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    PythonScript Toggleable Script?

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    • John Doe 1J
      John Doe 1 @Alan Kilborn
      last edited by

      @alan-kilborn I figured out how to have the Script remember if it was toggled on or off after execution. I did this by writing to a text file to store data indicating what toggle the script was set to. This way the script can “remember” what it was set to by opening up that text file at the beginning of each execution.

      Alan KilbornA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • Alan KilbornA
        Alan Kilborn @John Doe 1
        last edited by

        @john-doe-1

        Well…OK.
        But how does that solve the problem of how to have a mode where you don’t have to hold Shift+Alt while making a column block selection?

        John Doe 1J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • John Doe 1J
          John Doe 1 @Alan Kilborn
          last edited by

          @alan-kilborn I used the keyboard library which is 100% pure Python so I was able to just drop it in the PythonScript/lib folder to utilize it. From there I used the keyboard.press and keyboard.release functions to press and release Alt (turns out I just have to hold Alt to use column select not Alt and Shift).

          I do have one minor concern with how my script is working though which is that if the user closes out Notepad++ without toggling my script to off, the Alt key remains to be held even when Notepad++ is closed for some reason, is there a way I can detect when the user closes Notepad++ to account for this?

          Alan KilbornA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • Alan KilbornA
            Alan Kilborn @John Doe 1
            last edited by

            @john-doe-1 said in PythonScript Toggleable Script?:

            I used the keyboard library which is 100% pure Python so I was able to just drop it in the PythonScript/lib folder to utilize it. From there I used the keyboard.press and keyboard.release functions to press and release Alt.

            This is, IMO, a bad way to do this.
            Doesn’t this cut off the Alt key from functionally being part of any shortcuts that use it?
            And doesn’t it neuter its functionality in dialog boxes (e.g. Find) where Alt can be used in combination with other keys to activate controls, e.g., Alt+c toggles the current setting for the Match case checkbox.
            And lastly, Alt+f will activate the File menu, etc.
            Sure…I suppose if you never use these things…

            (turns out I just have to hold Alt to use column select not Alt and Shift)

            I don’t know what this means.
            Alt alone only works to column-select when used with the mouse, not the keyboard.

            is there a way I can detect when the user closes Notepad++

            A shutdown notification can be configured via NOTIFICATION.SHUTDOWN.

            Alan KilbornA 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • Alan KilbornA
              Alan Kilborn @Alan Kilborn
              last edited by

              @alan-kilborn said in PythonScript Toggleable Script?:

              Doesn’t this cut off the Alt key from functionally being part of any shortcuts that use it?
              And doesn’t it neuter its functionality in dialog boxes (e.g. Find) where Alt can be used in combination with other keys to activate controls, e.g., Alt+c toggles the current setting for the Match case checkbox.
              And lastly, Alt+f will activate the File menu, etc.

              Actually, I think my brain was totally out to lunch with this reply.
              I think it plays to the fact that I have no idea what the OP is trying to accomplish here.
              I suppose it works logically if you enter this “special mode”, then all you do is make arrow and shift+arrow movements, but if you want to insert a character somewhere, would it be registered as Alt+t if you press t, with the OP’s method.
              But, I really don’t know, at all. :-(

              John Doe 1J 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • John Doe 1J
                John Doe 1 @Alan Kilborn
                last edited by John Doe 1

                @alan-kilborn Edit

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • John Doe 1J
                  John Doe 1 @Alan Kilborn
                  last edited by

                  @alan-kilborn @alan-kilborn Sorry input was being weird had to edit this reply. You make some good points, yes the holding of the “Alt” key does present some issues, most of them minor and not a problem for my uses. Except for inserting the “t” character and it being registed as “Alt” + “t” which would switch windows (depending on your configurations), that is a bit more of an issue. Do you have any ideas of an alternate way to achieve this? Thanks for your help so far!

                  PeterJonesP Alan KilbornA 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • PeterJonesP
                    PeterJones @John Doe 1
                    last edited by

                    @john-doe-1 ,

                    If your goal is to have the “alt” key behave as “sticky”, Windows OS has an accessibility feature (“ease of access - keyboard”) for that.

                    https://www.google.com/search?q=windows+10+sticky+alt+key =>
                    https://winaero.com/turn-on-or-off-sticky-keys-in-windows-10/ or https://www.howtogeek.com/739764/how-to-turn-off-sticky-keys-on-windows-10/ or …

                    No need to highjack the Alt key or any such thing.

