When you add a button node to your flow you have to go to the dashboard window to test its operability. To see the message flow in the debugger you have to go back to the design window.
This windows juggling can be very annoying at times. It would be nice to have the button clickable in design mode too, as the inject node does. BTW the button icon has a hand in its left part and the user expects this area would be clickable. Unfortunately it's not.
The button node is quite different from the inject node, because it has a flow input, whilst the inject node doesn't.
If a inject hotspot was added to the button node, then it would be difficult to also add a flow input connection, which would break all users exiting flows.
It's also very easy & quick to simulate a button click, just add an inject node to the button node, and tick the node config option If msg arrives on input, emulate a button click. That would simulate a button click.
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Hi Paul-Reed,
thank you for your explanation about the differences between a button and an inject node. As a matter of fact I'm already using the trick you suggest of linking an inject node to simulate a button click. However it's a nuisance for me, because you lose time in adding and later deleting this node just for the sake of debugging.
I still do not grasp why a "button click" message sent form an inject node couldn't be emulated internally by clicking in the left hotspot . A click in this area would simply send the same "button click" message sent by the inject node.
OK we can live without that and there is a workaround, but I'm still convinced that it would be greatly appreciated and useful when prototyping and debugging button nodes.
I understand your user case, but there doesn't appear to be much support for this feature, as I haven't seen any other similar requests, or even comments in this thread.
I'm assuming that most users, like me, would simply add an inject node.
However, it's maybe something that the development team can consider in the future, especially as more interactive features are slowly creeping into the editor functionality.
Would you also want to be able to do it for a ui-switch node, ui-text node, numeric, slider etc?
Hi Colin,
no, just for the ui-button, because it's stateless and its hotspot would act as a inject. All other controls have states and cannot be replicated on the design board.
Hi Paul-Reed,
thank you.
In case it is of interest, the way I often test dashboard operations is by having the dashboard open on my phone and the editor on the PC.
Good tip Colin!
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