Conference bulova::decw_jan-89_to_nov-90

3166.0. "Outsmarted by a listbox" by AZUR::KOREVAAR () Fri Aug 03 1990 07:41

Hi,

I have a problem with listboxes: I want to display a series of messages which
consist of 2 or 3 lines as follows:

   a1
   b1
   a2
   b2
   a3
   b3
   c3
   .
   .
etc.

I make all data lines and put them into the listbox. The problem is the 
selection: when line b3 and b2 contain the same text, clicking on b3 will select
b2. There is no way to select message 3. Apparently the listbox outsmarts the
user who clicks on message 3 by searching for the first message with the same
text. I fixed this problem by adding a sequence number to the b lines.

The application allows a click on line a, b or c of any message. If a user 
clicks on line b or c, I de-select line b or c and select lin a of the
corresponding message with a select by line number from the program. But even
selecting by program, DECwindows doews the same thing: if a1 happens to contain
the same text as a2, a select of line a1 (line index 1) will automatically
select a1 AND a2.

Is there any way to avoid this? Is this a bug or a feature?

Derk.

It's a feature.  You might try making the text different in subtle ways, like
sticking varying numbers of spaces after the real text.
				Jeff

Or, you might try using Steve Klein's excellent VList widget. That's
what we've done.  Try searching for notes with VTOOLKIT or VLIST for
more information.