                    John Doe 1J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • John Doe 1J
                      John Doe 1 @PeterJones
                      last edited by John Doe 1

                      @peterjones Thanks but I wanted to make it a toolbar icon attached to a PythonScript, I realize the same function can be achieved with Keyboard Shortcuts and Sticky Keys but having a toolbar icon is just my personal preference.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • Alan KilbornA
                        Alan Kilborn @John Doe 1
                        last edited by

                        @john-doe-1 said in PythonScript Toggleable Script?:

                        Do you have any ideas of an alternate way to achieve this?

                        Yes, here’s a demo script I call RectangularSelectModeToggle.py. Each time it is run (hint: you can tie the running of it to a toolbar button) it toggles the shift+arrows selection functionality between selecting normal (what’s called a stream selection) and a selecting a column block (called rectangular selection). The “Alt” key is not involved. The script is fairly “low level”, and not a short one.

                        # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
                        from __future__ import print_function
                        
                        from Npp import *
                        import inspect
                        import os
                        import ctypes
                        from ctypes import wintypes
                        import platform
                        
                        #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        
                        user32 = ctypes.WinDLL('user32')
                        
                        notepad.hwnd = user32.FindWindowW(u'Notepad++', None)
                        editor1.hwnd = user32.FindWindowExW(notepad.hwnd, None, u'Scintilla', None)
                        editor2.hwnd = user32.FindWindowExW(notepad.hwnd, editor1.hwnd, u'Scintilla', None)
                        
                        LRESULT = wintypes.LPARAM
                        
                        WndProcType = ctypes.WINFUNCTYPE(
                            LRESULT,  # return type
                            wintypes.HWND, wintypes.UINT, wintypes.WPARAM, wintypes.LPARAM  # arguments
                            )
                        
                        running_32bit = platform.architecture()[0] == '32bit'
                        
                        SetWindowLong = user32.SetWindowLongW if running_32bit else user32.SetWindowLongPtrW
                        SetWindowLong.restype = WndProcType
                        SetWindowLong.argtypes = [wintypes.HWND, wintypes.INT, WndProcType]
                        
                        GWL_WNDPROC = -4
                        
                        WM_KEYDOWN    = 0x100
                        WM_KEYUP      = 0x101
                        WM_SYSKEYDOWN = 0x104
                        WM_SYSKEYUP   = 0x105
                        WM_KILLFOCUS  = 0x8
                        
                        VK_SHIFT         = 0x10
                        VK_CONTROL       = 0x11
                        VK_MENU = VK_ALT = 0x12
                        
                        VK_LEFT  = 0x25
                        VK_UP    = 0x26
                        VK_RIGHT = 0x27
                        VK_DOWN  = 0x28
                        
                        #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        
                        class RSMT(object):
                        
                            def __init__(self):
                        
                                self.debug = True if 1 else False
                        
                                self.this_script_name = inspect.getframeinfo(inspect.currentframe()).filename.split(os.sep)[-1].rsplit('.', 1)[0]
                        
                                self.shift_pressed = self.ctrl_pressed = self.alt_pressed = False
                        
                                self.altless_rectangular_select_mode_active = False
                                # if this mode is active, user doesn't have to hold Alt while pressing Shift+arrows in order to make a rectangular selection
                        
                                self.new_editor1_wnd_proc_hook_for_SetWindowLong = WndProcType(self.new_editor1_wnd_proc_hook)
                                self.orig_editor1_wnd_proc = SetWindowLong(editor1.hwnd, GWL_WNDPROC, self.new_editor1_wnd_proc_hook_for_SetWindowLong)
                        
                                self.new_editor2_wnd_proc_hook_for_SetWindowLong = WndProcType(self.new_editor2_wnd_proc_hook)
                                self.orig_editor2_wnd_proc = SetWindowLong(editor2.hwnd, GWL_WNDPROC, self.new_editor2_wnd_proc_hook_for_SetWindowLong)
                        
