3.7.3.2 Graphic Objects

Graphic-objs

Graphic objects can be created by the Origin user and placed in an Origin child window. These objects include labels, arrows, lines, and other user-created graphic elements. These objects are accessed from script by their name, as defined on Programming tab of Object Properties dialog. In versions before Origin 2017, it's called Programming Control dialog box.

To open the dialog box, use one of these methods:

• Click on the object to select it, then choose Format: Object Properties... menu. In versions before Origin 2017, it's called Format: Programming Control.
• Right Click on the Object and select Properties.... Then go to Programming tab. In versions before Origin 2017, there is Programming Control context menu.
• Alt+DoubleClick on the object.

Scripts can be attached to these labels by typing the script into the text box of the Programming tab of the dialog box. The Script execution trigger is set from the Script, Run After drop-down list.

In general, only named objects can be accessed from LabTalk script. However, an unnamed object can be accessed by a script from Programming tab of the dialog using this. notation, as described below.

GObject Variable Type

GObject is a LabTalk variable type to represent graphic objects in a layer. You can use Label -r objectName command to delete it.

The general syntax is:

GObject name = [GraphPageName]LayerName!ObjectName; // Use page name, layer name, object name

GObject name = [GraphPageName]LayerIndex!ObjectName; // Use page name, layer number, object name

GObject name = LayerName!ObjectName; // Active page, use layer name, object name

GObject name = LayerIndex!ObjectName; // Active page, use layer number, object name

GObject name = ObjectName; // Active page, active layer, use object name

You can declare GObject variables for both existing objects as well as for not-yet created object.

For example:

// Here we declare a GObject then create its Graphic Object.
win -t plot;          // Create a graph window

// Declare a GObject named myLine attached to 'line1'
GObject myLine = line1; 
// Now create the object (list o shows 'line1')
draw -n myLine -lm {1,2,3,4}; 
win -t plot;          // Create a new graph window

// Even though myLine is in a different graph that is not active, 
// You can still control it with the GObject name ...
myLine.X += 2; // Move the line

label -r myLine; //Delete the object 

// More often the Graphic Object exists already
GObject leg = legend; // Attach to the legend object
leg.fsize = 28; // Set font size to 28
leg.color = color(blue); // Set text color to blue
leg.background = 0; // Turn off the surrounding box

Note: A list o with the original graph active will show line1 which is the physical object name, but will not show myLine which is a programming construct.

Properties

The generic properties of these objects are listed below. Not all properties apply to all objects. For example, the text property does not apply to a Line object.

Syntax

[winName!]objName.property = value;

or

this.property = value;

• WinName! is required if a Graphic Object exists in a non-active page. It specifies the window that the named object resides in. The layer the object resides in must be the active layer of that page. When using a declared GObject, WinName is never needed.

• objName is the object's name, as shown in the Object Name text box in the Object Properties dialog box or the name of a declared GObject variable.

• Property is one of the available objName properties.

Run objectName.= to see almost all properties of the object.

General Properties

_title.box=80 //set title box width to 80% of layer width. 
_title.box=1 //Powerpoint/Word like text box but can drag the handles around box to resize it.  
_title.box=0 //old text object. The size of text box can’t be very precise, It will be decided by wrap result.

Rect.order=hex(42)

Rect.order=hex(111)

Rect.order=hex(003)

Examples

• Position the legend in the upper left of a layer

legend.background = 1;
legend.y = layer1.y.to - legend.dy / 2;
legend.x = layer1.x.from + legend.dx / 2;

• Change colors of a circle object named circle1

// First of all, create a circle object on a graph
// then rename it to "circle1" for the two lines script below
circle1.color = 1; // Black border
circle1.fillcolor = color(yellow); // Yellow fill

• Obtain the source graph name of the floating graph object, this assumes the floating graph object is named as "bmp" and is in the active worksheet.

// bmp.type$ returns "Embedded Graph: [GraphName]"
// GraphName is the actual name of the source graph
// the following script can be used to retrieve GraphName from bmp.type$  
%A = %[%(bmp.type$), >18];
ty %[%A, %[%A]];//Should print out the value of GraphName

Note: Substring Notation is used to retrieve GraphName.

• Copy xy coordinates of object "polyline" to worksheet.

polyline.getXY([Book1]1!A, [Book1]1!B);

• Position object "Rect1" using coordinates from XY worksheet columns.

draw -n Rect1 -b; // draw object Rect1
Rect1.setXY(Book1_A, Book1_B); // assign coordinates in Book1_A(X), Book1_B(Y)

• Clip image

win -t plot;
string strInitPath$=system.path.program$+"Samples\Image Processing and Analysis";
dlgfile g:="*.jpg" m:=1 init:=strInitPath$;
int nn=fname.GetNumTokens(CRLF);
int cleft=50, ctop=30, cright=150, cbottom=130;
for(int ii = 1; ii <= nn; ii++) {
	string strf$ = fname.GetToken(ii, CRLF)$;
	string strGr$;
	insertImg2g fname:= strf$ type:=IMG xyp:=page oname:=strGr$;
	GObject gr = strGr$;
	gr.Crop$="$(cleft) $(ctop) $(cright) $(cbottom)"; //Clipping
	int nx = ii*page.width/5;
	int ny = 1000;
	gr.PageRect$="$(nx) $(ny) $(nx+600) $(ny + 600)";
}

• add a Distance Annotation on Graph1

//make sure graph1 is active
rangefinder.value=;

Selected Object Properties

The basic properties of the selected graphic object can be controlled using the syntax:

s.property = value;

The available properties are listed below.

