Palette: drag onto the tree to add inside a component; hover opens branches

A palette drag dropped on a tree row adds the component inside that row's
component, placed under its lowest child. The row under the pointer is
highlighted, and resting on a collapsed branch opens it, loading it from
the device when live without moving the selection or the open sheet.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

app_state.py

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ so later rebinding would only ever be seen by the module that did it.
 import configparser
 import os
 
-VERSION = "0.0.0.154"
+VERSION = "0.0.0.156"
 PROPERTIES_FILE = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)), "editor.properties")
 DEFAULT_GRID_SIZE = 10
 DEFAULT_ADD_TIMESTAMP = True
@@ -54,6 +54,9 @@ CLEAN_TINT = "white"
 DIRTY_NAME_COLOUR = "#c00000"
 DIRTY_NAME_TAG = "unsaved_file"
 
+# Marks the tree row a palette drag would drop into.
+TREE_DROP_TAG = "palette_drop_target"
+
 # A themed Treeview maps the selected state to SystemHighlightText, and that mapping beats
 # a row tag's own foreground -- so the file name turned white-on-blue the moment its row
 # was selected, which is exactly when the root sheet is the one being looked at. The

main.py

@@ -2655,8 +2655,12 @@ def _start_cov_polling():
     _cov_poll_id = app_state.window.after(100, poll)
 
 
-def _live_tree_expand(comp_id, tree_item_id):
+def _live_tree_expand(comp_id, tree_item_id, select=True, on_loaded=None):
-    """Called when user expands a tree node in live mode to lazy-load children."""
+    """Called when user expands a tree node in live mode to lazy-load children.
+
+    select=False loads without moving the selection or the open sheet, as a palette drag
+    hovering over a branch does. on_loaded gets the rebuilt row of the expanded node.
+    """
     ds = app_state.device_session
     if ds is None or not ds.is_connected:
         return
@@ -2681,14 +2685,20 @@ def _live_tree_expand(comp_id, tree_item_id):
                 # Re-open and re-select the node without triggering a wiresheet
                 # re-render — the sheet is already showing the right content and
                 # a redundant close_wiresheet + open_wiresheet cycle can lose links.
+                if not select:
+                    _rebind_open_sheet()
                 for iid, elem in app_state.tree_element_map.items():
                     if elem.get("id") == str(comp_id):
-                        app_state.current_sheet_parent = elem
-                        _restoring_selection = True
                         tree.item(iid, open=True)
-                        tree.selection_set(iid)
+                        if select:
-                        tree.see(iid)
+                            app_state.current_sheet_parent = elem
-                        tree.after_idle(_clear_restoring_flag)
+                            _restoring_selection = True
+                            tree.selection_set(iid)
+                            tree.see(iid)
+                            tree.after_idle(_clear_restoring_flag)
+                        tree.after_idle(fit_tree_column, tree)
+                        if on_loaded is not None:
+                            on_loaded(iid)
                         break
                 app_state.set_status(f"Loaded {len(children)} children")
 
@@ -2701,6 +2711,25 @@ def _live_tree_expand(comp_id, tree_item_id):
     threading.Thread(target=_bg, daemon=True).start()
 
