utils.listbox
Lua function

utils.listbox

Summary

Display a dialog box with choices in it in a single selection list box

Prototype

result = utils.listbox (msg, title, tbl, default)


Description

This displays a dialog box with a predetermined list of items for the user to choose from, in the form of a single-selection listbox. If the user cancels the dialog box, or does not make a selection, nil is returned. Otherwise the key of the selected item is returned.

There are three similar functions that have the same arguments:


  • utils.choose - displays a dialog box with a combo-box in it (drop-down list)
  • utils.listbox - displays a dialog box with a list control in it - single selection
  • utils.multilistbox - displays a dialog box with a list control in it - multiple selections allowed


The utils.listbox function would be more suitable for longer lists, but that is probably partly personal preference.

The utils.multilistbox function allows multiple selections, so this is useful when you want the user to be able to select multiple items.

The calling sequence is:


result = utils.listbox ( msg, title, t, default )


The only required arguments are the message text and the table of choices (t).


  • msg = message to display (max 1000 characters)
  • title = title of box - if nil, defaults to "MUSHclient" (max 100 characters)
  • t - table of key/value pairs, as described below
  • default = default key - defaults to no selection


Return value = the key of what they selected, or nil if cancelled, or nothing selected.

The third argument is a table of key/value pairs. The value is displayed, however the corresponding key is returned. The values are automatically sorted into ascending alphabetic order.

The fourth argument is the key (string or number) which corresponds to the wanted default selection. If it does not correspond to any key in the table then no item will be selected. For no default selection just pass nil as the default.

Example:



print (utils.listbox ("Your favourite", "Foods ...", { "apples", "bananas", "peaches", "cream" } ))


Possible returned values would be:


  • nil - if no choice made or dialog cancelled
  • 1 - apples chosen
  • 2 - bananas chosen
  • 3 - peaches chosen
  • 4 - cream chosen


(Note that peaches would actually be shown 4th in the list as the list is sorted).

To convert from the key back to the value, simply index into your table. Eg.




t = { "apples", "bananas", "peaches", "cream" } 
result = utils.listbox ("Your favourite", "Foods ...", t)

if result then
  print ("You chose", t [result])
else
  print "Nothing chosen"
end -- if




Keys and values can be either strings or numbers. MUSHclient will distinguish between strings and numbers which are the same (eg. "10" and 10 are considered different keys).

Here is an example of using string keys, and supplying a default choice:




t = { 
    fruit = "apple", 
    vegetable = "potato", 
    spice = "pepper", 
    herb = "parsley",
    } 
result = utils.listbox ("Choose a food", "Foods ...", t, "fruit")

if result then
  print ("You chose key", result, "which is", t [result])
else
  print "Nothing chosen"
end -- if




Possible returned values would be:


  • nil - if no choice made or dialog cancelled
  • "fruit" - apple chosen
  • "vegetable" - potato chosen
  • "spice" - pepper chosen
  • "herb" - parsley chosen



The return value will be one of the following types:



  • nil - if no selection made or dialog cancelled
  • string - if an item with a string key is selected
  • number - if an item with a numeric key is selected


See Also ...

Topics

DOC_lua_base Lua base functions
DOC_lua_bc Lua bc (big number) functions
DOC_lua_bit Lua bit manipulation functions
DOC_lua_coroutines Lua coroutine functions
DOC_lua_debug Lua debug functions
DOC_lua_io Lua io functions
DOC_lua_math Lua math functions
DOC_lua_os Lua os functions
DOC_lua_package Lua package functions
DOC_lua_rex Lua PCRE regular expression functions
DOC_lua Lua script extensions
DOC_lua_string Lua string functions
DOC_lua_tables Lua table functions
DOC_lua_utils Lua utilities
DOC_scripting Scripting

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LUA_utils.multilistbox utils.multilistbox (Display a dialog box with choices in it in a multiple selection list box)
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LUA_utils.spellcheckdialog utils.spellcheckdialog (Spell-checker dialog)
LUA_utils.split utils.split (Split a delimited string into a table)
LUA_utils.tohex utils.tohex (Convert a string into hex)
LUA_utils.utf8decode utils.utf8decode (Encodes a series of Unicode codes into a UTF-8 string)
LUA_utils.utf8encode utils.utf8encode (Encodes a series of Unicode codes into a UTF-8 string)
LUA_utils.utf8valid utils.utf8valid (Checks if a UTF-8 string is valid)
LUA_utils.xmlread utils.xmlread (Parses an XML string into a nested table)

(Help topic: lua=utils.listbox)

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