Listbar — version history

u_pbt_listbar · Introduced in 1.0

The side navigation bar: collapsible accordion sections, entries with icons, the current entry marked with the accent color, and a collapse into an icon rail. Introduced in 1.0.

4.0 — October 2026 #

New #

• is_badge on an entry: a counter badge ("12" unread) at the end of the line, on the corner of the icon in the rail; "" removes it.
• ue_item_rclicked(as_keys): the right-click on an entry, one event, without selecting it (nothing on a disabled entry) — to open your own menu.
• Keyboard: Left / Right collapse and expand a section from its title (swapped in right-to-left), typing a letter goes to the entry that starts with it, section titles are reached with the arrows and folded with Enter or Space; the bar is a tab stop even with no selection.
• Rail mode (ib_collapsed = true): every entry stays visible, a thin line separates the sections, an entry without an icon shows its initial, and the label is shown on hover.
• The icon of a section (is_image of n_pbt_listbar_section) is displayed in front of its title.
• Building a large bar under of_set_redraw(false) draws it only once.
• [symbol=name] tag in rich text: eighteen monochrome glyphs that follow the text colour (clock, location, person, calendar, phone, mail, warning…); an unknown name stays as text.
• n_pbt_listbar_section.ib_pinned: pins a section at the bottom of the bar (Settings, Help); it stays in view while the bar scrolls, in the icon rail too, and the keyboard reaches it after the last entry above.

Fixed #

• The add methods refuse (-5) a key already taken, a key containing / or |, and an entry under a section the bar has not added (it was displayed under the last section); of_remove_item, of_move_item, of_select_item, of_remove_section and of_move_section return -5 for an unknown address.
• of_select_item on a hidden entry returns -5; hiding the entry that is already selected keeps it selected.
• of_set_layout returns -5 on a text that is not a layout (truncated file); the folded state of an absent section is no longer kept for a section added later.
• Removing or clearing what holds the selection (of_remove_item, of_remove_section, of_clear) raises ue_selection_changed(old, ""), and of_selected_key returns "" after of_clear.
• Entry and section handles are freed by of_remove_item, of_remove_section and of_clear.
• ue_layout_changed is raised when a section is folded (click or ib_collapsed) and when an entry is removed, and no longer when entering the rail.
• of_reset on a bar in rail mode gives it back its width.
• A color set on a section no longer colors an entry that has the same key.
• The keyboard is no longer lost after a label change, a selection, or when the focused entry is removed, hidden or folded away: the focus moves to its neighbor.
• A disabled entry takes the theme's "disabled" color, readable in light themes.
• ib_auto_width reports the width the longest label needs (it ended with "…"); it also applies to an expanded bar.
• Dragging an entry (ib_reorderable): releasing outside the window stops the gesture, and the end of a drag selects nothing.
• A section with an empty title is separated from the previous one by a space (a thin line in the rail) and never folds.
• While a veto question is pending, going back to the current entry cancels the question without announcing anything; an entry removed during the question no longer becomes the selection.
• Tree accessibility roles (sections and entries), for screen readers.
• Rich text: a closing tag closes its own tag only ([b]A[i]B[/b]C leaves C in italics only), a ] escaped by of_escape_markup right after a tag no longer breaks the formatting around it, and [picture=…] accepts a data URI and a file name containing a comma.
• Reading back il_back_color_hover or il_text_color_hover of an item never coloured returns -1 (the theme's colour), like the other item colours (it returned 0, black).
• Enter or Esc pressed in the component, when it does not use them, goes back to the window: the PowerBuilder Default or Cancel CommandButton fires (the key was lost).
• A disabled component (ib_enabled = false) leaves the Tab order; enabled again (or after of_reset), it takes its place back.
• With no language chosen by the application, the component announces English to screen readers (it announced French).
• is_theme_style, is_theme_mode and il_theme_accent read back the style and mode shown and the component's own accent (-1 when it has none); an unknown or badly written value is ignored instead of leaving the component without a theme, and an axis left empty follows the application's theme.
• The application accent (PBT_SetDefaultThemeAccent) survives a change of theme, is followed as long as the component has no accent of its own, and repaints everything derived from it (hover, pressed, selections); Windows high contrast is supported.

Behavior changes #

• ib_veto_selection now defaults to false: ue_selection_changing is only asked if you turn it on. Turned on, it is also asked for of_select_item and of_clear_selection, which return -4 if you refuse — see "Migrating from 3.0 to 4.0", sections 11.1 and 11.21.
• A selection made by your code (of_select_item, of_clear_selection) raises ue_selection_changed like a click (it was silent), and setting a section's ib_collapsed raises ue_section_toggled.
• A section without a title no longer folds: give it a title if it must fold.
• of_count returns a long and of_keys_at takes a long rank.
• Rich text: a markup image on a network share ([picture=\\server\share\x.png]) is no longer shown: go through of_icon(), which embeds it.

3.0 — September 2026 #

New #

• of_set_property, of_get_property and of_component_name: drive a property by its name (settings screen, saved configuration).

Fixed #

• The text of a hovered entry is readable in the Office 2007 theme, light and dark.
• A colour read back through a handle (il_back_color, il_text_color…) returns the colour that was set, and -1 for the theme's (it returned 0, black).
• Rich text: a [word] that is not a tag is shown as typed (report[final].pdf) instead of disappearing with the rest of the text.

Behavior changes #

• of_insert_section, of_move_section, of_insert_item and of_move_item count the place from 1, like ue_item_reordered — see "Migrating from 2.0 to 3.0".

2.0 — September 2026 #

New #

• An entry is designated by its address, section then entry: "nav/docs". Everything is done from the component: of_add_section, of_add_item("nav/docs", …), of_item("nav/docs"), of_select_item("nav/docs"); the add methods return a code.
• of_insert_section, of_move_section, of_remove_section (a section takes its entries with it).
• of_is_selected() on an entry; is_image on a section; of_count, of_keys_at, of_has on the component and on a section.
• The properties of an entry are read back live, tooltips included.
• ue_script_error: a script error in the page reaches PowerBuilder with its message instead of being lost.

Fixed #

• Enter on a disabled entry no longer selects it.
• is_image of an entry reads back (it returned an empty string).

Behavior changes #

• of_add_header becomes of_add_section, of_selected_section is gone (of_selected_key returns the full address), and the events take addresses: ue_selection_changed(as_from_keys, as_keys), ue_item_reordered(as_keys, ai_index), ue_section_toggled(as_key, …) — see "Migrating from 1.0 to 2.0".

1.0 — August 2026 #

New #

• Collapsible accordion sections (section ib_collapsed, ue_section_toggled), entries with icons, label and icon changeable on the fly, disabled or hidden entries.
• Collapse of the bar into an icon rail (ib_collapsed); automatic width (ib_auto_width, ue_auto_width).
• Selection (of_select_item, of_clear_selection, ue_selection_changed) with a cancellable question before the change (ib_veto_selection, ue_selection_changing).
• Entries rearranged with the mouse (ib_reorderable, ue_item_reordered), layout saved and restored (of_get_layout, of_set_layout, ue_layout_changed).