Task Assistant Manager FAQs

Custom Styles

• I have installed Task Assistant Manager 10, but I cannot see any custom styles that were created at 9.3.1. How can I obtain these custom styles?
• I have a previous version of Task Assistant that stored each custom style in individual files with an XML extension rather than a single file with a TMStyle extension. How can I use these styles without having to re-create them and distribute these styles to my users in the new environment?
• I uninstalled Task Assistant Manager prior to exporting my custom styles. Have I lost all my custom styles? If not, how can I retrieve them?

Designer Configuration

• I cannot see any or all of the custom toolboxes in the Geoprocessing Items dialog box. How do I resolve this?
• I have loaded a toolbox or tool but do not see it listed on the Geoprocessing Item Editor dialog box. How do I get the toolbox or tool to display?
• I have loaded a category or command but do not see it listed in the Command Item Editor dialog box. How do I get the category or command to display?

Custom commands and parameters

• The documentation mentions configuring commands to accept parameters. How do I do this?

Custom Styles

I have installed Task Assistant Manager 10, but I cannot see any custom styles that were created at 9.3.1. How can I obtain these custom styles?

At Task Assistant Manager 10, custom styles are stored at <user application data>\ESRI\TAM10.0\Data\Resources\Styles. Previous versions of Task Assistant Manager stored custom styles at <user application data>\ESRI\TAM\Data\Resources\Styles. Launch the Style Manager from the Task Assistant window context menu and use the Import Styles command to load any previous custom styles. These styles will be automatically saved at the new custom style location.

I have a previous version of Task Assistant that stored each custom style in individual files with an XML extension rather than a single file with a TMStyle extension. How can I use these styles without having to re-create them and distribute these styles to my users in the new environment?

There are two ways of loading XML style files into Task Assistant Manager:

• To load a single file at a time, use the Import Styles command on the Style Manager dialog box. Click the Files of Type drop-down arrow on the Select a Node Style File to Open dialog box and choose XML file rather than TMStyle. Choose the file required and select the style from the Import Styles dialog box.
• To load multiple files at once, use the Load from Folder command on the Style Manager dialog box. This function reads from both XML and TMStyle files.

As a designer, all your custom styles are stored in a single file, Custom.TMStyle. This file is located at C:\<user application data>\ESRI\TAM10.8\Data\Resources\Styles.

Note:

Only custom styles can be imported using these methods.

Once your custom styles have been loaded into Task Assistant Manager, open each of your existing task assistant workflow files and resave them so that the workflow's associated style file can be created. Distribute the workflow and style file pairs to your users to ensure that the custom styles are loaded when the workflow is opened on the target machine.

I uninstalled Task Assistant Manager prior to exporting my custom styles. Have I lost all my custom styles? If not, how can I retrieve them?

Custom styles are stored in a single file, Custom.TMStyle. This file is located at C:\<user application data>\ESRI\TAM10.8\Data\Resources\Styles. The uninstallation process does not remove this file. Similarly, an installation process does not overwrite any files in this location. Consequently, after a reinstallation of Task Assistant Manager, the original file will continue to be available for custom styles.

Designer Configuration

I cannot see any or all of the custom toolboxes in the Geoprocessing Items dialog box. How do I resolve this?

Tools within a toolbox cannot have the same name, but it is possible for different toolboxes to have tools with the same name. The Alias field in the toolbox properties uniquely identifies that toolbox. If you cannot see your custom toolbox in the Geoprocessing Items dialog box, open the toolbox properties and create an alias for the toolbox.

Note:

A good practice is to give your new toolbox an alias when you create it. The toolbox alias is used to identify the toolbox in scripting. Right-click the toolbox and click Properties. On the General tab, enter an alias name. The alias cannot contain spaces.

The table below contains the aliases of all system toolboxes. You should never use these aliases for your custom toolboxes.

System toolbox aliases

System toolbox	Alias
3D Analyst	3d
Aeronautical	aeronautical
Analysis	analysis
Bathymetry	bathymetry
Cartography	cartography
Conversion	conversion
Coverage	arc
Data Interoperability	interop
Data Management	management
Data Reviewer	reviewer
Defense Mapping	defense
Editing	edit
Geocoding	geocoding
Geostatistical Analyst	ga
Linear Referencing	lr
Multidimension	md
Nautical	nautical
Network Analyst	na
Parcel Fabric	fabric
Production Mapping	production
Schematics	schematics
Server	server
Spatial Analyst	sa
Spatial Statistics	stats
Tracking Analyst	ta
Workflow Manager	wmx

In addition, Task Assistant Manager searches the following locations for geoprocessing items:

• System Toolboxes folder
• My Toolboxes folder
• Home folder (location of your open map document)
• Default geodatabase for the open map document

For custom geoprocessing items to be included in the configuration, you should ensure they are located in one of the above locations.

