Manipulating Nodes

Adding/Removing Items

Adding Parent Item

Parent tree nodes can be easily added to the tree from script with the help of the insertNewNext() method. The following incoming parameters should be indicated in this method:

siblingId - id of the item after which a new one will be created;
itemId - id of the new item;
label - text of the new item;
action - 0 in most cases, but it can be a custom function;
imageClosed - image for a collapsed item; if 0 is indicated - the default one is used;
imageOpen - image for an expanded item; if 0 is indicated - the default one is used;
imageLeaf - image for a leaf item; if 0 is indicated - the default one is used;
additional options - a comma-delimited string of the following possible values (upper case only):
- SELECT - move selection to this item after its creation;
- CALL - call a function on select;
- TOP - add this item to the top position;
- CHILD - the node contains child items;
- CHECKED - the checkbox is checked (if exists).

tree.insertNewNext(1,2,"New Node 2",0,0,0,0,"CHILD,CHECKED");

Adding Child Node

The insertNewChild() method allows adding a new child item for the chosen tree node. The parameters the user should indicate are:

parentId - id of the parent item in which the new child will be created;
itemId - id of the new item;
label - text of the new item;
action - 0 in most cases, but it can be a custom function;
imageClosed - image for a collapsed item; if 0 is indicated - the default one is used;
imageOpen - image for an expanded item; if 0 is indicated - the default one is used;
imageLeaf - image for a leaf item; if 0 is indicated - the default one is used;
additional options - a comma-delimited string of the following possible values (upper case only):
- SELECT - move selection to this item after its creation;
- CALL - call a function on item's select;
- TOP - add this item to the top position;
- CHILD - the node contains child items;
- CHECKED - the checkbox is checked (if exists).

tree.insertNewChild(0,1,"New Node 1",0,0,0,0,"SELECT,CALL,TOP,CHILD,CHECKED");

The item added as a child is always created as the last one of child items for the specified parent.

Removing Item

Any item can be easily removed from the tree in the following way:

tree.deleteItem(itemId, selectParent);

The parameters the user should specify are:

itemId - id of the item in question;
selectParent(true/false) - if set to true, the parent item of the removed child item becomes selected when the removal is done, while false means that no items will be selected in the tree after removal of the indicated item.

Removing All Child Items

The following method allows the user to remove all child items of a certain node easily:

tree.deleteChildItems(itemId);

Related sample: Add / Delete items

Collapsing/Expanding Items

Expanding Parent Item on Child Adding

There is a possibility in dhtmlxTree to set whether a parent item will be expanded or not when a child item is added to it.

tree.openOnItemAdded(mode);

The method can be set either to true (the parent item will be expanded on child adding) or to false (the parent item won't be expanded).

Collapsing/Expanding Item

There is a possibility to expand/collapse any node in dhtmlxTree from script. The only value that the user should indicate is the id of the item in question:

tree.openItem(itemId); // expand the indicated item
tree.closeItem(itemId); // collapse the indicated item

Collapsing/Expanding All Items

The user can also expand/collapse all items in the tree. The mandatory parameter here is the id of the item starting from which all items will be expanded/collapsed:

tree.openAllItems(itemId); // expand all items
tree.closeAllItems(itemId); // collapse all items

One more method to expand all tree items that is similar to the above mentioned one but works in dynamic trees:

tree.openAllItemsDynamic(itemId); // expands all items in a dynamic tree

Expanding Item's List

The method to expand a list of tree items in a dynamic tree (items are expanded one by one, the next item will be opened only when the previous one is loaded):

tree.openItemsDynamic(list,flag);

The parameters are:

list - list of the ids of the nodes that will be expanded;
flag (true/false) - indicates whether the last node in the list will be selected (true) or not (false).

Prevent Item from Collapsing

There is a method that can prevent the item from collapsing:

tree.setItemCloseable(itemId,flag);

The parameters here are as follows:

itemId - id of the node;
flag(true/false) - if set to false, prevents the item from collapsing.

Getting Item's State

Item's state (expanded/collapsed) can be got in the following way:

var state = tree.getOpenState(itemId);

The method returns true if the item in question is expanded, and false if the item is collapsed.

