Develop Reference

c# NavisWorks ModelItem isReadOnly() always true

I try to add some new property in existing category for selected NavisWorks ModelItem`s
There is not so many example over network, and it base on same COM approach.
However there special method to add property available in API.
Only issue that objects is locked.
Is there any way to unlock it?
using ANA = Autodesk.Navisworks.Api;
...
private void addProperty(string category, string prop, string value)
{
var oDoc = Autodesk.Navisworks.Api.Application.ActiveDocument;
ModelItemCollection selectionModelItems = new ModelItemCollection();
ANA.Application.ActiveDocument.CurrentSelection.SelectedItems.CopyTo(selectionModelItems);
//Clear the current selection
ANA.Application.ActiveDocument.CurrentSelection.Clear();
try
{
foreach (ModelItem m in selectionModelItems)
{
foreach (PropertyCategory p in m.PropertyCategories)
{
if (p.DisplayName != category) continue;
var property = new DataProperty(prop, prop, new VariantData(value));
p.Properties.Add(property);
}
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
MessageBox.Show(ex.Message);
}
}
result of execution:

Properties and categories which are created by Navisworks are read-only.
You can not add or modify properties or categories which are created by Navisworks.
You can only create or add user-defined properties - using COM.
See:
https://adndevblog.typepad.com/aec/2012/05/create-attributes-and-properties-for-model-objects-using-net-api.html
https://adndevblog.typepad.com/aec/2012/08/addmodifyremove-custom-attribute-using-com-api.html
https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/navisworks-api/navisworks-api-add-user-data-tab/td-p/2916866
Here is a code snippet (copied from xiaodong.liang forum post mentioned above) which shows how to add a user-defined property using COM:
private void addProperty() {
ComApi.InwOpState10 state;
state = ComApiBridge.ComApiBridge.State;
ModelItemCollection modelItemCollectionIn = new ModelItemCollection(Autodesk.Navisworks.Api.Application.ActiveDocument.CurrentSelection.SelectedItems);
ComApi.InwOpSelection comSelectionOut =
ComApiBridge.ComApiBridge.ToInwOpSelection(modelItemCollectionIn);
ComApi.InwSelectionPathsColl oPaths = comSelectionOut.Paths();
ComApi.InwOaPath3 oPath = (ComApi.InwOaPath3) oPaths.Last();
ComApi.InwGUIPropertyNode2 propn = (ComApi.InwGUIPropertyNode2) state.GetGUIPropertyNode(oPath, true);
ComApi.InwOaPropertyVec newPvec = (ComApi.InwOaPropertyVec) state.ObjectFactory(Autodesk.Navisworks.Api.Interop.ComApi.nwEObjectType.eObjectType_nwOaPropertyVec, null, null);
ComApi.InwOaProperty newP = (ComApi.InwOaProperty) state.ObjectFactory(Autodesk.Navisworks.Api.Interop.ComApi.nwEObjectType.eObjectType_nwOaProperty, null, null);
newP.name = "LXD_Property_Name";
newP.UserName = "LXD_Property_UserName";
newP.value = "LXD_Property_Value";
newPvec.Properties().Add(newP);
propn.SetUserDefined(0, "LXD_PropertyTab_Name", "LXD_PropertyTab_InteralName", newPvec);
}

Get 'Non-persisted field' value from PXSmartPanel

I am using a PXSmartPanel to display a dialog allowing a user to enter a string. I would like to use a 'Non-persisted field', but that means (I think) that I would have to get the field value by calling the field on the Panel and extracting its value.
The text field's ID is cstFieldSSN and the non-persisted field's ID is UsrSSN
My method looks like this:
(I'm calling the dialog upon clicking a menu item)
// Initialize 'myPanel'
public PXFilter<PX.Objects.CR.Contact> myPanel;
// Make the 'Letters' menu available to 'Automation Steps'
public PXAction<PX.Objects.CR.Contact> letters;
[PXUIField(DisplayName = "Letters", MapEnableRights = PXCacheRights.Select)]
[PXButton(SpecialType = PXSpecialButtonType.Report)]
protected virtual IEnumerable Letters(PXAdapter adapter, string reportID)
{
if (myPanel.AskExt(true) != WebDialogResult.OK) return;
PXReportRequiredException ex = null;
Contact contact = Base.Caches[typeof(Contact)].Current as Contact;
Dictionary<string, string> parameters = new Dictionary<string, string>();
parameters["ContactID"] = contact.ContactID.ToString();
/** Here's the issue **/
parameters["SSN"] = myPanel.Current.UsrSSN;
throw new PXReportRequiredException(parameters, reportID, "");
if (ex != null) throw ex;
return adapter.Get();
}
I'm getting
'PX.Objects.CR.Contact' does not contain a definition for 'UsrSSN' and no extension method 'UsrSSN' accepting a first argument of type 'PX.Objects.CR.Contact' could be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?)
Could someone help me out or point me to a resource?

