05.09.2008
Eclipse RCP recipes: Automatically switch to a preferred perspective
For some RCP applications it might make sense to automatically switch the perspective when a particular view or editor part is activated. This recipe enables parts to declare a preferred perspective programmatically and uses a PartListener to automatically switch to the right perspective upon part activation.
Add the IPrefersPerspective interface to your application. This interface can be implemented by your parts to declare its preferred perspective:
/*******************************************************************************
* Copyright (c) 2008, Ralf Ebert
* All rights reserved.
*
* Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
* modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
* * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
* * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
* documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
* * Neither the name of Ralf Ebert nor the names of its contributors may
* be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without
* specific prior written permission.
*
* THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY Ralf Ebert ''AS IS'' AND ANY
* EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
* WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
* DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL Ralf Ebert BE LIABLE FOR ANY
* DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
* (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
* LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND
* ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
* (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
* SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
*******************************************************************************/
package de.ralfebert.rcp.tools.preferredperspective;
/**
* Let Workbench parts implement this interface if you want
* {@link PreferredPerspectivePartListener} to automatically activate the
* preferred perspective on part activation.
*
* @author Ralf Ebert <info@ralfebert.de>
*/
public interface IPrefersPerspective {
/**
* @return the preferred perspective of this part or null if no perspective
* is preferred.
*/
String getPreferredPerspectiveId();
}
Add PreferredPerspectivePartListener to your application. This class is responsible for switching the perspective upon activation of a part implementing IPrefersPerspective.
/*******************************************************************************
* Copyright (c) 2008, Ralf Ebert
* All rights reserved.
*
* Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
* modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
* * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
* * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
* documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
* * Neither the name of Ralf Ebert nor the names of its contributors may
* be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without
* specific prior written permission.
*
* THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY Ralf Ebert ''AS IS'' AND ANY
* EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
* WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
* DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL Ralf Ebert BE LIABLE FOR ANY
* DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
* (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
* LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND
* ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
* (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
* SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
*******************************************************************************/
package de.ralfebert.rcp.tools.preferredperspective;
import java.util.logging.Logger;
import org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Display;
import org.eclipse.ui.IPartListener;
import org.eclipse.ui.IPerspectiveDescriptor;
import org.eclipse.ui.IStartup;
import org.eclipse.ui.IWorkbenchPart;
import org.eclipse.ui.IWorkbenchWindow;
import org.eclipse.ui.PlatformUI;
import org.eclipse.ui.WorkbenchException;
/**
* PreferredPerspectivePartListener is to be registered using the extension
* point "org.eclipse.ui.startup". It will register itself as listener for the
* activation of parts. When a part which implements IPrefersPerspective is
* activated it will activate the preferred perspective of this part.
*
* @author Ralf Ebert <info@ralfebert.de>
*/
public class PreferredPerspectivePartListener implements IPartListener, IStartup {
private static final Logger log = Logger.getLogger(PreferredPerspectivePartListener.class);
public void partActivated(IWorkbenchPart part) {
refresh(part);
}
public static void refresh(final IWorkbenchPart part) {
if (!(part instanceof IPrefersPerspective)) {
return;
}
final IWorkbenchWindow workbenchWindow = part.getSite().getPage().getWorkbenchWindow();
IPerspectiveDescriptor activePerspective = workbenchWindow.getActivePage().getPerspective();
final String preferredPerspectiveId = ((IPrefersPerspective) part)
.getPreferredPerspectiveId();
if (preferredPerspectiveId == null) {
return;
}
if (activePerspective == null || !activePerspective.getId().equals(preferredPerspectiveId)) {
// Switching of the perspective is delayed using Display.asyncExec
// because switching the perspective while the workbench is
// activating parts might cause conflicts.
Display.getCurrent().asyncExec(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
log.debug("Switching to preferred perspective " + preferredPerspectiveId
+ " for " + part.getClass());
try {
workbenchWindow.getWorkbench().showPerspective(preferredPerspectiveId,
workbenchWindow);
} catch (WorkbenchException e) {
log.warn("Could not switch to preferred perspective "
+ preferredPerspectiveId + " for " + part.getClass(), e);
}
}
});
}
}
public void earlyStartup() {
Display.getDefault().asyncExec(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
try {
PlatformUI.getWorkbench().getActiveWorkbenchWindow().getActivePage()
.addPartListener(new PreferredPerspectivePartListener());
} catch (Exception e) {
log.error(e.getMessage(), e);
}
}
});
}
public void partBroughtToTop(IWorkbenchPart part) {
// nothing to do
}
public void partClosed(IWorkbenchPart part) {
// nothing to do
}
public void partDeactivated(IWorkbenchPart part) {
// nothing to do
}
public void partOpened(IWorkbenchPart part) {
// nothing to do
}
}
This listener class implements IStartup, so it can register itself to the workbench. You only need to declare an extension to org.eclipse.ui.startup in your plugin.xml:
<extension point="org.eclipse.ui.startup">
<startup class="de.ralfebert.rcp.tools.preferredperspective.PreferredPerspectivePartListener"/>
</extension>
Let your view / editor classes implement IPrefersPerspective and return the perspective id of the preferred perspective:
!java
public class TestViewPart extends ViewPart
implements IPrefersPerspective {
/** regular view code here */
public String getPreferredPerspectiveId() {
return SomePerspective.ID;
}
}