Related sample: Collapse/Expand nodes

Locking Tree/Item

By locking the tree the user denies expanding/collapsing tree nodes. A tree isn't locked (false) by default. To lock the tree, the lockTree() method should be set to true:

tree.lockTree(true); // false to unlock the tree

Any item, whether it is a parent or a child one, can also be locked by the lockItem() method:

tree.lockItem(itemId); // id of the item as the input parameter

Getting Locked/Unlocked State

To get the state (locked/unlocked) of any item in the tree, the user should apply the following method:

var itemState = tree.isLocked(itemId); // returns current item's state

If the item in question is locked, the method returns true, if it is unlocked, false is returned.

Related sample: Lock tree

Editing Items

Making Items Editable

Any item in the tree can be made editable: double click on the item allows editing its title text. All items in the tree are not editable (false) by default. To make them editable the user should write the following code line:

tree.enableItemEditor(true); // false to deny items editing

Activating Editor for Item

The user can activate the editor for a specified item from script with the help of the editItem() method. The only parameter that should be specified is the id of the item:

tree.editItem(itemId);

Deactivating Editor for Item

Item's editor can be easily deactivated from script bringing the item back to its normal view:

tree.stopEdit();

Defining Editing Event

The event that starts an item's editing can be defined from script in the following way:

tree.setEditStartAction(click, dblclick);

The parameters define the following:

click(true/false) - item's editing will be activated by a click on the selected item;
dblclick(true/false) - item's editing will be activated by a double click on the selected item.

Related sample: Editable items

Integration with Cookies

Saving Items' States to Cookies

The user has the possibility to store the states of items to cookies in the following way:

tree.saveOpenStates(cookie_name,cookie_param);

The parameters of this method are:

cookie_name - name of the cookie (optional parameter);
cookie_param - additional parameters added to cookie.

Restoring Items' States from Cookies

There is a method that restores items' states (expanded/collapsed) from cookie's information:

tree.loadOpenStates(cookie_name); // the parameter is optional

Saving Selection to Cookies

Item's selection can also be stored in cookies in the following way:

tree.saveSelectedItem(cookie_name,cookie_param);

The parameters of this method are:

cookie_name - name of the cookie (optional parameter);
cookie_param - additional parameters added to cookie.

Restoring Selection from Cookies

Item's selection can be restored from cookie in the following way:

tree.restoreSelectedItem(cookie_name); // the parameter is optional

Saving Tree to Cookies

The saveState() method stores the whole tree to cookies:

tree.saveState(cookie_name,cookie_param);

The parameters of this method are:

cookie_name - name of the cookie (optional parameter);
cookie_param - additional parameters added to cookie

Restoring Tree from Cookies

The loadState() method restores the whole tree from cookies:

tree.loadState(cookie_name); // the parameter is optional

Enabling Item's Auto Saving

dhtmlxTree allows its users to save the selected node automatically in cookies. The enableAutoSavingSelected() method is used to switch this functionality on/off in the tree:

tree.enableAutoSavingSelected(mode,cookieName);

The parameters are:

mode(true/false) - indicates whether the auto saving is on/off;
cookieName - name of the cookie.

Item's Text, Tooltip, Color Manipulation

Setting Item's Label

The user can set the label (text) of a tree node in the following way:

tree.setItemText(itemId, newLabel, newTooltip);

The parameters are as follows:

itemId - id of the item in question;
newLabel - new text for item's label;
newTooltip - the text indicated in this parameter will be used as item's tooltip text (optional parameter).

Getting Item's Label

The user has the possibility to get text of an item's label by indicating the item's id in the following way:

var text = tree.getItemText(itemId);

The user can also get the text of the currently selected item in the following way:

var textSelected = tree.getSelectedItemText();

Setting Item's Color

The following line of code is responsible for specifying a node's color (text color) in the tree:

tree.setItemColor(itemId, defaultColor, selectedColor);

The parameters the user should specify are as follows:

itemId - id of the item in question;
defaultColor - the item's color;
selectedColor - the item's color for a selected state.

Getting Item's Color

Item's color can be easily received by an item's id in the following way:

car color = tree.getItemColor(itemId);

The object returned by the above mentioned method has the parameters { acolor:"value", scolor:"value" } where:

acolor - means the color for the normal state of the item;
scolor - means the color for the selected state of the item.

