MathCAD Prime 10 - TextBox Advanced Controls - Output Type

Question

Hi all,The advanced controls are a dream come true for me, but has probably opened up a rabbit hole of documentation. I added a textbox with the intent that users could enter dimensional strings in a user-friendly format like:10'-2 3/8"and the output would be an inches value of122.375 I'm having two issues, first being the output is a string "122.375" and not a numerical value, and ideally the value would actually be defined with MathCAD's units: 122.375*inAny assistance on how to get this working would be appreciatedfunction TextBoxEvent_Start(Inputs, Outputs) {
 // TODO: Add your code here
};

function TextBoxEvent_Exec(Inputs, Outputs) {
 var input = TextBox.Text(); // Get the input value from the first input
 var inches = parseDimension(input); // Convert the dimensional string to inches
 Outputs[0].Value = inches.toFixed(3); // Output the value in decimal inches to 3 figures
};

function parseDimension(dim) {
 var parts = dim.split("-"); // Split the string by feet and inches parts
 var feet = parseFloat(parts[0]);
 var inches = 0;

if (parts.length > 1) {
 var inchesParts = parts[1].split(" ");
 if (inchesParts.length > 1) {
 inches += parseFloat(inchesParts[0]); // Convert feet to inches
 var fraction = parseFraction(inchesParts[1]); // Convert fraction to inches
 inches += fraction;
 } else {
 inches += parseFloat(inchesParts[0]);
 }
 }

return feet * 12 + inches;
}

function parseFraction(fractionStr) {
 var parts = fractionStr.split("/");
 if (parts.length === 2) {
 return parseFloat(parts[0]) / parseFloat(parts[1]);
 } else {
 return 0;
 }
}

function TextBoxEvent_Stop(Inputs, Outputs) {
 // TODO: Add your code here
};.

Werner_E · Accepted Answer

Documentation is certainly a major problem concerning the new controls.

In JScript a bold method to convert the text to a number is to simply multiply it by 1:

Outputs[0].Value = 1*inches.toFixed(3); // Output the value in decimal inches to 3 figures

But probably using parseFloat is the better way to go

Outputs[0].Value = parseFloat(inches.toFixed(3)); // Output the value in decimal inches to 3 figures

Unfortunately, I don't know whether and how it is possible to add units in the script.

I simply did it using an extra region (which could be hidden in a collapsed area)

My guess is that the new controls can't handle units at all - but I sure would like to be convinced of the opposite 😉

DBHM_Conc_Eng · Answer

I ended up using @Werner_E 's parseFloat method, along with the redefinition of the variable to add units.

I'll add the updated code below in case anyone finds this tread and wants to utilize the script. Also updated some of the code comments. Admittedly I used AI to point me in the right direction, because I know zero JScript (more of a VBA guy), and I had to do a little tweaking of the AI's output, because it made some really silly errors (it was multiplying the whole inches by 12 for some reason, also was trying to call the textbox's text value incorrectly).

Note to others leveraging AI to help with scripting these advanced controls, ChatGPT3.5 is currently better than Gemini. I had to repeatedly remind Gemini I was using JScript, and not JavaScript, and the more time I spent debugging the code with it, the worse the code got.

function TextBoxEvent_Start(Inputs, Outputs) {
 // TODO: Add your code here
};

// Text Box Control - Human Readable dimensional length to numerical inches with 3 significant figures
function TextBoxEvent_Exec(Inputs, Outputs) {
 var input = TextBox.Text(); // Get the input value from the first input
 var inches = parseDimension(input); // Convert the dimensional string to inches
 Outputs[0].Value = parseFloat(inches.toFixed(3)); // Output the value in decimal inches to 3 figures
};

function parseDimension(dim) {
 var parts = dim.split("-"); // Split the string by feet and inches parts
 var feet = parseFloat(parts[0]);
 var inches = 0;

 if (parts.length > 1) {
 var inchesParts = parts[1].split(" ");
 if (inchesParts.length > 1) {
 inches += parseFloat(inchesParts[0]); // Append whole inches to var inches
 var fraction = parseFraction(inchesParts[1]); // Convert fraction to inches
 inches += fraction; // Appen fractional inches to var inches
 } else {
 inches += parseFloat(inchesParts[0]); // Append whole inches to var inches
 }
 }

 return feet * 12 + inches; // Convert feet to inches and add resulting value of var inches
}

function parseFraction(fractionStr) {
 var parts = fractionStr.split("/");
 if (parts.length === 2) {
 return parseFloat(parts[0]) / parseFloat(parts[1]);
 } else {
 return 0;
 }
}

function TextBoxEvent_Stop(Inputs, Outputs) {
 // TODO: Add your code here
};

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