Add Custom DrawingTool to chart from Indicator

[SmartArtsStudio]

Hello

I want to make an indicator that adds ray cast price lines and price regions into the future. When price trades back to them I can click on or hover over the line or region it will displays a popup text box with more info about the line or region.

So I made a custom drawing tool that extends Line take advantage of its OnMouseDown/Up callbacks and its IsSelected behaviour for the text box pop up. The tool creates lines and regions with working pop ups as desired by hand.

But I can't figure out what is the correct way to instantiate a DrawingTool instances from an Indicator?
(Current efforts either CustomDrawingTool.OnRender doesn't get called, or if I use the Indicator.OnRender method to call all the CustomDrawingTools OnRender methods they have no RenderTargets set.)

Or If I headed down a dead end with DrawingTool, what is the correct way to have an Indicator add drawing objects that have mouse interactivity?

Thanks

[cincai]

Not sure what you look for, but you can go to the ecosystem there to look for it :

https://ninjatraderecosystem.com/user-app-share/

[NinjaTrader_Kate]

Hello SmartArtsStudio,

Thank you for your post.

You could look at the built in Drawing Tool tile indicator which invokes a pen to draw the selected tool with the following:

ChartControl.TryStartDrawing(dt.GetType().FullName );

You can also add overloads to your custom drawing tool that will allow the tool to be drawn from a NinjaScript. You can look at existing drawing tools for examples of this. To elaborate on the NinjaScript overloads which allow the DrawingTool to be used in indicators, this involves public static methods which are included in the DrawingTool. For the Lines DrawingTool script, this code is located after line 704.

Please let us know if we may be of further assistance to you.

[SmartArtsStudio]

Thanks Kate

Phew, glade i don't have to start over. TryStartDrawing enacts the tool for manual use so its going to be overloading. (But handy to know about because its not documented.)

Could you update the following code sample if I am on the wrong path. Partial class overloading a class like this is new to me.
I can't get my head around it as everything else in the Draw partial class is private?

When I call Draw.SmartLine() cast the indicator as Line.

Thanks in advance.

namespace NinjaTrader.NinjaScript.DrawingTools.SmArt {

    public partial class SmartLineTool : Line {
        // add properties

        // add methods

        protected override void OnStateChange() {
            base.OnStateChange();

            if (State == State.SetDefaults) {
                LineType = ChartLineType.Line;
                Name = "SmartLineTool";
           }

          if (State == State.Configure) {

              // do constructor stuff
          }
       }

     public static partial class Draw {

          public static Line SmartLine( NinjaScriptBase owner, bool isAutoScale, string tag, int startBarsAgo, DateTime startTime, double startY, int endBarsAgo, DateTime endTime,
                                                                          double endY, Brush brush, DashStyleHelper dashStyle, int width ) {

               // Just assume I have a matching signature, as this is what my IDE is giving me grief over
               return  DrawingTools.Draw.Line(owner, isAutoScale, tag, startBarsAgo, startTime, startY, endBarsAgo, endTime, endY, brush, dashStyle, width, false, null);
         }
     }
}

[NinjaTrader_Kate]

Hello SmartArtsStudio,

Thank you for your reply.

I'd advise taking a look at this publicly available drawing tool add on that creates labeled lines (extending the existing Line tools) from our User App Share:

https://ninjatraderecosystem.com/use...-drawing-tool/

We wouldn't recommend using a partial class to expand on a drawing tool. The above drawing tool add on inherits from Line in LabeledLines, and implements NS overloads, that may help give you some further direction.

Please let us know if we may be of further assistance to you.

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[SmartArtsStudio]

Hello Kate

Thank you! You had me at "Its possible" ...but that file reference is excellent for multiple reasons.
C# not my strongest language I had mistaken partial classes for vertical inheritance not composition,
To duplicate so much code I would have totally thought I was doing it wrong.

I really appreciate your help.