Thanks to #Brendan, my final code looks like this:
// Initialize 'myPanel'
public PXFilter<PX.Objects.CR.Contact> myPanel;
// Make the 'Letters' menu available to 'Automation Steps'
public PXAction<PX.Objects.CR.Contact> letters;
[PXUIField(DisplayName = "Letters", MapEnableRights = PXCacheRights.Select)]
[PXButton(SpecialType = PXSpecialButtonType.Report)]
protected virtual IEnumerable Letters(PXAdapter adapter, string reportID)
{
// Launch the PXSmartPanel dialog and test result
if (myPanel.AskExt(true) == WebDialogResult.OK)
{
PXReportRequiredException ex = null;
Contact contact = Base.Caches[typeof(Contact)].Current as Contact;
Dictionary<string, string> parameters = new Dictionary<string, string>();
//*** Get the extended class
var myExt = myPanel.Current.GetExtension<ContactExt>();
parameters["ContactID"] = contact.ContactID.ToString();
//*** Get the extended class's custom field value
parameters["SSN"] = myExt.UsrSSN;
throw new PXReportRequiredException(parameters, reportID, "");
if (ex != null) throw ex;
}
return adapter.Get();
}
But I also had to set the CommitChanges property on the text field to True so that the value would be pushed back to the cached Contact, allowing me to use it.

C# Reflection. Set TableAdapter ConnectionString

I've been trying to create a new base class for a Windows Forms form. I want to have this base class go through all the tableadapters it has on it and update their connection strings without anyone adding any code to the form. They just put the tableadapters on the form and don't worry about the connection string settings as it's all handled in the base class.
The problem is my reflection code can find the property fine, but it can't set it. How can I fix it?
Below is the code:
public class cFormWS : Form
{
public string ConnectionStringToUse { get; set; }
public cFormWS()
{
Load += cFormWS_Load;
}
void cFormWS_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
InitiliseTableAdapters();
}
private void InitiliseTableAdapters()
{
var ListOfComponents = EnumerateComponents();
foreach (var ItemComp in ListOfComponents)
{
if (ItemComp.ToString().ToLower().EndsWith("tableadapter"))
{
var ItemCompProps = ItemComp.GetType().GetRuntimeProperties();
var TASQLConnection =
ItemCompProps.FirstOrDefault(
w => w.PropertyType == typeof(System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection));
if (TASQLConnection != null)
{
var property = typeof(System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection).GetProperty("ConnectionString");
// How do I set the value?
string value = "some new connection string";
var ConvertedProperty = Convert.ChangeType(value, property.PropertyType);
// I tried seting a value. It is not working:
// "object does not match target type"
property.SetValue(TASQLConnection, ConvertedProperty, null);
//// I tried using a method. It is not working:
//// "object does not match target type"
//var m = property.SetMethod;
//ParameterInfo[] parameters = m.GetParameters();
//m.Invoke(m, parameters); // m.Invoke(this, parameters); // m.Invoke(ItemComp, parameters);
}
}
}
}
private IEnumerable<Component> EnumerateComponents()
{
return from field in GetType().GetFields(BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.Public | BindingFlags.NonPublic)
where typeof(Component).IsAssignableFrom(field.FieldType)
let component = (Component)field.GetValue(this)
where component != null
select component;
}

