I'm seeking advice on the use of text fields in a shared cell.
Suppose I create a normal cell that contains text fields. When that cell is placed, I can programmatically hook up each text field with a property of a target element. The text field is associated with that target element. The text fields display the properties of that target element, and update automatically if those properties change. I can place multiple normal cell instances, each instance being associated with a different target element.
Suppose I want to place that same cell as a shared cell instance. What happens if I perform the same hook up? Does each shared cell instance break, because it's now changed from the shared cell definition? Or, can multiple instances of the same shared cell contain text fields that are associated with different host elements?
Jon Summers said:Does each shared cell instance break, because it's now changed from the shared cell definition? Or, can multiple instances of the same shared cell contain text fields that are associated with different host elements?
Jon, the shared cell instance isn't a complex element, the text elements are part of the shared cell definition. Every shared cell instance merely pushes a transform and optionally symbology overrides and then visits the same shared cell definition components...i.e. the same text fields are shared by every instance.
What tag elements do to support shared cells is to create a shared cell definition where every displayed non-constant value tag element is set to hidden in the shared cell definition (so that you still have the tags available when placing a new instance of the shared cell but won't be displayed normally). When you place an instance of this shared cell definition, the non-constant tag elements are extracted (made visible) and associated to the new shared cell instance.
Then you also have the complication of those shared cell symbology overrides I mentioned. The extracted/associated tag elements are still expected to display as if they are components of the shared cell definition, so that includes honoring those shared cell override and ByCell symbology.
Much easier just to stick with normal cells...
-B
Answer Verified By: Jon Summers