UIBlockType overview

Tip

We highly recommend that you use the Interactive Automation Script Toolkit. For more information, see Getting started with the IAS Toolkit.

The UIBlockType enum defines different types of UI components.

Name	Description
Button	Button.
Calendar	Calendar control.
CheckBox	Checkbox.
CheckBoxList	Checkbox list.
DownloadButton	Download button.
DropDown	Dropdown list.
Executable	Executable.
FileSelector	File selector.
Numeric	Numeric.
Parameter	Text displaying the value of a parameter.
PasswordBox	Password input box.
RadioButtonList	Radio button list.
StaticText	Static text.
TextBox	Text box.
Time	Item that displays a time value.
TreeView	Tree view control.

UIBuilder

To create these UI blocks, a UIBuilder should be defined with Width, RowDefs, and ColumnDefs.

var uiBuilder = new UIBuilder() { Width = 800, RowDefs = "auto;auto", ColumnDefs = "auto;auto" };
uiBuilder.RequireResponse = true;

//Add UI blocks here

var results = engine.ShowUI(uiBuilder);

Getting input

Some of these UI blocks use the DestVar property to read out input. To get the input of that property, use GetString().

var input = results.GetString("destVarName")

Button

Allows you to define a button.

Example:

UIBlockDefinition blockItem = new UIBlockDefinition
{
  Type = UIBlockType.Button,
  Text = "Enter",
  DestVar = "ButtonVar"
};
uiBuilder.AppendBlock(blockItem);

uiBuilder.RequireResponse = true;

var results = engine.ShowUI(uiBuilder);

if (results.WasButtonPressed("ButtonVar"))
{
  //Do something
}

Calendar

Allows you to define a calendar control.

To have a certain initial value in the calendar, use the InitialValue property. In the Calendar UIBlockType, the value is expected to be a string in the "(dd/MM/yyyy HH:mm:ss)" format.

Example:

UIBlockDefinition blockItem = new UIBlockDefinition
{
  Type = UIBlockType.Calendar,
  InitialValue = DateTime.Now.ToString("dd/MM/yyyy HH:mm:ss"),
  DestVar = "InputCalendar",
  Row = 1,
  Column = 0,
};
uiBuilder.AppendBlock(blockItem);

CheckBox

Allows you to define a checkbox.

Example:

UIBlockDefinition blockItem = new UIBlockDefinition
{
  Type = UIBlockType.CheckBox,
  Text = "Option1",
  Row = 1,
  Column = 1
};
uiBuilder.AppendBlock(blockItem);

Note

To check if the user selected the checkbox, use GetChecked.

CheckBoxList

Allows you to define a list of checkboxes.

It is possible to differentiate between the raw value and display value for the options. The display value is the text the UI will show for the option, and the raw value is the value used to set checkboxes as selected by default using InitialValue.

Example:

var checkBoxList = new UIBlockDefinition
{
  Type = UIBlockType.CheckBoxList,
  Row = 0,
  Column = 3,
  DestVar = "list"
};
checkBoxList.AddCheckBoxListOption("Option1");
checkBoxList.AddCheckBoxListOption("2", "Option2");  //(raw value, display value)
checkBoxList.AddCheckBoxListOption("3", "Option3"); 
checkBoxList.InitialValue = "2;3";
uiBuilder.AppendBlock(checkBoxList);

Note

To read out which boxes are selected, use GetChecked with the DestVar of the CheckBoxList and the raw value of the option

var results = engine.ShowUI(uiBuilder);

bool ticked = results.GetChecked("list","2");

DownloadButton

Allows you to define a download button. Available from DataMiner 10.3.7/10.4.0 onwards.

Example:

var downloadButtonOptions = new AutomationDownloadButtonOptions()
{
   URL = @"/Documents/DMA_COMMON_DOCUMENTS/DailyReport.pdf", // The URL to the file, which can be an absolute URL or a relative URL to the DMA hostname.
   StartDownloadImmediately = false, // If set to true (the default is false), the download will start immediately when the component is displayed.
   ReturnWhenDownloadIsStarted = false, // If set to true (the default is false), the engine.ShowUI() method will return as soon as the download is started.
   FileNameToSave = "Report.PDF", // The file name that will be saved. By default, this is the same as the file name of the document.
};
UIBlockDefinition blockItem = new UIBlockDefinition
{
   Type = UIBlockType.DownloadButton,
   Width = 125,
   Text = "Get report of today",
   Style = Style.Button.CallToAction,
   ConfigOptions = downloadButtonOptions,
};
uiBuilder.AppendBlock(blockItem);

Note

This download button is currently only supported in Automation scripts used in the DataMiner web apps (e.g. Dashboards or Low-Code Apps).
The URL is used as the content of the href property in an A-HTML element (after sanitizing for security). For more information on how to build valid URLs, see https://www.w3schools.com/html/html_filepaths. The most common use cases are:
- An absolute URL to a file, for example: https://dataminer.services/install/DataMinerCube.exe
- A relative URL, relative to the DMA hostname, for example: /Documents/General Documents/myfile.txt

Allows you to define a selection box.