When you do SetValue, you need to pass in the object that you wish to set the property on.
In your first example code, you passed in ItemComp: This is incorrect, since the ConnectionString is a property of the SqlConnection which is a property of ItemComp
In your edited question (and my original answer) you pass in the TASqlConnection. However, this is not the object, but a PropertyInfobased of the object
The correct way is to get the value from the ItemComp object and pass that in:
property.SetValue(TASQLConnection.GetValue(ItemComp), ConvertedProperty, null);
ORIGINAL (INCORRECT) ANSWER:
You're trying to set a ConnectionString property of ItemComp. The ConnectionString is not a property of the TableAdapter, but of the SqlConnection (which is a property of the TableAdapter).
The correct way of setting the property would be this:
property.SetValue(TASQLConnection, ConvertedProperty, null);

How do I pass a string to a function requiring an Object?

I am using Chello (the c# wrapper for the Trello API). I need to pass the argument "createCard" as per the documentation here: https://trello.com/docs/api/card/index.html
And this is the function I am using from Chello:
public IEnumerable<CardUpdateAction> ForCard(string cardId, object args)
{
string queryString = BuildQueryString(args);
return GetRequest<List<CardUpdateAction>>("/cards/{0}/actions?{1}", cardId, queryString);
}
I have tried calling this in this way:
List<CardUpdateAction> cua = chello.CardUpdates.ForCard("5264d37736695b2821001d7a","createCard").ToList();
but I get the error: Parameter Count Mismatch
on this function:
protected static string BuildQueryString(object args)
{
string queryString = String.Empty;
if (args != null)
{
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
foreach (var prop in args.GetType().GetProperties())
{
sb.AppendFormat("{0}={1}&", prop.Name, prop.GetValue(args, null));
}
if (sb.Length > 0) sb.Remove(sb.Length - 1, 1);
queryString = sb.ToString();
}
return queryString;
}

The problem is the fact that your API you are using expects you to pass in a class that has public properties equal to the tags you want to use.
This is very easy to do using Anonymous Types (I am doing a slightly different example to help illustrate a point)
//This will cause BuildQueryString to return "actions=createCard&action_fields=data,type,date"
var options = new { actions = "createCard", action_fields = "data,type,date" };
List<CardUpdateAction> cua = chello.CardUpdates.ForCard("5264d37736695b2821001d7a",options).ToList();

string is an object. Every type in .NET platform inherits from Object. This is called Unified Type System.
On the other hand, we have the Liskov Substitution Principle, which put simply, says that if B is a subtype of A (B is A), then you should be able to use B, wherever A is used.
Based on these reasons, you can pass string to any method that accepts an object as an argument.
You can test it:
public void DoSomething(object args)
{
}
public void Main()
{
DoSomething("some string argument, instead of the object");
}
It works just fine. No error.

Using closedXML C# library, How can I figure out what data is causing this error when trying to save

I have a C# app that exports to Excel using ClosedXML. It works fine but just ran into an issue where when i hit the :
var ms = new MemoryStream();
workbook.SaveAs(ms);
I get an exception:
' ', hexadecimal value 0x0B, is an invalid character
Its definitely data related because it I look at certain data it works fine but other data it causes this issue.
how can i figure out which character is causing the issue? Also, once I figure that out, what is the best way of finding where this character is within my data?

Since you have invalid characters in the data / strings you put into the ClosedXML sheet, you have to find them and get them out.
The simplest solution is to add
.Replace((0x0B).ToString(), " ")
to all your strings to get rid of the vertical tabs and replace them with spaces.

Since ClosedXML is an open source project, the simplest way of tracking the error down would be building it from the source *, and then running your code against the library in debug mode.
Once you see the full stack trace, you should be able to identify the spot from which the error is coming. Good chances are that it is a bug in the way the ClosedXML project uses Microsoft XML libraries, because the error that you mentioned is reported by a library outside the ClosedXML project.
* I downloaded the project, and tried building it. Everything in the closedxml-79843.zip package builds correctly.