Properties

For example, you can use

s.size = 50;

to control the size of a text object if it is selected. .

Methods

The generic methods of these objects are listed below. Not all methods apply to all objects. For example, the addtext method does not apply to a Line object.

Syntax

[winName!]objName.Method(arguments)

or

this.Method(argument)

• WinName! is required if a Graphic Object exists in a non-active page. It specifies the window that the named object resides in. The layer the object resides in must be the active layer of that page. When using a declared GObject, WinName is never needed.

• objName is the object's name, as shown in the Object Name text box in the Programming Control dialog box or the name of a declared GObject variable.

• Method is one of the available objName methods.

• arguments are specific to the method.

Run objectName.()= to see all methods of the object.

General Methods

Examples

• Append text.

// Declare a string variable and assign a value
string stringVariable$ = " (modified)";
// Assign a value to a string register (A)
// Note how new line is contained in the value
%A = "
Final";
// Now add various text to an existing object named 'text'
text.addtext("%(stringVariable$)");
text.addtext("%(CRLF)Data passes all tests");
text.addtext(A); // No quotes and no % needed for string register
// And force it to refresh
text.draw();

Note : %(CRLF) is a substitution notation that adds a DOS new line (Carriage Return, Line Feed) to a declared or literal string.

• Simulate a click on the nth hot spot of the object. Multiple hot spots are a feature of UIM objects.

object.click(n);

• Redraw the object. Option = local to redraw hot spots. Option = global to redraw the entire object.

object.draw(option);

• Run the script of the object.

object.run();

• crop the image

string strInitPath$=system.path.program$+"Samples\Image Processing and Analysis";
dlgfile g:="*.jpg" m:=1 init:=strInitPath$;
int nn=fname.GetNumTokens(CRLF);
int cleft=50, ctop=30, cright=150, cbottom=130;
for(int ii = 1; ii <= nn; ii++) {
	string strf$ = fname.GetToken(ii, CRLF)$;
	string strGr$;
	insertImg2g fname:= strf$ type:=IMG xyp:=page oname:=strGr$;
	GObject gr = strGr$;
	if(gr.Crop($(cleft) $(ctop) $(cright) $(cbottom)) == 0) {
		int nx = ii*page.width/5;
		int ny = 1000;
		gr.PageRect$="$(nx) $(ny) $(nx+600) $(ny + 600)";
	}
}

Connect Method

Graphic Objects may be connected using the connect method with various options controlling the connection behavior and displaying an optional connection line.

Note that a "relative position" method was added for Origin 2022b, for connecting a target text object with a source drawn object. This method adds to the previous "connect" method but note that "relative position" requires certain values of dwRigid (>= 17), nTargetRefPt (= 0), and nSourceRefPt (>= 26). The GUI objects Distance Annotation and Asterisk Bracket (Tools toolbar) are added by this method when @URPC = 1 (default).

Syntax

sourceObject.Connect(targetObject, bVisible, dwRigid, nTargetRefPt, nSourceRefPt)

• sourceObject can be an object name or a GObject variable.
• sourceObject.Connect(targetObject) returns the UID of the connector.

Parameters

Examples

// using GObject variables
// activate a graph with two layers
// each layer has one text object with the same name
GObject aa = [Graph1]1!text;
GObject bb = [Graph1]2!text;
bb.Connect(aa,1);

// using object names
// on a graph, create a text object named "myTextLabel"
// and a line object named "myLine"
myTextLabel.Connect(myLine,0);

// using GObject variable and object name
// on layer 1 of graph, create a text object named "myTextLabel"
// and a line object named "myLine"
GObject aa = [Graph1]1!myTextLabel;
aa.Connect(myLine,0);

// create a line plot on layer 1 of the active graph, 
//and add a text object 
GObject aa = 1!text;
range rr = 1!1;
aa.Connect(rr,1,1,3);

// relative position method
// assume two objects named “rect“ and “text“
// attach text to left bottom corner of rectangle
rect.connect(text, 0, 17, 0, 26);

GetConnected method

One graphic object can get all its connected graphic objects by this method.

See also: label command

Syntax

graphicObject.GetConnected(stringArray, option=0)

• graphicObject can be an object name or a GObject variable.

Return Value

Return the number of connected graphic objects. If there are no connected graphic objects, it will return zero.

Parameters

Example

// using GObject variables
GObject go = [Graph1]1!text;
StringArray sa; 
numObjs = go.GetConnected(sa);

// using object names, recursively
StringArray sa;
numObjs = myLine.GetConnected(sa, 1);

// get names of connected graphic objects
StringArray sa;
numObjs = myLine.GetConnected(sa,1);
if(numObjs>0)  // if has connected objects
{
	for(int iObj=1; iObj<=numObjs; iObj++)  // output connected object name
	{
		string str$ = sa.GetAt(iObj)$;  // get name
		type %(str$);  // type name
	}
}

General Examples

• This script disables horizontal movement for the Arrow object in the Graph2 window.

Graph2!Arrow.hmove = 0;

• When entered in the Script window, the next script prints the X and Y coordinates of the center of the Button object to the Script window.

Button.x =;
Button.y =;

• The following script runs the script associated with an object named Mode in the Graph1 window.

Graph1!mode.run();

• The last script uses the draw() method to redraw the WksData object in the Data2 window.

Data2!WksData.draw(global);