Example:

var dropDownOptions = new List<string>{ "1", "2", "3", "4", "5" };
var initialValue = "--Select--";
UIBlockDefinition blockItem = new UIBlockDefinition
{
  Type = UIBlockType.DropDown,
  Text = "DropDown1",
  InitialValue = initialValue,
  Row = 1,
  Column = 1, 
  Width = 200
};

foreach (string dropDownOption in dropDownOptions)
{
  blockItem.AddDropDownOption(dropDownOption);
}

uiBuilder.AppendBlock(blockItem);

Executable

Allows you to run a program execution. To do this, you must fill in the property Extra with the name of the program you want to execute. You can also specify arguments when launching a program execution. To do so, call the method AddDropDownOption on the item with key Arguments, using the arguments you want to pass on as the value.

Examples:

Open the program Notepad++ on the client device where the interactive script is running.

UIBlockDefinition blockItem = new UIBlockDefinition();
blockItem.Type = UIBlockType.Executable;
blockItem.Extra = "notepad++.exe";
...
uiBuilder.AppendBlock(blockItem);

Open a file with Notepad on the client device where the interactive script is running.

UIBlockDefinition blockItem = new UIBlockDefinition();
blockItem.Type = UIBlockType.Executable;
blockItem.Extra = "notepad.exe";
blockItem.AddDropDownOption("Arguments", @"C:\Skyline DataMiner\Files\VersionCompatibility.txt");
...
uiBuilder.AppendBlock(blockItem);

Note

Automation scripts with an executable component are currently only supported in DataMiner Cube. These are not supported in DataMiner web apps.

FileSelector

Allows you to define a file selector control.

Available from DataMiner 10.0.0/10.0.2 onwards.

Example:

UIBlockDefinition blockItem = new UIBlockDefinition
{
  Type = UIBlockType.FileSelector,
  DestVar = "varUserUploadedFile",
  Row = 1,
  Column = 1
};
uiBuilder.AppendBlock(blockItem);

When the UI is then shown using Engine#ShowUI(...), UIResults will contain the path to the file:

UIResults results = engine.ShowUI(uiBuilder);
string uploadedFilePath = results.GetUploadedFilePath("varUserUploadedFile");

When you have selected a file, the actual upload will only start after you click a button to make the script continue (e.g. Close, Next, etc.). Once the upload has started, a Cancel option will be available.

All files uploaded by users will by default be placed in the C:\Skyline DataMiner\TempDocuments folder, which is automatically cleared at every DataMiner startup.

Tip

Note

Unlike other UI block types, FileSelector does not allow setting an InitialValue. However, from DataMiner 10.3.12/10.4.0 onwards, during an interactive Automation script session, it is possible to keep the files that were already uploaded after the UI was shown.

When an interactive Automation script is executed in a web app, the UI block needs to keep the same Row, Column, and DestVar within the session. If a block of a different type or DestVar is at same location or that location has no blocks when the UI is shown again, the information about the uploaded files is lost.

When an interactive Automation script is executed in Cube, the UI block needs to keep the same DestVar within the session. If there is no file selector block with the same DestVar when the UI is shown again, the information about the uploaded files is lost.

Numeric

Allows you to define a numeric value.

Example of a number range between 0 and 100 with step size of 1 and an initial value of 5:

UIBlockDefinition blockItem = new UIBlockDefinition
{
  Type = UIBlockType.Numeric,
  DestVar = "NumericVariable",
  InitialValue = "5",
  RangeHigh = 100,
  RangeLow = 0,
  RangeStep = 1,
  Row = 1,
  Column = 1
};
uiBuilder.AppendBlock(blockItem);

The initial value has to be a string of an integer or have the following format:

[DoubleValue];[Boolean];[SelectedDiscreetString]

DoubleValue: Value of the numeric box.
Boolean: Indicates whether the discrete checkbox is selected (=true) or cleared (=false).
SelectedDiscreetString: selects the discrete parameter with that exact name in case multiple discrete parameters are defined.

Example:

string sel_numericValue = "23.567891;true;Discreet 2";

If you want a checkbox with one or more discrete values, then use the Extra property to specify a list of discrete values (separated by semicolons). If you only want a numeric box and no checkbox, then leave the Extra property empty. In that case, just set the initial value to the DoubleValue.

If you set the WantsOnChange property to "true", then both the checkbox and the discrete combo box will trigger a change.

Optionally you can provide a RangeHigh (maximum value), a RangeLow (minimum value), a RangeStep (increment or decrement steps) and the number of decimals.