                            def common_editor_wnd_proc_hook(self, hwnd, msg, wParam, lParam):
                        
                                retval = True  # default to allowing something other than this code to handle this message
                        
                                if msg in [WM_KEYDOWN, WM_SYSKEYDOWN]:
                        
                                    if   wParam == VK_SHIFT:   self.shift_pressed = True
                                    elif wParam == VK_CONTROL: self.ctrl_pressed  = True
                                    elif wParam == VK_ALT:     self.alt_pressed   = True
                        
                                    elif wParam in [ VK_LEFT, VK_UP, VK_RIGHT, VK_DOWN ]:
                        
                                        modifiers = ''
                                        modifiers += 'SHIFT+' if self.shift_pressed else ''
                                        modifiers += 'CTRL+'  if self.ctrl_pressed  else ''
                                        modifiers += 'ALT+'   if self.alt_pressed   else ''
                                        key = ''
                                        key += 'LEFT'  if wParam == VK_LEFT  else ''
                                        key += 'UP'    if wParam == VK_UP    else ''
                                        key += 'RIGHT' if wParam == VK_RIGHT else ''
                                        key += 'DOWN'  if wParam == VK_DOWN  else ''
                                        self.print(modifiers + key)
                        
                                        if self.altless_rectangular_select_mode_active:
                        
                                            if self.shift_pressed and not self.ctrl_pressed and not self.alt_pressed:
                        
                                                retval = False  # allow no further processing of this message; it will be handled here
                        
                                                if wParam   == VK_LEFT:  editor.charLeftRectExtend()
                                                elif wParam == VK_UP:    editor.lineUpRectExtend()
                                                elif wParam == VK_RIGHT: editor.charRightRectExtend()
                                                elif wParam == VK_DOWN:  editor.lineDownRectExtend()
                        
                                elif msg in [WM_KEYUP, WM_SYSKEYUP]:
                        
                                    if wParam   == VK_SHIFT:   self.shift_pressed = False
                                    elif wParam == VK_CONTROL: self.ctrl_pressed  = False
                                    elif wParam == VK_ALT:     self.alt_pressed   = False
                        
                                elif msg == WM_KILLFOCUS:
                        
                                    self.shift_pressed = self.ctrl_pressed = self.alt_pressed = False
                        
                                return retval
                        
                            def new_editor1_wnd_proc_hook(self, hwnd, msg, wParam, lParam):
                                retval = self.common_editor_wnd_proc_hook(hwnd, msg, wParam, lParam)
                                if retval: retval = self.orig_editor1_wnd_proc(hwnd, msg, wParam, lParam)
                                return retval
                        
                            def new_editor2_wnd_proc_hook(self, hwnd, msg, wParam, lParam):
                                retval = self.common_editor_wnd_proc_hook(hwnd, msg, wParam, lParam)
                                if retval: retval = self.orig_editor2_wnd_proc(hwnd, msg, wParam, lParam)
                                return retval
                        
                            def toggle(self):
                                editor.setEmptySelection(editor.getCurrentPos())
                                self.altless_rectangular_select_mode_active = not self.altless_rectangular_select_mode_active
                                self.mb('Alt-less column select mode is now {}'.format('active' if self.altless_rectangular_select_mode_active else 'inactive'))
                        
                            def print(self, *args):
                                if self.debug:
                                    #console.show()
                                    print('RSMT:', *args)
                        
                            def mb(self, msg, flags=0, title=''):  # a message-box function
                                return notepad.messageBox(msg, title if title else self.this_script_name, flags)
                        
                        #-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        
                        if __name__ == '__main__':
                            try:
                                rsmt
                            except NameError:
                                rsmt = RSMT()
                            rsmt.toggle()
                        
                        John Doe 1J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • Alan KilbornA Alan Kilborn referenced this topic on
                        • John Doe 1J
                          John Doe 1 @Alan Kilborn
                          last edited by

                          @alan-kilborn Thanks for that! I still would like to know how to check if Notepad++ is closed or tabbed out of for future projects. Is there a function from Notepad, Editor or somewhere that can return whether or not Notepad++ is the active window? I would like to remedy this issue in my Script for satisfaction’s sake.

