Typically, you produce an
annotation by adding an action to the annotation toolbar. This action
is represented as a toolbar button.
To contribute a new action to the annotation toolbar, complete
these procedures:
- Declare a new annotation action in the plugin.xml file by using the com.ibm.rational.test.lt.recorder.ui.annotationContribution extension point and the annotationAction element.
- Assign a unique ID to the annotation action.
- Decide whether this action is visible by default or not. Actions
that are visible by default are available in all recording sessions
unless made unavailable by a client or recorder. Actions that are
not visible by default are available only if a recorder or client
requires the action.
- Define an implementation class for this action. The implementation
class must extend the com.ibm.rational.test.lt.recorder.ui.actions.AbstractAnnotationAction
abstract class.
Consider these facts about AbstractAnnotationAction implementations:
- This class extends the JFace Action class.
- In the constructor, set the name, tooltip text, and image descriptor
of the action.
- Implement the run() method. This method can interact with the
user. For example, this method can prompt the user for a text field.
If there is any interaction with the user, the time in milliseconds
spent interacting with the user must be measured.
- To create an annotation, create an instance of the com.ibm.rational.test.lt.recorder.core.annotations.RecorderAnnotation
class, and then pass the annotation type as an argument. Set the annotation
properties using the setter methods provided in this class.
- After the annotation has been built, forward the annotation by
sending an AnnotationMessage message to the annotation recorder. This
is typically a call of this form: annotationRecorder.sendMessage(new
AnnotationMessage(annotation, interactionTime));