Since ClosedXML doesn't prevent you from using the 0x0B character in values, you'll either have to scrub your data of it yourself (as suggested by #Raidri), or you could force and exception, or do a string replace when the value is set. I've created a sample program below which uses Castle's Dynamic Proxy to wrap the IXLWorksheet and IXLCell interfaces. Firstly, we proxy the IXLWorksheet values (which returned from adding a new worksheet as in the example below, or by indexing an existing worksheet). This needs to be done manually via a method call; everything else from then on is set up. When accessing cells (via the Cell methods, or the ActiveCell property) a proxied IXLCell value is returned which checks the data being set via the Value property and the SetValue method. The check is done in the ValidateMethodInterceptor as per the comments. This whole mechanism can be left in your codebase and turned on/off via a switch in the Program.Proxy method if you so desire.
As a further alternative, the package EPPlus (which has similar functionality to ClosedXML) doesn't crash when confronted with the VT character. Instead it replaces it with the value _x00B_. Perhaps a switch would be more beneficial?
internal class Program
{
private static void Main(string[] args)
{
var stream = new MemoryStream();
using (stream)
{
using (var workbook = new XLWorkbook())
{
using (var worksheet = Proxy(workbook.Worksheets.Add("Sheet 1")))
{
worksheet.Cell("A1").Value = "This is a test";
worksheet.Cell("A2").Value = "This \v is a test";
workbook.SaveAs(stream);
}
}
}
}
public static IXLWorksheet Proxy(IXLWorksheet target)
{
var generator = new ProxyGenerator();
var options = new ProxyGenerationOptions { Selector = new WorksheetInterceptorSelector() };
return generator.CreateInterfaceProxyWithTarget<IXLWorksheet>(target, options);
}
}
public class WorksheetInterceptorSelector : IInterceptorSelector
{
private static readonly MethodInfo[] methodsToAdjust;
private readonly ProxyCellInterceptor proxyCellInterceptor = new ProxyCellInterceptor();
static WorksheetInterceptorSelector()
{
methodsToAdjust = typeof(IXLWorksheet).GetMethods()
.Where(x => x.Name == "Cell")
.Union(new[] { typeof(IXLWorksheet).GetProperty("ActiveCell").GetGetMethod() })
.ToArray();
}
#region IInterceptorSelector Members
public IInterceptor[] SelectInterceptors(System.Type type, System.Reflection.MethodInfo method, IInterceptor[] interceptors)
{
if (!methodsToAdjust.Contains(method))
return interceptors;
return new IInterceptor[] { proxyCellInterceptor }.Union(interceptors).ToArray();
}
#endregion
}
public class CellInterceptorSelector : IInterceptorSelector
{
private static readonly MethodInfo[] methodsToAdjust = new[] { typeof(IXLCell).GetMethod("SetValue"), typeof(IXLCell).GetProperty("Value").GetSetMethod() };
private ValidateMethodInterceptor proxyCellInterceptor = new ValidateMethodInterceptor();
#region IInterceptorSelector Members
public IInterceptor[] SelectInterceptors(System.Type type, MethodInfo method, IInterceptor[] interceptors)
{
if (method.IsGenericMethod && method.Name == "SetValue" || methodsToAdjust.Contains(method))
return new IInterceptor[] { proxyCellInterceptor }.Union(interceptors).ToArray();
return interceptors;
}
#endregion
}
public class ProxyCellInterceptor : IInterceptor
{
#region IInterceptor Members
public void Intercept(IInvocation invocation)
{
invocation.Proceed();
//Wrap the return value
invocation.ReturnValue = Proxy((IXLCell)invocation.ReturnValue);
}
#endregion
public IXLCell Proxy(IXLCell target)
{
var generator = new ProxyGenerator();
var options = new ProxyGenerationOptions { Selector = new CellInterceptorSelector() };
return generator.CreateInterfaceProxyWithTarget<IXLCell>(target, options);
}
}
public class ValidateMethodInterceptor : IInterceptor
{
#region IInterceptor Members
public void Intercept(IInvocation invocation)
{
var value = invocation.Arguments[0];
//Validate the data as it is being set
if (value != null && value.ToString().Contains('\v'))
{
throw new ArgumentException("Value cannot contain vertical tabs!");
}
//Alternatively, you could do a string replace:
//if (value != null && value.ToString().Contains('\v'))
//{
// invocation.Arguments[0] = value.ToString().Replace("\v", Environment.NewLine);
//}
invocation.Proceed();
}
#endregion
}