Add commands and gestures to layer diagrams

You can define context menu commands and gesture handlers on layer diagrams in Visual Studio. You can package these extensions into a Visual Studio Integration Extension (VSIX) that you can distribute to other Visual Studio users.

You can define several command and gesture handlers in the same Visual Studio project if you want. You can also combine several such projects into one VSIX. For example, you could define a single VSIX that includes layer commands, a domain-specific language, and commands for UML diagrams.

Requirements

See Requirements.

Defining a Command or Gesture in a New VSIX

The quickest method of creating an extension is to use the project template. This places the code and the VSIX manifest into the same project.

To define an extension by using a project template

1. Create a project in a new solution, by using the New Project command on the File menu.

2. In the New Project dialog box, under Modeling Projects, select either Layer Designer Command Extension or Layer Designer Gesture Extension.

   The template creates a project that contains a small working example.

3. To test the extension, press CTRL+F5 or F5.

   An experimental instance of Visual Studio starts. In this instance, create a layer diagram. Your command or gesture extension should work in this diagram.

4. Close the experimental instance and modify the sample code. For more information, see Navigate and update layer models in program code.

5. You can add more command or gesture handlers to the same project. For more information, see one of the following sections:

   Defining a Menu Command

   Defining a Gesture Handler

6. To install the extension in the main instance of Visual Studio, or on another computer, find the .vsix file in bin\. Copy it to the computer where you want to install it, and then double-click it. To uninstall it, use Extensions and Updates on the Tools menu.

Adding a Command or Gesture to a separate VSIX

If you want to create one VSIX that contains commands, layer validators, and other extensions, we recommend that you create one project to define the VSIX, and separate projects for the handlers. For information about other types of modeling extension, see Extend UML models and diagrams.

To add layer extensions to a separate VSIX

1. Create a Class Library project in a new or existing Visual Studio solution. In the New Project dialog box, click Visual C# and then click Class Library. This project will contain command or gesture handler classes.

   Note

   You can define more than one command or gesture handler class in one class library, but you should define layer validation classes in a separate class library.

2. Identify or create a VSIX project in your solution. A VSIX project contains a file that is named source.extension.vsixmanifest. To add a VSIX project:

   1. In the New Project dialog box, expand Visual C#, then click Extensibility, and then click VSIX Project.

   2. In Solution Explorer, right-click the VSIX project and then click Set as Startup Project.

   3. Click Select Editions and make sure that Visual Studio is checked.

3. In source.extension.vsixmanifest, under Assets, add the command or gesture handler project as a MEF component.

   1. In the Assets.tab, choose New.

   2. At Type, select Microsoft.VisualStudio.MefComponent.

   3. At Source, select Project in current solution and select the name of your command or gesture handler project.

   4. Save the file.

4. Return to the command or gesture handler project, and add the following project references.

1. Edit the class file in the C# class library project to contain the code for your extension. For more information, see one of the following sections:

   Defining a Menu Command

   Defining a Gesture Handler

   See also Navigate and update layer models in program code.

2. To test the feature, press CTRL+F5 or F5. An experimental instance of Visual Studio opens. In this instance, create or open a layer diagram.

3. To install the VSIX in the main instance of Visual Studio, or on another computer, find the .vsix file in the bin directory of the VSIX project. Copy it to the computer where you want to install the VSIX. Double-click the VSIX file in Windows Explorer (File Explorer in Windows 8).

   To uninstall it, use Extensions and Updates on the Tools menu.

Defining a Menu Command

You can add more menu command definitions to an existing gesture or command project. Each command is defined by a class that has the following characteristics:

• The class is declared as follows:

  [LayerDesignerExtension]

  [Export(typeof(ICommandExtension))]

  public class MyLayerCommand : ICommandExtension { ... }

• The namespace and the name of the class are unimportant.

• The methods that implement ICommandExtension are as follows:

  • string Text {get;} - The label that appears in the menu.

  • void QueryStatus(IMenuCommand command) - called when the user right-clicks the diagram, and determines whether the command should be visible and enabled for the user's current selection.

  • void Execute(IMenuCommand command) - called when the user selects the command.