Full example:

string sel_numericValue = "23.567891;true;Discreet 2";
UIBlockDefinition numericBlock = new UIBlockDefinition();
numericBlock.Type = UIBlockType.Numeric;
numericBlock.InitialValue = sel_numericValue;
numericBlock.DestVar = "num";
numericBlock.WantsOnChange = true;
numericBlock.Row = 0;
numericBlock.Column = 1;
numericBlock.HorizontalAlignment = "Center";
numericBlock.VerticalAlignment = "Top";
numericBlock.RangeHigh = 300;
numericBlock.RangeLow = 5;
numericBlock.RangeStep = 5;
numericBlock.Decimals = 6;
numericBlock.Extra = "Discreet 1;Discreet 2;Discreet 3";
uiBuilder.AppendBlock(numericBlock);

Note

From DataMiner 9.5.5 onwards, you can specify the WantsOnChange property to have a small delay before a change is triggered by the numeric box itself, in order to avoid updates being sent as soon as a single character is changed in the numeric box. See WantsOnChange.

Parameter

Allows you to define a text item displaying the value of a parameter.

In the Extra property, enter the information to find the parameter.

Example:

UIBlockDefinition blockItem = new UIBlockDefinition
{
  Type = UIBlockType.Parameter,
  DestVar = "Input",
  InitialValue = initialValue,
  WantsOnChange = true,
  DisplayFilter = true,
  Extra = $"{dmaID}/{elementID}:{parameterID}"
};
uiBuilder.AppendBlock(blockItem);

PasswordBox

Allows you to define a password box. Available from DataMiner 9.6.6 onwards.

Example:

UIBlockDefinition blockItem = new UIBlockDefinition
{
  Type = UIBlockType.PasswordBox,
  DestVar = "Password",
  HasPeekIcon = true,
  Row = 1,
  Column = 1
};
uiBuilder.AppendBlock(blockItem);

Optionally, you can set the HasPeekIcon property to display an icon that, when clicked, will allow you to display the value inside the password box. See HasPeekIcon.

RadioButtonList

Allows you to define a radio button list. Available from DataMiner 9.6.6 onwards.

It is possible to differentiate between the raw value and display value for the options. The display value is the text the UI will show for the option, and the raw value is the value used to have a radio button selected by default using InitialValue.

Example:

var radioButtonListItems = new List<string> { "Option 1", "Option 2", "Option 3" };

UIBlockDefinition blockItem = new UIBlockDefinition
{
  Type = UIBlockType.RadioButtonList,
  DestVar = "ChoiceOption",
  Row = 1,
  Column = 1,
  WantsOnChange = true,
  DisplayFilter = true,
};

foreach (string item in radioButtonListItems)
{
  blockItem.AddRadioButtonListOption(item);
}

blockItem.AddRadioButtonListOption("4", "Option4"); //(raw value, display value)
blockItem.InitialValue = "4";

uiBuilder.AppendBlock(blockItem);

Note

To read out which option is selected, use GetChecked with the DestVar of the RadioButtonList and the raw value of the option.
```
var results = engine.ShowUI(uiBuilder);

bool ticked = results.GetChecked("ChoiceOption","4");
```
If no initial value is passed to this list, no radio button will be selected by default.

StaticText

Allows you to define a text item displaying a piece of fixed text.

Example:

UIBlockDefinition blockItem = new UIBlockDefinition
{
  Type = UIBlockType.StaticText,
  Text = "Static Text",
  Row = 1,
  Column = 1
};
uiBuilder.AppendBlock(blockItem);

TextBox

Allows you to define a box into which a user can enter a piece of text.

Example:

UIBlockDefinition blockItem = new UIBlockDefinition
{
  Type = UIBlockType.TextBox,
  DestVar = "InputText",
  InitialValue = "Default text",
  Row = 1,
  Column = 1
};
uiBuilder.AppendBlock(blockItem);

Note

From DataMiner 9.5.3 onwards, this control can be used with a "WantsOnChange" property, which prevents updates being sent after a single character is changed in a text box. See WantsOnChange.

Time

Allows you to define an item displaying a time value.

In the ConfigOptions, you can define the minimum and maximum time range.