                          Alan KilbornA PeterJonesP 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • Alan KilbornA
                            Alan Kilborn @John Doe 1
                            last edited by

                            @john-doe-1 said in PythonScript Toggleable Script?:

                            check if Notepad++ is closed

                            You scan do this with NOTIFICATION.SHUTDOWN in a notepad.callback. To see how this works if you don’t know, type notepad.callback into the editor and then invoke PythonScript’s context-sensitive help on it.

                            There’s also SCINTILLANOTIFICATION.FOCUSOUT which you could experiment with to see if it meets your needs. That one is an editor.callback.

                            can return whether or not Notepad++ is the active window?

                            I suppose you could try things with the windows API function GetForegroundWindow.

                            John Doe 1J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                            • PeterJonesP
                              PeterJones @John Doe 1
                              last edited by

                              @john-doe-1 ,

                              Your paradigm is BAD and causing you problems.

                              Try this script out for size:

                              # encoding=utf-8
                              """in response to https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/topic/22890/ and 22919
                              
                              alternate paradigm
                              """
                              from Npp import notepad, editor, SELECTIONMODE, STATUSBARSECTION
                              
                              try:
                                  columnSelectMode
                                  startPos
                                  endPos
                              except NameError:
                                  #console.show()
                                  console.write('initialize toggle mode for the first time\n')
                                  columnSelectMode = False
                                  startPos = None
                                  endPos = None
                              
                              if not columnSelectMode:
                                  startPos = editor.getCurrentPos()
                                  endPos = startPos
                                  notepad.setStatusBar(STATUSBARSECTION.DOCTYPE, "In Rectangle/Column Selection Mode")
                              
                              else:
                                  endPos = editor.getCurrentPos()
                                  editor.setSel(startPos, endPos)
                                  editor.setSelectionMode( SELECTIONMODE.RECTANGLE )
                              
                                  # this overrides the statusbar.. but the refresh UI will overwrite that with default
                                  notepad.setStatusBar(STATUSBARSECTION.DOCTYPE, "")
                              
                                  # use the upcoming activateFile to refresh UI
                                  #   otherwise, it doesn't _look_ like column/rectangle select)
                                  notepad.activateFile(notepad.getCurrentFilename())
                              
                              columnSelectMode = not columnSelectMode
                              
                              #console.show()
                              #console.write("toggle selection mode to {}: {} .. {}\n".format(columnSelectMode, startPos, endPos))
                              
                              John Doe 1J 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • PeterJonesP PeterJones referenced this topic on
                              • John Doe 1J
                                John Doe 1 @PeterJones
                                last edited by

                                @peterjones the statement:

                                editor.setSelectionMode( SELECTIONMODE.RECTANGLE )

                                doesn’t seem to work, I tested it in a simple script with nothing else going on and this makes no changes to the selection mode, I’ve no idea why.

                                PeterJonesP 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • PeterJonesP
                                  PeterJones @John Doe 1
                                  last edited by PeterJones

                                  @john-doe-1 ,

                                  That’s what I thought at first. But when I triggered the refresh (the activate file line), it updated and showed that it really did change what was shown to be the rectangle – that’s why I included that line in the script, and included comments to say it was needed to get it to show it’s a rectangle.

                                  You can also tell that it was rectangle by just doing the editor.getSelectionMode() which returns a 1 (IIRC) for rectangle, or just do the copy then paste in the new location, and see it only grabbed the rectangle, not the full lines. Actually, I first saw it was working when I swapped to another tab and then back, and saw it was suddenly a rectangle instead of the stream it looked like.

                                  John Doe 1J Alan KilbornA 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                  • John Doe 1J
                                    John Doe 1 @PeterJones
                                    last edited by

                                    @peterjones Thank you, I saw your reply to my other post also. My apologies, I’ll delete it and refrain from that in the future.