• To determine the current selection, you can import IDiagramContext:

  [Import]

  public IDiagramContext DiagramContext { get; set; }

  ...

  DiagramContext.CurrentDiagram.SelectedShapes.Count()...

  For more information, see Navigate and update layer models in program code.

  To add a new command, create a new code file that contains the following sample. Then test and edit it.

using Microsoft.VisualStudio.ArchitectureTools.Extensibility.Layer;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.ArchitectureTools.Extensibility.Presentation;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.Modeling.Diagrams.ExtensionEnablement;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.Modeling.ExtensionEnablement;
using System.ComponentModel.Composition;
using System.Linq;

namespace MyLayerExtension // Change to your preference.
{
  // This is a feature for Layer diagrams:
  [LayerDesignerExtension]
  // This feature is a menu command:
  [Export(typeof(ICommandExtension))]
  // Change the class name to your preference:
  public class MyLayerCommand : ICommandExtension
  {
    [Import]
    public IDiagramContext DiagramContext { get; set; }

    [Import]
    public ILinkedUndoContext LinkedUndoContext { get; set; }

    // Menu command label:
    public string Text
    {
      get { return "Duplicate layers"; }
    }

    // Called when the user right-clicks the diagram.
    // Defines whether the command is visible and enabled.
    public void QueryStatus(IMenuCommand command)
    {
      command.Visible =
      command.Enabled = DiagramContext.CurrentDiagram
        .SelectedShapes.Count() > 0;
    }

    // Called when the user selects the command.
    public void Execute(IMenuCommand command)
    {
      // A selection of starting points:
      IDiagram diagram = this.DiagramContext.CurrentDiagram;
      ILayerModel lmodel = diagram.GetLayerModel();
      foreach (ILayer layer in lmodel.Layers)
      { // All layers in model.
      }
      // Updates should be performed in a transaction:
      using (ILinkedUndoTransaction t =
        LinkedUndoContext.BeginTransaction("copy selection"))
      {
        foreach (ILayer layer in
          diagram.SelectedShapes
            .Select(shape=>shape.GetLayerElement())
            .Where(element => element is ILayer))
        {
          ILayer copy = lmodel.CreateLayer(layer.Name + "+");
          // Position the shapes:
          IShape originalShape = layer.GetShape();
          copy.GetShape().Move(
            originalShape.XPosition + originalShape.Width * 1.2,
            originalShape.YPosition);
        }
        t.Commit();
      }
    }
  }
}

Defining a Gesture Handler

A gesture handler responds when the user drags items onto the layer diagram, and when the user double-clicks anywhere in the diagram.

To your existing command or gesture handler VSIX project, you can add a code file that defines a gesture handler:

using Microsoft.VisualStudio.ArchitectureTools.Extensibility.Layer;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.ArchitectureTools.Extensibility.Presentation;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.Modeling.Diagrams.ExtensionEnablement;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.Modeling.ExtensionEnablement;
using System.ComponentModel.Composition;
using System.Linq;
namespace MyLayerExtensions // change to your preference
{
  [LayerDesignerExtension]
  [Export(typeof(IGestureExtension))]
  public class MyLayerGestureHandler : IGestureExtension
  {
  }
}

Notice the following points about gesture handlers:

• The members of IGestureExtension are as follows:

  OnDoubleClick - called when the user double-clicks anywhere on the diagram.

  CanDragDrop - called repeatedly as the user moves the mouse while dragging an item onto the diagram. It must work quickly.

  OnDragDrop - called when the user drops an item onto the diagram.

• The first argument to each method is an IShape, from which you can get the layer element. For example:

  public void OnDragDrop(IShape target, IDataObject data)
  {
      ILayerElement element = target.GetLayerElement();
      if (element is ILayer)
      {
          // ...
      }
  }
  

• Handlers for some types of dragged item are already defined. For example, the user can drag items from Solution Explorer onto a layer diagram. You cannot define a drag handler for these types of item. In these cases, your DragDrop methods will not be invoked.

  For more information about how to decode other items when they are dragged onto the diagram, see Define a gesture handler on a modeling diagram.

See Also

Navigate and update layer models in program code Add custom architecture validation to layer diagrams Define and install a modeling extension