The format of the color will be the same as it was set by the setItemColor() method.

Setting Item's Tooltip

There are three ways to set tooltip for an item in Tree:

using a node's text ("label" attribute of a node) as a tooltip. In this case the following method should be used:

tree.enableAutoTooltips(true/false); // false by default

using the "tooltip" attribute of a node in XML (it is used by default if this attribute was specified);
using the setItemText() method specifying its third parameter.

Getting Item's Tooltip

Item's tooltip is also easy to get with the help of the getItemTooltip() method by indicating an item's id:

var tooltip = tree.getItemTooltip(itemId);

Refreshing and Updating Items

Refreshing Item/Items

The following method is used to refresh data for the specified node:

// if an item's id isn't indicated, the id of the top tree item will be used  
tree.refreshItem(itemId);

The above mentioned code line presupposes that all the child items of the indicated node are removed, an XML file (indicated in the setXMLAutoLoading() method; auto loading should be activated) is loaded from the server. The data from this file is used for creating new child items of the node in question.

The following method is used to refresh data for several nodes:

tree.refreshItems(itemIdList, source);

The parameters of this method include the list of items that should be refreshed and the path to the XML file from which new data will be loaded. In this case the data is refreshed only for the nodes indicated in the itemIdList parameter (not their children).

Related sample: Refreshing Items

Smart Branch Refreshing

There is one more possibility to refresh data in the tree. The smartRefreshBranch() method is able to load XML from the server and refresh data for the specified branch (text, icons, items). It should be noted that the current position and all the changes introduced by the user stay the same in this case.

tree.smartRefreshBranch(itemId,source);

The parameters here are responsible for:

itemId - id of the item from which the refreshing starts in the branch;
source - a server-side script, optional parameter. If it is not set, the system will use the source indicated in setXMLAutoLoading().

Smart Item Refreshing

The smartRefreshItem() method is responsible for loading XML the data of which is used for refreshing the specified item in the tree. The same as the previous method, this one keeps the current position of the item and all other changes introduced by the user.

tree.smartRefreshItem(itemId,source);

The parameters are as follows:

itemId - id of the item in question;
source - a server-side script, optional parameter. If it is not set, the system will use the source indicated in setXMLAutoLoading().

Updating Item

There is a simple way of updating items in dhmlxTree - the updateItem() method. The used should indicate the id of the item that should be updated and the parameters that should be updated:

tree.updateItem(itemId,name,im0,im1,im2,achecked);

The parameters of this method are as follows:

itemId - id of the item in question;
name - the title text of the item;
im0 - the icon for a leaf node;
im1 - the icon for an expanded parent node;
im2 - the icon for a collapsed parent node;
achecked(true/false) - whether the checkbox is checked (true) or not (false).

Items' Ids Manipulation

Getting List of Parent Items' Ids

The following methods allow the user to get ids of all parent tree nodes:

var parents = tree.getAllItemsWithKids(); // returns an array of nodes' ids

Getting List of Leaf Items' Ids

The user can get the list of ids of all tree's items that don't have child nodes (childless items):

var childless = tree.getAllChildless(); // returns an array of nodes' ids

Getting List of Sub-Items' Ids

The user can easily get the ids of all sub-items starting from the item the id of which is indicated in this method:

var subItems = tree.getAllSubItems(itemId);

Getting the list of all sub-items' ids for the specified item is quite easy. This parent item's id should be specified:

tree.getSubItems(itemId);

Changing Item's Id

The user can change any node's id, if there's such a need, in the following way:

tree.changeItemId(itemCurrentId,itemNewId);

Getting Child Item's Id

The user can get any child item's id by its index (sequence number) and the id of its parent:

var childId = tree.getItemIdByIndex(itemId,index);

The parameters are:

itemId - id of the parent item;
index - sequence number of the child item (starting with 0).

Getting Child Item's Index

Child item's index (sequence number) can be easily got by its id:

var childIndex = tree.getIndexById(itemId);

The parameter is the id of the child item the index of which the user wants to get.

Getting Item's Parent Id

The getParentId() method can be used to get an item's parent id:

var parent = tree.getParentId(itemId);

The id of the item should be indicated as the parameter.