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • Alan KilbornA
                                      Alan Kilborn @PeterJones
                                      last edited by

                                      @peterjones said in PythonScript Toggleable Script?:

                                      editor.getSelectionMode() which returns a 1 (IIRC) for rectangle

                                      That is indeed correct, and this is also available returning True/False: editor.selectionIsRectangle()

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                      • PeterJonesP
                                        PeterJones @John Doe 1
                                        last edited by

                                        @john-doe-1 ,

                                        Since it apparently confused others, I will be more explicit about the example I gave above: it has a slightly different usage model than your explain seems to imply. If we read your usage model correctly, you want to have this script toggle the “column” mode, and you are then using shift+arrows to make the block selection live.

                                        In my script, I figured: if you don’t want to faff around with ALT, then also don’t faff around with SHIFT. My usage model (for the script shown above) is “run script to start the column/rectangle selection; move cursor (either normal arrow or just click, since you’re already clicking the script on the toolbar); run script to end column/rectangle selection and then refresh the display so it looks like a column selection”.

                                        But if you or your users insist on holding down the SHIFT, my script (above) will also work for that – it will look like a normal selection until the end when you run the script the second time, then it will convert the selection from normal to rectangular.

                                        Which means, really, the script could be simplified to just run

                                        from Npp import editor, notepad, SELECTIONMODE
                                        editor.setSelectionMode(SELECTIONMODE.RECTANGLE)
                                        notepad.activateFile(notepad.getCurrentFilename())
                                        

                                        Then the usage model would be “1) move your cursor to the start of where you want to select (via mouse or keyboard); 2) SHIFT+arrow or SHIFT+click to draw a normal selection; 3) run the script to convert the normal selection to a rectangle/column selection”. Fewer clicks. Call the script “convert active selection to rectangle” and be done with it.

                                        PeterJonesP 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • PeterJonesP
                                          PeterJones @PeterJones
                                          last edited by PeterJones

                                          @john-doe-1

                                          So here are some example screenshot-videos of using the two

                                          I assigned the ⇅ button to the “toggle” (the post that has the script with "alternate paradigm" in the comments).

                                          For the ⇅ , I record the sequence

                                          1. start selection with a click
                                          2. click the ⇅ button to start the rectangle/column selection
                                          3. end selection with a click
                                          4. click the ⇅ button to end the rectangle/column selection, and convert it to visually be a rectangle selection
                                          5. start new selection with a click
                                          6. click the ⇅ button to start the rectangle/column selection
                                          7. extend new selection with SHIFT+arrow
                                          8. click the ⇅ button to end the rectangle/column selection, and convert it to visually be a rectangle selection

                                          You will see that the status bar reflects the correct state of when you have clicked ⇅ the first time (so the script is in “active” mode), and that it clears itself when you do the second ⇅ (so it’s converted)

                                          ---------------------

                                          a1fa538a-4877-4745-ae14-de90d27d0b9d-image.png I assigned the other button to the “simplest” – the three-line version shown in my later post.

                                          For the a1fa538a-4877-4745-ae14-de90d27d0b9d-image.png , I recorded the sequence

                                          1. start the selection with a click
                                          2. extend the selection with SHIFT+ARROW
                                          3. convert the selection to rectangular by calling the 🛈 script

                                          This doesn’t show the status, because the button is a one-time thing, not a “in the active mode” thing.

                                          Either should work. Both avoid any low-level programming or callbacks – they just use standard, simple PythonScript calls.

                                          The second has the benefit of being really simple, and doesn’t even need to save state. If you or your user want to convert a normal selection to rectangle, just click the button after making the selection. Don’t need to worry about the status bar. Easiest to use. Easiest to maintain. You can always decide to use that to change any stream selection into a rectangle, whether you were thinking “I need to select a rectangle” or not. Fewer clicks.

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                          • Alan KilbornA
                                            Alan Kilborn
                                            last edited by

                                            So…all this is great, but I really don’t see an advantage to it (the whole concept), and this is why:

                                            • if you’re a dedicated keyboardist, you’d have to dive for the mouse in order to hit the toolbar button to change the mode, spoiling being dedicated to the keyboard (where you could just add Alt to your Shift+arrows movement to get a column block).

                                            • if you’re not in love with keyboard-only actions, use the mouse to select text via click and drag; if you start this as a stream selection, you can add a press of Alt to it while you are dragging (can even just tap-n-release Alt) in order to change the selection to a column block type.

                                            But…people will want what they will want, and that’s ok. :-)

                                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
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