UI Dropdown - Enable dynamic properties

docs/contributing/widgets/core-widgets.md

@@ -94,15 +94,17 @@ The inputs for the `useDataTracker (widgetId, onInput, onLoad, onDynamicProperti
 
 ## Dynamic Properties
 
-Node-RED allows for definition of the underlying configuration for a node. For example, a `ui-button` would have properties such as `label`, `color`, `icon`, etc. It is often desired to have these properties be dynamic, meaning that they can be changed at runtime. Users expect to be able to control these generally by passing in `msg.<property-name>` to the node, which in turn, should update the property.
+Node-RED allows for definition of the underlying configuration for a node. For example, a `ui-button` would have properties such as `label`, `color`, `icon`, etc. It is often desired to have these properties be dynamic, meaning that they can be changed at runtime. 
+
+It is a standard practice within Dashboard 2.0 to support these property updates via a nested `msg.ui_updates` object. As such, users can expect to be able to control these generally by passing in `msg.ui_updates.<property-name>` to the node, which in turn, should update the appropriate property.
 
 ### Design Pattern
 
 This section will outline the architectural design pattern for developing dynamic properties into a widget.
 
 Server-side, dynamic properties are stored in our `state` store, which is a mapping of the widget ID to the dynamic properties assigned to that widget. This is done so that we can ensure separation of the dynamic properties for a widget from the initial configuration defined, and stored, in Node-RED.
 
-Before the `ui-base` node emits the `ui-config`, we merge the dynamic properties with the initial configuration, with the dynamic properties permitted to override the underlying configuration. As such, when the client receives a `ui-config` message, it will have the most up-to-date configuration for the widget, the merging of both static and dynamic properties.
+Before the `ui-base` node emits the `ui-config` event and payload, we merge the dynamic properties with the initial configuration, with the dynamic properties permitted to override the underlying configuration. As such, when the client receives a `ui-config` message, it will have the most up-to-date configuration for the widget, wth the merging of both static and dynamic properties.
 
 ### Setting Dynamic Properties
 
@@ -155,6 +157,42 @@ Now that we have the server-side state updating, anytime we refresh, the full `u
 
 We then need to ensure that the client is aware of these dynamic properties _as they change_. To do this, we can use the `onDynamicProperties` event available in the [data tracker](#data-tracker).
 
+A good pattern to follow is provide a `computed` variable on the component in question. This computed variable can then check a local, component-scoped, variable that is overridden when dynamic properties are set, if that hasn't been set, fall back to the `props.<property>` value.
+
+```js
+{
+    // ...,
+    data () {
+        return {
+            // ...,
+            dynamic: {
+                label: null
+            }
+        }
+    },
+    computed: {
+        label () {
+            return this.dynamic.label !== null ? this.dynamic.label : this.props.label
+        }
+    },
+    created () {
+        // we can define a custom onDynamicProperty handler for this widget
+        useDataTracker(this.id, null, null, this.onDynamicProperty)
+    // ...,
+    methods () {
+        // ...,
+        onDynamicProperty (msg) {
+            // standard practice to accept updates via msg.ui_updates
+            const updates = msg.ui_updates
+            if (typeof updates.label !== 'undefined') {
+                this.dynamic.label = updates.label
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+```
+
 ### Updating Documentation
 
 There are two important places to ensure documentation is updated when adding dynamic properties:

docs/nodes/widgets/ui-dropdown.md

@@ -3,17 +3,27 @@ description: Incorporate ui-dropdown in Node-RED Dashboard 2.0 for user selectio
 props:
     Group: Defines which group of the UI Dashboard this widget will render in.
     Size: Controls the width of the dropdown with respect to the parent group. Maximum value is the width of the group.
-    Label: The text shown to the left of the dropdown.
+    Label:
+        description: The text shown to the left of the dropdown.
+        dynamic: true
     Options:
         description: A list of the options available in the dropdown. Each row defines a `label` (shown in the dropdown) and `value` (emitted on selection) property.
         dynamic: true
-    Allow Multiple: Whether or not a user can select multiple options, if so, checkboxes are shown, and value is emitted in an array.
+    Allow Multiple:
+        description: Whether or not a user can select multiple options, if so, checkboxes are shown, and value is emitted in an array.
+        dynamic: true
 dynamic:
+    Label:
+        payload: msg.ui_update.label
+        structure: ["String"]
     Options:
-        payload: msg.options
+        payload: msg.ui_update.options
         structure: ["Array<String>", "Array<{value: String}>", "Array<{value: String, label: String}>"]
+    Allow Multiple:
+        payload: msg.ui_update.multiple
+        structure: ["Boolean"]
     Class:
-        payload: msg.class
+        payload: msg.ui_update.class
         structure: ["String"]
 ---
 