Getting List of Checked/Unchecked Tree Items' Ids

The ids of all checked/unchecked items in the tree can be easily got by the getAllChecked() method:

var list = tree.getAllChecked(); //returns an array of all checked items' ids
    //or
var list = tree.getAllUnchecked(); // returns an array of all unchecked items' ids

Related sample: Checkboxes

Getting List of Partially Checked Items' Ids

The method, similar to the above mentioned ones, exists for getting the ids of all the partially checked items in the tree:

var list = tree.getAllPartiallyChecked(); // returns an array of all checked items' ids

Getting List of Checked Branches' Ids

Ids of all checked branches in the tree can be got like this:

var list = tree.getAllCheckedBranches(); // returns an array of all checked branches' ids

Getting Selected Item's Id

Selected item's id is easy to get through the getSelectedItemId() method which takes an item's id as a parameter:

var selectId = tree.getSelectedItemId();

Setting List Separator

There is a simple way of setting list separator in Tree:

tree.setListDelimeter(separator); // by default the separator is ","

There is only one parameter here - separator. It's a char or a string used for separating items in a list.

Items Position Manipulation

Moving Items

Any item in the tree can be moved with the help of the moveItem() method.

tree.moveItem(itemId, mode, targetId, targetTree);

The following parameters should be specified for this method:

itemId - id of the item in question;
mode - one of the moving modes available:
- left - the item will be moved to the left of the node's current position;
- up - the item will be moved one level up in the hierarchy;
- up_strict - the item will be moved one position up, but will remain in the same level of the hierarchy;
- down - the item will be moved one level down in the hierarchy;
- down_strict - the item will be moved one position down, but will remain in the same level of the hierarchy;
- item_child - the item will be made a child of the target item;
- item_sibling - the item will be made a sibling of the target item, and will be placed before the target item;
- item_sibling_next - the item will be made a sibling of the target item, and will be placed after the target item;
targetId - id of the item, relative to which the item in question will be moved;
targetTree (optional) - the object of some other tree, the item in question is moved into.

Related sample: Moving items

Cutting/Pasting Items

One more way of moving nodes is the use of the doCut() and doPaste() commands. But they work only with selected items:

tree.doCut(); // marks the selected item as cut
tree.doPaste(itemId); // id of a new parent node

The cut item will be made a child node of the item indicated in the doPaste() method.

Clearing Cut Mark

To clear the mark made by the doCut() method, the user is advised to use the clearCut() one:

tree.clearCut();

Getting Item's Level

There is a method in dhtmlxTree that allows the user to get an item's current level (position in the hierarchy) by indicating this item's id:

var level = getLevel(itemId);

Setting Item's Top Offset

There is a possibility to set the top offset for a tree item using the following method:

tree.setItemTopOffset(itemId,value);

The parameters are:

itemId - id of the item in question;
value - offset value.

Calculating Items

Setting Calculation Mode

The user can set the calculation mode for the tree in the following way:

tree.setChildCalcMode(mode); // disabled by default

There are the following mode variants available:

child - direct child items, no recursive;
leafs - direct child items without sub-items, no recursive;
childrec - child items (leaf items and those with their own child items), recursive;
leafsrec - child items without sub-items, recursive;
disabled - disable this mode.

All tree child nodes will be calculated in this mode.

Setting Calculation HTML

Along with setting the calculation mode for child items the user can specify calculation HTML like this:

tree.setChildCalcHTML(htmlA,htmlB);

The parameters here are:

htmlA - prefix of the calculator ("[" by default);
htmlB - postfix of the calculator ("]" by default).

Getting Number of Child Items

The number of child items of a certain parent can be got in the following way:

var childItems = tree.hasChildren(itemId);

User Data Manipulation

Setting User Data

User data can be set for any tree item:

tree.setUserData(itemId,name,value);

The parameters of this method are:

itemId - id of the item in question;
name - name of user data;
value - value of user data.

Getting User Data

User data set for a tree node can be got in the following way:

var userData = tree.getUserData(itemId,name);

The parameters of this method are:

itemId - id of the item in question;
name - name of user data.

Using Link-Like Functionality in Tree

Any node of the tree can have the link-like functionality specified for it. The link for an item can be set by user in XML. The user should also specify the onClick event for the item with link-like functionality.

Related sample: User data