Messages can have priorities now. The net tracer uses higher-priority messages to make the 'click on second/first point' message more persistent. The have infinite lifetime now.

src/lay/lay/gsiDeclLayMainWindow.cc

@@ -328,6 +328,12 @@ set_menu_items_hidden (lay::MainWindow *mw, const std::map<std::string, bool> &h
   mw->dispatcher ()->config_set (lay::cfg_menu_items_hidden, lay::pack_menu_items_hidden (hv));
 }
 
+static void
+clear_message (lay::MainWindow *mw, int priority)
+{
+  mw->message (std::string (), 0, priority);
+}
+
 Class<lay::MainWindow> decl_MainWindow (QT_EXTERNAL_BASE (QMainWindow) "lay", "MainWindow",
 
   //  Dispatcher interface and convenience functions
@@ -475,15 +481,36 @@ Class<lay::MainWindow> decl_MainWindow (QT_EXTERNAL_BASE (QMainWindow) "lay", "M
     "\n"
     "This method has been added in version 0.24."
   ) +
-  gsi::method ("message", &lay::MainWindow::message, gsi::arg ("message"), gsi::arg ("time", -1, "infinite"),
+  gsi::method_ext ("clear_message", &clear_message, gsi::arg ("priority", -1, "all priorities"),
+    "@brief Clears the message\n"
+    "When calling this method with a priority, it will clear the message in the given priority slot, thus "
+    "unhiding the messages with lower priority. This is equivalent to calling \\message with an empty string.\n"
+    "\n"
+    "When calling without a priority, all messages in all priority slots will be cleared.\n"
+    "\n"
+    "This method has been added in version 0.30.6."
+  ) +
+  gsi::method ("message", &lay::MainWindow::message, gsi::arg ("message"), gsi::arg ("time", -1, "infinite"), gsi::arg ("priority", 0),
     "@brief Displays a message in the status bar\n"
     "\n"
     "@param message The message to display\n"
     "@param time The time how long to display the message in ms. A negative value means 'infinitely'.\n"
+    "@param priority The priority of the message. Higher-priority messages have precendence over lower-priority ones.\n"
     "\n"
     "This given message is shown in the status bar for the given time.\n" 
+    "If a priority is given, higher-priority messages have precedence over lower-priority ones.\n"
+    "Placing an empty message clears a message with a given priority and unhides messages with lower "
+    "priority. Standard messages like selection descriptions have priority 0, which is the lowest priority.\n"
     "\n"
-    "This method has been added in version 0.18. The 'time' parameter was made optional in version 0.28.10."
+    "Messages generated during modal actions (e.g. 'Click on first point') by convention should have priority 10 "
+    "and should be tied to the active state of a plugin. This ensures there is only one such message.\n"
+    "Higher-priority messages must be cleared (set to empty string) explicitly to unhide lower-priority messages "
+    "when the indicated action is finished.\n"
+    "\n"
+    "\\clear_message is a convenience method that will clear messages.\n"
+    "\n"
+    "This method has been added in version 0.18. The 'time' parameter was made optional in version 0.28.10.\n"
+    "The 'priority' argument has been added in version 0.30.6."
   ) +
   gsi::method ("resize", (void (lay::MainWindow::*)(int, int)) &lay::MainWindow::resize, gsi::arg ("width"), gsi::arg ("height"),
     "@brief Resizes the window\n"

src/lay/lay/layMainWindow.cc

@@ -186,6 +186,7 @@ MainWindow::MainWindow (QApplication *app, const char *name, bool undo_enabled)
       m_synchronous (false),
       m_busy (false),
       mp_app (app),
+      m_message_timer_priority (-1),
       m_manager (undo_enabled)
 {
   setAnimated (false);
@@ -823,10 +824,15 @@ static int fm_width (const QFontMetrics &fm, const QString &s)
 void
 MainWindow::format_message ()
 {
+  std::string msg;
+  if (! m_messages.empty ()) {
+    msg = (--m_messages.end ())->second;
+  }
+
   QFontMetrics fm (mp_msg_label->font ());
 
   std::string full_message;
-  for (const char *c = m_message.c_str (); *c; ++c) {
+  for (const char *c = msg.c_str (); *c; ++c) {
     if (*c == '\\' && (c[1] == '(' || c[1] == ')')) {
       ++c;
     } else {
@@ -847,7 +853,7 @@ MainWindow::format_message ()
 
     short_message.clear ();
 
