4. Enter V for the value of the Mnemonic Key property.
  5. Click the target list control to display the Target Variable List Properties pane.
Figure 4. Target Variable List Properties
Custom Dialog Builder with target list control for dependent list selected and showing its properties
  1. Enter Items for the value of the Identifier property.
  2. Enter Items: for the value of the Title property.
  3. Enter I for the value of the Mnemonic Key property.

    The Syntax property specifies the command syntax to be generated by this control at run time. The default value %%ThisValue%% specifies that the syntax generated by the control will consist of the run-time value of the control, which is the list of variables transferred to the control. This will be the value of the ITEMS keyword in the generated syntax. Leave the default value.

  4. Click the radio group control to display the Radio Button Group Properties pane.
Figure 5. Radio Button Group Properties
Custom Dialog Builder with radio group control selected and showing its properties
  1. Enter MissingValues for the value of the Identifier property.
  2. Enter Missing Values for the value of the Title property.
  3. Leave the default value for the Syntax property.
  4. Click the ellipsis (...) button in the Value column for the Radio Buttons property to specify the individual radio buttons.
Figure 6. Radio Group Properties dialog box
Radio group properties dialog box showing the properties of the two default radio buttons.
  1. Enter listwise and allavailable for the values of the Identifier property for the two buttons.
  2. Enter Listwise deletion and Use all available data for the values of the Column Name property.
  3. Enter Use all complete observations for the ToolTip property of the first button.
  4. Delete the default value for the ToolTip property of the second button.
  5. Enter L and U for the values of the Mnemonic Key property.
  6. Leave the values of the Default property, so that the first listed button is selected by default.
  7. Enter LISTWISE and ALLAVAILABLE for the values of the Syntax property. These are the values that will be generated at run time when one or the other of the buttons is selected.
  8. Click OK.
  9. Click the Static Text control to display the Static Text Properties pane.
Figure 7. Static Text Control Properties
Custom Dialog Builder with static text control selected and showing its properties
  1. Enter required for the value of the Identifier property.
  2. For the value of the Title property, enter This dialog requires the Integration Plug-in for R and the R ltm package.

It is good practice to add static text that reminds users about what is required to run the dialog.

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