Version: 10.2.1b and 10.2.1b SP1

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With the release of 9.2, Finders have been replaced by Search Strategies. Finders are still supported, however it is strongly recommended that you replace Finders with Search Strategies. Search Strategies are supported in ArcFM Desktop and ArcFM Engine, while Finders are supported only in ArcFM Desktop. All future development will support the Search Strategy architecture rather than Finders.

If you wish to use IMMFinder objects instead of the new Search Strategy architecture, modify the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Miner and Miner\ArcFM8\LocatorToolSettings\UseClassicLocator. UseClassicLocator is a DWORD Value that takes a setting of 1 or 0; 1=Classic Locators (IMMFinder); 0=New Locators (IMMSearchStrategy).

The ArcFM Locator Tool lets you query the geodatabase in order to find features based on the criteria that you define. Methods for locating these features can range from simple attribute queries to more complex queries across multiple layers in the map. Once located, you can zoom to and highlight a located feature, view its attributes, and add the feature(s) to the selected set. The Locator Tool is customizable in that you can provide the user with quick, familiar methods of locating features which make using ArcFM more effective. These custom methods of location are called Finders and are written as objects that implement the IMMFinder interface provided by ArcFM.

Your custom finder will exist in the Locator Tool as a form. Your form will contain the functionality that allows the user to find features based on the finder’s criteria.

Communication between Finder and Locator Tool

In order for your finder object to work correctly, your finder form and the Locator Tool’s form must be able to communicate with each other. The Locator Tool needs to know when to clear its results window and re-initialize its controls. The finder form must be able to tell the Locator Tool what results it has found, so that the results window can be updated correctly.

A Finder object is initialized with the Init method on the IMMFinder interface. The Init method includes an IFindPanelEvents argument. This object contains callback methods that inform the Locator Tool of events occurring in the finder object. The IFindPanelEvents interface is defined within the Esri Object Library (see ArcObjects help).

The Find button on the Locator Tool executes the Find method on the IMMFinder interface, which notifies the finder object to locate features. An IMMFindCallback argument on the Find method provides additional callback methods to allow communication between the Locator Tool and the finder object during the execution of the Find.

The communication between a finder and the Locator Tool using callbacks is shown below.