nodes/widgets/locales/en-US/ui_dropdown.html

@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ <h3>Selecting Options via <code>msg.</code></h3>
     <h3>Dynamic Properties (Inputs)</h3>
     <p>Any of the following can be appended to a <code>msg.</code> in order to override or set properties on this node at runtime.</p>
     <dl class="message-properties">
+        <dt class="optional">label <span class="property-type">string</span></dt>
+        <dd>The label displayed to explain the purpose of the dropdown.</dd>
         <dt class="optional">options <span class="property-type">array</span></dt>
         <dd>
             Change the options available in the dropdown at runtime

nodes/widgets/ui_dropdown.js

@@ -12,13 +12,20 @@ module.exports = function (RED) {
         const evts = {
             onChange: true,
             beforeSend: function (msg) {
-                if (msg.options) {
-                    // dynamically set "options" property
-                    statestore.set(group.getBase(), node, msg, 'options', msg.options)
-                }
-                if (msg.label) {
-                    // dynamically set "label" property
-                    statestore.set(group.getBase(), node, msg, 'label', msg.label)
+                if (msg.ui_update) {
+                    const update = msg.ui_update
+                    if (update.options) {
+                        // dynamically set "options" property
+                        statestore.set(group.getBase(), node, msg, 'options', update.options)
+                    }
+                    if (typeof update.label !== 'undefined') {
+                        // dynamically set "label" property
+                        statestore.set(group.getBase(), node, msg, 'label', update.label)
+                    }
+                    if (typeof update.multiple !== 'undefined') {
+                        // dynamically set "label" property
+                        statestore.set(group.getBase(), node, msg, 'multiple', update.multiple)
+                    }
                 }
                 return msg
             }

ui/src/widgets/ui-dropdown/UIDropdown.vue

@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@
         v-model="value"
         :disabled="!state.enabled"
         :class="className"
-        :label="props.label"
-        :multiple="props.multiple"
+        :label="label"
+        :multiple="multiple"
         :items="options"
         item-title="label"
         item-value="value"
@@ -31,7 +31,11 @@ export default {
     data () {
         return {
             value: null,
-            items: null
+            items: null,
+            dynamic: {
+                label: null,
+                multiple: null
+            }
         }
     },
     computed: {
@@ -58,6 +62,12 @@ export default {
             set (value) {
                 this.items = value
             }
+        },
+        multiple: function () {
+            return this.dynamic.multiple === null ? this.props.multiple : this.dynamic.multiple
+        },
+        label: function () {
+            return this.dynamic.label !== null ? this.dynamic.label : this.props.label
         }
     },
     created () {
@@ -82,26 +92,39 @@ export default {
             // 1. add/replace the dropdown options (to support dynamic options e.g: nested dropdowns populated from a database)
             // 2. update the selected value(s)
 
+            const payload = msg.payload
+            if (payload !== undefined) {
+                // 2. update the selected value(s)
+                this.select(payload)
+            }
+
+            // keep options out for backward compatibility
             const options = msg.options
             if (options) {
                 // 1. add/replace the dropdown options
                 // TODO: Error handling if options is not an array
                 this.items = options
             }
 
-            const payload = msg.payload
-            if (payload !== undefined) {
-                // 2. update the selected value(s)
-                this.select(payload)
+            // update the UI with any other changes
+            const updates = msg.ui_updates
+
+            if (updates) {
+                if (Array.isArray(updates.options)) {
+                    this.items = updates.options
+                }
+                if (typeof updates.label !== 'undefined') {
+                    this.dynamic.label = updates.label
+                }
+                if (typeof updates.multiple !== 'undefined') {
+                    this.dynamic.multiple = updates.multiple
+                }
             }
-            // additionally, we need to support both single and multi selection
-            // For now, we only support selecting which item(s) are selected, not updating the available options
-            // if the payload is an array, we assume it is a list of values to select
         },
         onChange () {
             // ensure our data binding with vuex store is updated
             const msg = this.messages[this.id] || {}
-            if (this.props.multiple) {
+            if (this.multiple) {
                 // return an array
                 msg.payload = this.value.map((option) => {
                     return option.value