-    for (const char *c = m_message.c_str (); *c; ++c) {
+    for (const char *c = msg.c_str (); *c; ++c) {
       if (*c == '\\' && c[1] == '(') {
         if (nsection++ < ndrop) {
           in_drop = true;
@@ -875,24 +881,53 @@ MainWindow::format_message ()
 }
 
 void
-MainWindow::message (const std::string &s, int ms)
+MainWindow::message (const std::string &s, int ms, int priority)
 {
-  m_message = s;
+  if (s.empty () && priority < 0) {
+
+    m_messages.clear ();
+
+  } else if (s.empty ()) {
+
+    m_messages.erase (priority);
+
+  } else {
+
+    //  simulate timeout of previous message timer
+    if (m_message_timer_priority >= 0) {
+      m_messages.erase (m_message_timer_priority);
+    }
+
+    m_messages[priority] = s;
+
+    if (ms >= 0) {
+      m_message_timer_priority = priority;
+      m_message_timer.start (ms);
+    } else {
+      m_message_timer_priority = -1;
+    }
+
+  }
+
   format_message ();
-  m_message_timer.start (ms);
 }
 
 void
-MainWindow::clear_message ()
+MainWindow::clear_messages ()
 {
-  m_message.clear ();
+  m_message_timer.stop ();
-  m_message_timer.start (0);
+  m_message_timer_priority = -1;
+  m_messages.clear ();
+  format_message ();
 }
 
 void
 MainWindow::message_timer ()
 {
-  m_message.clear ();
+  if (m_message_timer_priority >= 0) {
+    m_messages.erase (m_message_timer_priority);
+  }
+  m_message_timer_priority = -1;
   format_message ();
 }
 
@@ -2457,7 +2492,7 @@ MainWindow::select_view (int index)
     update_editor_options_dock ();
     clear_current_pos ();
     edits_enabled_changed ();
-    clear_message ();
+    clear_messages ();
     menu_needs_update ();
 
     m_disable_tab_selected = dis;
@@ -2984,7 +3019,7 @@ MainWindow::close_view (int index)
         clear_current_pos ();
         edits_enabled_changed ();
         menu_needs_update ();
-        clear_message ();
+        clear_messages ();
 
         update_dock_widget_state ();
 
@@ -3469,7 +3504,7 @@ MainWindow::add_view (lay::LayoutViewWidget *view)
   connect (view, SIGNAL (dirty_changed (lay::LayoutView *)), this, SLOT (view_title_changed (lay::LayoutView *)));
   connect (view, SIGNAL (edits_enabled_changed ()), this, SLOT (edits_enabled_changed ()));
   connect (view, SIGNAL (menu_needs_update ()), this, SLOT (menu_needs_update ()));
-  connect (view, SIGNAL (show_message (const std::string &, int)), this, SLOT (message (const std::string &, int)));
+  connect (view, SIGNAL (show_message (const std::string &, int, int)), this, SLOT (message (const std::string &, int, int)));
   connect (view, SIGNAL (current_pos_changed (double, double, bool)), this, SLOT (current_pos (double, double, bool)));
   connect (view, SIGNAL (clear_current_pos ()), this, SLOT (clear_current_pos ()));
   connect (view, SIGNAL (mode_change (int)), this, SLOT (select_mode (int)));

src/lay/lay/layMainWindow.h

@@ -649,12 +649,12 @@ public slots:
   /**
    *  @brief Displays a status message next to the coordinates
    */
-  void message (const std::string &s, int ms);
+  void message (const std::string &s, int ms, int);
 
   /**
    *  @brief Clears the current message
    */
-  void clear_message ();
+  void clear_messages ();
 
   /**
    *  @brief Selects the given mode
@@ -789,7 +789,8 @@ private:
   QApplication *mp_app;
   lay::HelpDialog *mp_assistant;
   std::string m_current_session;
-  std::string m_message;
+  int m_message_timer_priority;
+  std::map<int, std::string> m_messages;
   std::unique_ptr<QPrinter> mp_printer;
   std::vector<QString> m_changed_files;
   std::string m_title;

src/laybasic/laybasic/layLayoutViewBase.cc

@@ -693,7 +693,7 @@ LayoutViewBase::set_synchronous (bool s)
 }
 
 void
-LayoutViewBase::message (const std::string & /*s*/, int /*timeout*/)
+LayoutViewBase::message (const std::string & /*s*/, int /*timeout*/, int /*priority*/)
 {
   //  .. nothing yet ..
 }
@@ -4156,7 +4156,7 @@ void
 LayoutViewBase::cancel_edits ()
 {
   //  clear any messages
-  message ();
+  message (std::string (), 0, -1);
 