I have loaded a toolbox or tool but do not see it listed on the Geoprocessing Item Editor dialog box. How do I get the toolbox or tool to display?

If the toolbox or tool cannot be found on the Geoprocessing Item Editor dialog box, you need to refresh the Task Assistant configuration. On the Properties tab of the Task Assistant window, click Refresh Config. Once you have refreshed the Task Assistant configuration, you will see the toolbox or tool on the Geoprocessing Item Editor dialog box, provided it is in one of the four designated locations.

I have loaded a category or command but do not see it listed in the Command Item Editor dialog box. How do I get the category or command to display?

If the category or command cannot be found on the Command Item Editor dialog box, you need to refresh the Task Assistant configuration. On the Properties tab of the Task Assistant window, click Refresh Config. Once you have refreshed the Task Assistant configuration, you will see the category or command on the Command Item Editor dialog box.

Custom commands and parameters

The documentation mentions configuring commands to accept parameters. How do I do this?

Using any of the standard development environments (VB.Net, C#, and so on), developers can build custom commands by inheriting the ArcGIS ICommand interface. Extending this command to accept parameters requires that the command also implement the ESRI.Apf.Apps.TaskAssistantSDK.ArcMap.ICommandParamsor ESRI.Apf.Apps.TaskAssistantSDK.ArcMap.ICommandParams2interfaces. These interfaces can be found in ESRI.Apf.Apps.TaskAssistantSDK.ArcMap.CommandParams.dll, which is part of the Task Assistant Manager installation. The interfaces have the following methods that need to be implemented:

• ICommandParams
  • SetParameters
  • ClearParameters
  • GetParameters

• ICommandParams2
  • SetParameters
  • ClearParameters
  • GetParameters
  • GetParametersDialogEditStyle
  • GetParametersDialogValues
  • GetParametersDialogText

Use GetParameterDialogEditStyle, GetParameterDialogValues, and GetParameterDialogText to customize the parameter dialog box when displayed on the Command Item Editordialog box. GetParameterDialogEditStyle returns either Default, Dropdown, BrowseSimple, BrowseComplex, or ListItem. Use GetParameterDialogValues to initialize the drop-down values or the Browse file filter. Use GetParameterDialogText to customize the text to be displayed on the parameter dialog box.

• enumParameterDialogEditStyle.Default—Displays the default dialog box with a text box for accepting the parameter values. Typically in this instance, GetParameterDialogValues returns an empty string.

  

• enumParameterDialogEditStyle.DropDown—Displays the dialog box with a drop-down box for the user to choose from a list of parameter values. Use GetParameterDialogValues to supply the list of parameter values.

  

• enumParameterDialogEditStyle.BrowseSimple—Displays the dialog box with a file browser. Use GetParameterDialogValues to supply the file filter used when the user clicks the Browse/Open File button.
• esriParametersDialogEditStyle.BrowseComplex—Displays the dialog box with a file browser as well as a text box for additional parameters. Use GetParameterDialogValues to supply the file filter used when the user clicks the Browse/Open File button.

  

• esriParametersDialogEditStyle.ListItem—Displays a ListItem box, which is a drop-down list where multiple items can be selected using the Ctrl key.

  

If the custom command implements ICommandParams, then the parameter dialog box is displayed using the Default style with no custom text.

For example:

Public class CParameterCmd
	Inherits ICommand
	Implements ICommandParams

	Private msParams as string

	Public sub New()
        MyBase.New()
        MyBase.m_category = "T.A.M. Samples"
        MyBase.m_name = "ParameterCmd"
        MyBase.m_caption = "Sample Parameter Command"
        MyBase.m_message = "Sample Parameter Command"
        MyBase.m_toolTip = m_message

        msParams = ""
	End sub

    Public Function GetParameters() As String Implements ESRI.Apf.Apps.TaskAssistantSDK.Arcmap.ICommandParams.GetParameters
        Return msParams
		End Function

    Public Sub SetParameters(ByVal sParams As String) Implements ESRI.Apf.Apps.TaskAssistantSDK.Arcmap.ICommandParams.SetParameters
        msParams = sParams
    End Sub

    Public Sub ClearParameters() Implements Esri.Apf.Apps.TaskAssistantSDK.Arcmap.ICommandParams.ClearParameters
        msParams = ""
		End Sub

    		Public Overrides Sub OnClick()
        'perform the command execution
        'msParams is the set of comma delimited parameters
		End sub

End class

Note:

Standard ArcMap commands cannot receive parameters, nor can custom commands that do not implement the ICommandParams interface.