[Building Sakai] "Full-Window" Helpers

[Stephen Swinsburg]

Hi Daniel,

just implement a modal window with the contents of your helper. The  
background gets a mask that renders it unclickable until the modal  
window closes. If you have a web accessible path to you helper app  
then you can supply the window with a URL to use as the contents. They  
will also have an onClose handler that you can use to perform your  
refresh/redirect. Many JS frameworks around can do this, but trunk is  
now using jqModal, so you might be best using that one. Thickbox is  
also great.


cheers,
Steve

---
Steve Swinsburg
Portal Systems Developer
Centre for e-Science
Lancaster University
Lancaster
LA1 4YT

email: s.swinsburg at lancaster.ac.uk
phone: +44 (0) 1524 594870

On 19/03/2009, at 5:52 PM, Daniel McCallum wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I have a requirement to render a helper tool in what amounts to
> full-window mode. That is, the helper tool is launched in such a way
> that it hides the portal's site and page navigation so that only the
> helper's UI is clickable.
>
> Is there a canonical way to meet such a requirement?
>
> This is Sakai 2.5.x. The tool launching the helper is rendered in an
> iframe. Both the launching tool and helper tool are SpringMVC+JSP.
>
> Here's my idea...
>
> 1) Custom portal handler or markup which generates crippled portal
> chrome around the normal output (tool iframe) of /portal/page.
>
> 2) JS link in launching tool which directs the portal frame to
> /portal/[my-handler]/{pageId}?toolstate-{toolId}={toolState} where
> {toolState} triggers rendering of the helper.
>
> 3) On helper completion, redirect to value of Tool.HELPER_DONE_URL as
> usual. That URL serves a response which fires a client-side redirect  
> of
> the portal frame to an uncrippled state with appropriate tool state  
> info
> ... e.g. a /portal/directtool/{toolstate} or
> /portal/site/{siteId}/{pageId}?{toolstate}
>
> All of this seems much more difficult to get right than simply using
> "inline" helpers as usual or just popping out a separate window. Am I
> missing a simpler option. Am I over-worried about seen or unforeseen
> pitfalls?
>
> Thank you.
>
> - Dan McCallum
> Unicon, Inc
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