In this example, a time span block is created with a minimum of 1 hour and a maximum of 2 days:

UIBlockDefinition blockItem = new UIBlockDefinition
{
  Type = UIBlockType.Time,
  DestVar = "InputText",
  InitialValue = "12:25:30",
  Row = 1,
  Column = 1,
  ConfigOptions = new AutomationTimeUpDownOptions()
  {
    Minimum = TimeSpan.FromHours(1),
    Maximum = TimeSpan.FromDays(2)
  }
};
uiBuilder.AppendBlock(blockItem);

Note

From DataMiner 9.5.3 onwards, additional classes are available to define controls to select the date and/or time. See AutomationConfigOptions class.
When the initial value of the time span exceeds 24 hours, an extra digit will be displayed that represents the days. This digit is by default hidden. You can also make it show up by using the up button of the spinner or pressing the Up arrow key on your keyboard when the current time span is 23:59:59.
The AutomationTimeUpDownOptions property AllowSpin is not supported in the Low-Code Apps.
The AutomationTimeUpDownOptions property UpdateValueOnEnter is not supported in Cube.
The AutomationTimeUpDownOptions property FractionalSecondsDigitsCount is only supported in Cube and should be within a range of 0 to 3.
From DataMiner 10.3.0 [CU1]/10.3.4 onwards, the ShowTimeUnits property is available. When this property is set to true, the component will display labels indicating the days, hours, minutes and seconds. By default, this property is set to false. The ShowTimeUnits property is only supported in the DataMiner web apps and not in DataMiner Cube.
When the initial value is set to an empty string or null, a default value of one hour will be displayed in Cube. In the Low-Code Apps, zero (00:00:00) will be displayed.
The time span values are returned in the constant invariant format (e.g. "3.17:25:30.5569124").

TreeView

Allows you to define a tree view. Available from DataMiner 10.0.10 onwards.

To define a tree view control, create a UIBlockDefinition of type TreeView and add each item of the tree view as a TreeViewItem to the TreeViewItems property. It is not required to fill in the InitialValue or Value of the UIBlockDefinition, as that value is determined based on the TreeViewItem collection.

Optionally, you can enable the WantsOnChange option for the tree view control, in which case it will send an update each time the selected state of a TreeViewItem changes. See WantsOnChange.

To retrieve the results:

The UIResult, which can be returned using engine.ShowUI(), contains the KeyValue of the selected items.
The GetString(UIBlockDefinition destvar) method to retrieve a semicolon-separated string of the KeyValues.
The GetChecked(UIBlockDefinition destvar, KeyValue value) method can be used to check if a specific KeyValue was selected.

Make sure to add "using Skyline.DataMiner.Net.AutomationUI.Objects;" at the top of your script, it is required for TreeViewItem.

Note

Automation scripts with tree view controls are currently only supported in the DataMiner web apps. These are not yet supported in DataMiner Cube.

Example:

UIBlockDefinition blockItem = new UIBlockDefinition
{
  Type = UIBlockType.TreeView,
  DestVar = "TreeVar",
  Row = 1,
  Column = 1,
  TreeViewItems =
    new List<TreeViewItem>
    {
      new TreeViewItem("Core Teams", "1", new List<TreeViewItem>
      {
        new TreeViewItem("Team A", "1/1", new List<TreeViewItem>
        {
          new TreeViewItem("Brian", "1/1/1", true) { ItemType = TreeViewItem.TreeViewItemType.CheckBox },
          new TreeViewItem("John", "1/1/2"){ ItemType = TreeViewItem.TreeViewItemType.CheckBox },
          new TreeViewItem("Kevin", "1/1/3", true){ ItemType = TreeViewItem.TreeViewItemType.CheckBox },
          new TreeViewItem("David", "1/1/4"){ ItemType = TreeViewItem.TreeViewItemType.CheckBox },
          new TreeViewItem("Joe", "1/1/5", true){ ItemType = TreeViewItem.TreeViewItemType.CheckBox }
        }){ ItemType = TreeViewItem.TreeViewItemType.CheckBox },
        new TreeViewItem("Team B", "1/2", new List<TreeViewItem>
        {
          new TreeViewItem("Jane", "1/2/1"){ ItemType = TreeViewItem.TreeViewItemType.CheckBox },
          new TreeViewItem("Sarah", "1/2/2"){ ItemType = TreeViewItem.TreeViewItemType.CheckBox },
          new TreeViewItem("Emely", "1/2/3"){ ItemType = TreeViewItem.TreeViewItemType.CheckBox },
          new TreeViewItem("Anne", "1/2/4"){ ItemType = TreeViewItem.TreeViewItemType.CheckBox },
          new TreeViewItem("Florence", "1/2/5"){ ItemType = TreeViewItem.TreeViewItemType.CheckBox }
        }) { ItemType = TreeViewItem.TreeViewItemType.CheckBox }
      }){ ItemType = TreeViewItem.TreeViewItemType.CheckBox },
      new TreeViewItem("Team C", "2") { ItemType = TreeViewItem.TreeViewItemType.CheckBox }
    }
};
uiBuilder.AppendBlock(blockItem);

Table of Contents

UIBlockType overview

Tip

UIBuilder

Getting input

Button

Calendar

CheckBox

Note

CheckBoxList

Note

DownloadButton

Note

DropDown

Executable

Note

FileSelector

Tip

Note

Numeric

Note

Parameter

PasswordBox

RadioButtonList

Note

StaticText

TextBox

Note

Time

Note

TreeView

Note