Dialog function execution before OK is pressed

Question

I am trying to launch a dialog window from an add_button API call. However, the function assigned to the new_dialog executes before I click OK and the code runs through to the function and fails to refresh.

   local function reloadAPList()
      -- Request new filename from user
      new_dialog("Enter File (without extension)",
                 function (basename) filename = basename end,
                 "Filename")
  message(&quot;Opening file: &quot; .. filename)
  local csv_file = assert(io.open(filename, &quot;r&quot;))

  if csv_file==nil then
      warn(err)
      return
  end

  -- Read CSV line
  local line = csv_file:read()

  -- Flush out old table contents
  for k,v in pairs(apList) do
     apList[k] = nil
  end

  -- Build AP Object Name List table
  apList = fromCSV(line)

end
aw:add_button("Reload", reloadAPList )

If I click the reload button again I can see that it attempts to open the file matching the string I passed in on the previous attempt.

Any ideas why it does not take the filename I pass in the first time round?

Answer 1

I don't think this is a bug. The new_dialog() function is non-blocking, creating a non-modal dialog window. So in the question's script it's creating the dialog window but immediately returning to process more of the Lua code, as it should.

I think the right way to code this in Lua is to put the rest of the logic that is currently after new_dialog() into the callback function assigned by new_dialog(). In other words, this:

local function reloadAPList(basename)
    filename = basename
message(&quot;Opening file: &quot; .. filename)
local csv_file = assert(io.open(filename, &quot;r&quot;))

if csv_file==nil then
    warn(err)
    return
end

-- Read CSV line
local line = csv_file:read()

-- Flush out old table contents
for k,v in pairs(apList) do
    apList[k] = nil
end

-- Build AP Object Name List table
apList = fromCSV(line)

end
local function get_filename()
– Request new filename from user
new_dialog("Enter File (without extension)",
reloadAPList,
"Filename")
end
aw:add_button("Reload", get_filename )