Form Controls

Oxygen XML Author Eclipse plugin provides a variety of built-in form controls that allow users to interact with documents with familiar user interface objects. These form controls are defined in CSS stylesheets that are used to render Author mode. For customization purposes, Oxygen XML Author Eclipse plugin also supports custom form controls in Java.

How to Add a Built-in Form Control in Author Mode

Form controls can be added by defining them in the CSS associated with the XML document.
  1. Create a custom CSS file.
  2. Define the form control in the CSS using its dedicated CSS function. For example, to add a date picker form control, its dedicated function is oxy_datePicker.
  3. Associate the CSS file with the XML document in one of the following ways:

Resources

For more information about form controls, watch our video demonstration:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/-WY3wzkMSLM

  1. Audio File Player Form Control
    The oxy_audio built-in form control is used for providing a mechanism to play audio clips.
  2. Browser Form Control
    The oxy_browser built-in form control is used for providing a mechanism to integrate HTML frames or interact with SVG documents directly in the Author mode editor. It can also be used to load HTML that executes JavaScript and from that JavaScript you can access the Oxygen XML Author Eclipse plugin workspace.
  3. Button Form Control
    The oxy_button built-in form control is used for graphical user interface objects that invoke a custom Author mode action (defined in the associated Document Type) referencing it by its ID, or directly in the CSS.
  4. Button Group Form Control
    The oxy_buttonGroup built-in form control is used for a graphical user interface group of buttons that invokes one of several custom Author mode actions (defined in the associated Document Type) referencing it by its ID, or directly in the CSS.
  5. Checkbox Form Control
    The oxy_checkbox built-in form control is used for a graphical user interface box that you can click to enable or disable an option. A single checkbox or multiple checkboxes can be used to present and edit the value on an attribute or element.
  6. Combo Box Form Control
    The oxy_combobox built-in form control is used for providing a graphical user interface object that is a drop-down menu of proposed values. This form control can also be used for a combination of a drop-down menu and an editable single-line text field.
  7. Date Picker Form Control
    The oxy_datePicker built-in form control is used for offering a text field with a calendar browser that allows the user to choose a certain date in a specified format.
  8. HTML Content Form Control
    The oxy_htmlContent built-in form control is used for rendering HTML content. This HTML content is displayed as a graphical element shaped as a box. The shape of the box is determined by a given width and the height is computed based upon the length of the text.
  9. Pop-up Form Control
    The oxy_popup built-in form control is used to offer a contextual menu that provides quick access to various actions. A pop-up form control can display single or multiple selections.
  10. Text Area Form Control
    The oxy_textArea built-in form control is used for entering multiple lines of text in a graphical user interface box. A text area may include optional syntax highlight capabilities to present the form control.
  11. Text Field Form Control
    The oxy_textfield built-in form control is used for entering a single line of text in a graphical user interface box. A text field may include optional content completion capabilities, used to present and edit the value of an attribute or an element.
  12. URL Chooser Form Control
    The oxy_urlChooser built-in form control is used for a dialog box that allows you to select the location of local or remote resources. The inserted reference is made relative to the URL of the currently open editor.
  13. Video Player Form Control
    The oxy_video built-in form control is used for providing a mechanism to play videos.
  14. Implementing Custom Form Controls
    If the built-in form controls are not sufficient for your needs, you can implement custom form controls in Java.
  15. Editing Processing Instructions Using a Form Control
    Oxygen XML Author Eclipse plugin allows you to edit processing instructions, comments, and CDATA by using CSS extensions.
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