Loading and Saving the Settings

Implement the class responsible for physically storing settings and loading plug-in settings into the plug-in UI. Settings are stored in an .sdlproj or .sdltpl file, both of which are XML compliant.

.sdlproj files are automatically created for each document opened for translation/editing in Trados Studio or for each project created in the application. These files contain project-specific information such as translation memories, termbases, and project-specific settings, which can include plug-in settings. An .sdltpl file is a project template that users can create to streamline project creation.

The settings bundle used by our implementation looks, for example, as follows:

<SettingsGroup Id="Simple Text Filter 1.0.0.0">
  <Setting Id="LockPrdCodes">True</Setting>
</SettingsGroup>

Each Setting element contains an Id attribute that denotes the setting (property) name. The Setting element encloses the property value, which changes when the user modifies the settings in the UI.

Add the UserSettings Class

Add a new class to your project called UserSettings.cs in the project Sdk.FileTypeSupport.Samples.SimpleText. Your class requires these namespaces:

Sdl.Core.Settings
Sdl.FileTypeSupport.Framework.Core.Settings

Your class must implement the FileTypeSettingsBase class, which provides the methods required for storing and saving settings to the bundle.

Implement the Setting Property

Add the property that represents the plug-in setting. In this case, add the boolean property LockPrdCodes, which determines whether the verification functionality should be active:

private const string SettingsLockPrdCodes = "LockPrdCodes";
private const bool DefaultLockPrdCodes = true;
private bool _lockPrdCodes;

public bool LockPrdCodes
{
    get { return _lockPrdCodes;  }
    set
    {
        _lockPrdCodes = value;
        OnPropertyChanged("LockPrdCodes");
    }
}

Implement the Reset to Defaults Method

Override the ResetToDefaults method provided by the base class to set the LockPrdCodes property to the default value, True:

public override sealed void ResetToDefaults()
{
    LockPrdCodes = DefaultLockPrdCodes;
}

Implement the Constructor Method

Implement the constructor method. The constructor calls ResetToDefaults to set the LockPrdCodes property to its default value, which is True:

public UserSettings()
{
    ResetToDefaults();
}

Populate Settings from the Settings Bundle

The base class provides the PopulateFromSettingsBundle method to retrieve the current setting from the bundle in the .sdlproj file and set the LockPrdCodes property accordingly.

In the .sdlproj or .sdltpl file, a settings bundle looks as follows:

<SettingsBundle Guid="63403813-d91c-446e-8994-83ea138754e8">
  <SettingsGroup Id="Length Check XML v 1.0.0.0">
    <Setting Id="Enable">True</Setting>
  </SettingsGroup>

  <SettingsGroup Id="Simple Text Filter 1.0.0.0">
    <Setting Id="LockPrdCodes">True</Setting>
  </SettingsGroup>
</SettingsBundle>

A SettingsBundle element encloses a number of SettingsGroup nodes. Each settings bundle has a unique ID (GUID) stored in an attribute. Settings bundles are identified by the ID of the plug-in they refer to. A settings group can enclose file type settings, verification plug-in settings, and so on. In the above example, the settings bundle encloses one settings group for another File Type Component Builder and another settings group for the simple text plug-in. This ID is retrieved from the File Type Component Builder (see Adding the File Type Component Builder).

This XML structure is reflected in the API. Within the SaveToSettingsBundle method, create a settings group object based on ISettingsGroup by calling the GetSettingsGroup method on the settings bundle. This method takes the settings bundle ID (for example, Simple Text Filter 1.0.0.0) as a string parameter. Then use the GetSettingFromSettingsGroup method to set the LockPrdCodes property. This method requires the settings group object, the name of the setting (for example, LockPrdCodes), and the default value (for example, True) as parameters:

public override void PopulateFromSettingsBundle(ISettingsBundle settingsBundle, string filterDefinitionId)
{
    ISettingsGroup settingsGroup = settingsBundle.GetSettingsGroup(filterDefinitionId);
    LockPrdCodes = GetSettingFromSettingsGroup(settingsGroup, SettingsLockPrdCodes, DefaultLockPrdCodes);
}

Save the Properties to the Settings Bundle

The base class provides the SaveToSettingsBundle method, which physically stores the value of the properties in the bundle of the .sdlproj file.

Create a settings group object based on ISettingsGroup by calling the GetSettingsGroup method on the settings bundle.

Then use the UpdateSettingInSettingsGroup method to save the settings into the physical representation. This method takes the settings group object, the setting name (string), the setting value, and the default value as parameters:

public override void SaveToSettingsBundle(ISettingsBundle settingsBundle, string filterDefinitionId)
{
    ISettingsGroup settingsGroup = settingsBundle.GetSettingsGroup(filterDefinitionId);
    UpdateSettingInSettingsGroup(settingsGroup, SettingsLockPrdCodes, LockPrdCodes, DefaultLockPrdCodes);
}

Putting It All Together

The complete class should look as follows:

using Sdl.FileTypeSupport.Framework.Core.Settings;
using Sdl.Core.Settings;

namespace Sdk.FileTypeSupport.Samples.SimpleText
{
    /// <summary>
    /// This class stores the settings to the settings bundle, which is physically saved
    /// in an *.sdlproj or *.sdltpl file.
    /// </summary>
    public class UserSettings: FileTypeSettingsBase
    {
        private const string SettingsLockPrdCodes = "LockPrdCodes";
        private const bool DefaultLockPrdCodes = true;
        private bool _lockPrdCodes;

        public bool LockPrdCodes
        {
            get { return _lockPrdCodes;  }
            set
            {
                _lockPrdCodes = value;
                OnPropertyChanged("LockPrdCodes");
            }
        }

        public UserSettings()
        {
            ResetToDefaults();
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Define the default value: Enabled, because product code strings should not be
        /// exposed to translation by default.
        /// </summary>
        public override sealed void ResetToDefaults()
        {
            LockPrdCodes = DefaultLockPrdCodes;
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Load the setting from the settings bundle, which is physically stored in an
        /// XML-compliant *.sdlproj or *.sdltpl file.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="settingsBundle"></param>
        /// <param name="filterDefinitionId"></param>
        public override void PopulateFromSettingsBundle(ISettingsBundle settingsBundle, string filterDefinitionId)
        {
            ISettingsGroup settingsGroup = settingsBundle.GetSettingsGroup(filterDefinitionId);
            LockPrdCodes = GetSettingFromSettingsGroup(settingsGroup, SettingsLockPrdCodes, DefaultLockPrdCodes);
        }

        /// <summary>
        /// Store the settings as configured in the plug-in UI in the settings bundle.
        /// The settings are physically written into the XML-compliant *.sdlproj or
        /// *.sdltpl file.
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="settingsBundle"></param>
        /// <param name="filterDefinitionId"></param>
        public override void SaveToSettingsBundle(ISettingsBundle settingsBundle, string filterDefinitionId)
        {
            ISettingsGroup settingsGroup = settingsBundle.GetSettingsGroup(filterDefinitionId);
            UpdateSettingInSettingsGroup(settingsGroup, SettingsLockPrdCodes, LockPrdCodes, DefaultLockPrdCodes);
        }
    }
}