   //  the move service takes a special role here as it manages the
   //  transaction for the collective move operation.

src/laybasic/laybasic/layLayoutViewBase.h

@@ -293,7 +293,7 @@ public:
   /**
    *  @brief Display a status message
    */
-  virtual void message (const std::string &s = "", int timeout = 10);
+  virtual void message (const std::string &s = "", int timeout = 10, int priority = 0);
 
   /**
    *  @brief Sets the keyboard focus to the view

src/layview/layview/layLayoutView_qt.cc

@@ -1577,10 +1577,10 @@ LayoutView::signal_selection_changed ()
 }
 
 void
-LayoutView::message (const std::string &s, int timeout)
+LayoutView::message (const std::string &s, int timeout, int priority)
 {
   if (mp_widget) {
-    mp_widget->emit_show_message (s, timeout * 1000);
+    mp_widget->emit_show_message (s, timeout * 1000, priority);
   }
 }
 

src/layview/layview/layLayoutView_qt.h

@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ public:
   /**
    *  @brief Displays a status message
    */
-  void message (const std::string &s = "", int timeout = 10);
+  virtual void message (const std::string &s = "", int timeout = 10, int priority = 0);
 
   /**
    *  @brief Sets the keyboard focus to the view
@@ -832,7 +832,7 @@ public:
 
   void emit_title_changed (lay::LayoutView *view) { emit title_changed (view); }
   void emit_dirty_changed (lay::LayoutView *view) { emit dirty_changed (view); }
-  void emit_show_message (const std::string &s, int ms) { emit show_message (s, ms); }
+  void emit_show_message (const std::string &s, int ms, int priority) { emit show_message (s, ms, priority); }
   void emit_current_pos_changed (double x, double y, bool dbu_units) { emit current_pos_changed (x, y, dbu_units); }
   void emit_clear_current_pos () { emit clear_current_pos (); }
   void emit_edits_enabled_changed () { emit edits_enabled_changed (); }
@@ -885,7 +885,7 @@ signals:
   /**
    *  @brief This signal is emitted when the view wants to show a message for the given time (of infinitely for ms == 0)
    */
-  void show_message (const std::string &s, int ms);
+  void show_message (const std::string &s, int ms, int priority);
 
   /**
    *  @brief This signal is emitted when the view wants to indicate a mouse position change

src/plugins/tools/net_tracer/lay_plugin/layNetTracerDialog.cc

@@ -207,7 +207,7 @@ NetTracerDialog::drag_cancel ()
 {
   if (m_mouse_state > 0) {
 
-    view ()->message ();
+    view ()->message (std::string (), 0, 10);
     ui ()->ungrab_mouse (this);
     set_cursor (lay::Cursor::none);
 
@@ -241,7 +241,7 @@ NetTracerDialog::mouse_click_event (const db::DPoint &p, unsigned int buttons, b
       m_mouse_first_point = p;
       m_mouse_state = 3;
 
-      view ()->message (tl::to_string (QObject::tr ("Click on the second point in the net")));
+      view ()->message (tl::to_string (QObject::tr ("Click on the second point in the net")), -1 /*infinitely*/, 10);
 
     } else {
 
@@ -1264,7 +1264,7 @@ BEGIN_PROTECTED
   commit ();
   net_list->setCurrentItem (0);
   m_mouse_state = 2;
-  view ()->message (tl::to_string (QObject::tr ("Click on the first point in the net")));
+  view ()->message (tl::to_string (QObject::tr ("Click on the first point in the net")), -1 /*infinitely*/, 10);
   ui ()->grab_mouse (this, false);
 END_PROTECTED
 }
@@ -1276,7 +1276,7 @@ BEGIN_PROTECTED
   commit ();
   net_list->setCurrentItem (0);
   m_mouse_state = 1;
-  view ()->message (tl::to_string (QObject::tr ("Click on a point in the net")));
+  view ()->message (tl::to_string (QObject::tr ("Click on a point in the net")), -1 /*infinitely*/, 10);
   ui ()->grab_mouse (this, false);
 END_PROTECTED
 }
@@ -1299,7 +1299,7 @@ NetTracerDialog::release_mouse ()
   add_pb->setChecked (false);
   add2_pb->setChecked (false);
   m_mouse_state = 0;
-  view ()->message ();
+  view ()->message (std::string (), 0, 10);
   ui ()->ungrab_mouse (this);
   set_cursor (lay::Cursor::none);
 }