 
+def _rebind_open_sheet():
+    """Points the open sheet at its element in a freshly built DOM and repaints it.
+
+    A lazy load replaces the whole DOM. The sheet on screen still holds elements of the
+    old one, and edits made through them would land in a document nobody saves.
+    """
+    old_parent = app_state.current_sheet_parent
+    if old_parent is None:
+        wiresheet.render_current_sheet()
+        return
+    old_id = old_parent.get("id")
+    app_element = app_state.xml_root_element.find("app")
+    app_state.current_sheet_parent = next(
+        (elem for elem in app_state.xml_root_element.iter()
+         if elem.tag in ("app", "comp") and old_id is not None and elem.get("id") == old_id),
+        app_element)
+    wiresheet.render_current_sheet()
+
+
 # --- UI Setup ---
 window = tk.Tk()
 app_state.window = window
@@ -2933,6 +2962,7 @@ tree = ttk.Treeview(
 )
 # Configured once, for the life of the tree. Only the row's tags change after this.
 tree.tag_configure(app_state.DIRTY_NAME_TAG, foreground=app_state.DIRTY_NAME_COLOUR)
+tree.tag_configure(app_state.TREE_DROP_TAG, background=app_state.NAV_SELECTION_BG)
 app_state.tree = tree
 attach_tree_scrollbars(frame_tree, tree)
 tree.bind("<<TreeviewSelect>>", on_tree_select)
@@ -3039,10 +3069,15 @@ def refresh_palette_kits():
 # --- Palette drag and drop ---
 # Tk has no drag-and-drop between widgets, so the gesture is assembled by hand:
 # remember what was pressed, start dragging past a small threshold, follow the pointer
-# with a borderless ghost window, and on release test the pointer against the canvas.
+# with a borderless ghost window, and on release test the pointer against the canvas
+# and the navigation tree. A drop on a tree row puts the component inside that row's
+# component, which need not be the sheet that is open. Resting on a collapsed branch
+# opens it (loading it from the device when live), so a drop can reach any depth.
 DRAG_THRESHOLD = 6
+HOVER_EXPAND_MS = 700
 
-palette_drag = {"kit": None, "type": None, "origin": None, "active": False, "ghost": None}
+palette_drag = {"kit": None, "type": None, "origin": None, "active": False, "ghost": None,
+                "tree_row": None, "expand_job": None}
 
 
 def _destroy_drag_ghost():
@@ -3051,8 +3086,54 @@ def _destroy_drag_ghost():
         palette_drag["ghost"] = None
 
 
+def _mark_tree_drop_row(row):
+    """Highlights the tree row a drop would land in; None clears the highlight.
+
+    Done with a tag rather than the selection, since selecting a row opens its sheet.
+    """
+    previous = palette_drag["tree_row"]
+    if previous == row:
+        return
+    if previous is not None and tree.exists(previous):
+        tags = [t for t in tree.item(previous, "tags") if t != app_state.TREE_DROP_TAG]
+        tree.item(previous, tags=tags)
+    if row is not None:
+        tree.item(row, tags=list(tree.item(row, "tags")) + [app_state.TREE_DROP_TAG])
+    palette_drag["tree_row"] = row
+
+    _cancel_hover_expand()
+    if row is not None and tree.get_children(row) and not tree.item(row, "open"):
+        palette_drag["expand_job"] = window.after(HOVER_EXPAND_MS, _hover_expand, row)
+
+
+def _cancel_hover_expand():
+    if palette_drag["expand_job"] is not None:
+        window.after_cancel(palette_drag["expand_job"])
+        palette_drag["expand_job"] = None
+
+
+def _hover_expand(row):
+    """Opens the branch a palette drag has rested on, loading it first on a device."""
+    palette_drag["expand_job"] = None
+    if not palette_drag["active"] or palette_drag["tree_row"] != row or not tree.exists(row):
+        return
+
+    tree.item(row, open=True)        # in code, so no <<TreeviewOpen>>; loaded here instead
+    tree.after_idle(fit_tree_column, tree)
+    elem = app_state.tree_element_map.get(row)
+    comp_id = elem.get("id") if elem is not None else None
+    if app_state.live_mode and comp_id is not None:
+        # The load rebuilds the tree, so the highlight goes back on the new row for it.
+        def relight(new_row):
+            if palette_drag["active"] and palette_drag["tree_row"] == row:
+                _mark_tree_drop_row(new_row)
+        _live_tree_expand(int(comp_id), row, select=False, on_loaded=relight)
+
+
 def _reset_palette_drag():
     _destroy_drag_ghost()
+    _mark_tree_drop_row(None)
+    _cancel_hover_expand()
     palette_drag.update(kit=None, type=None, origin=None, active=False)
 
 
@@ -3100,12 +3181,45 @@ def on_palette_motion(event):
     if palette_drag["ghost"] is not None:
         palette_drag["ghost"].geometry(f"+{event.x_root + 12}+{event.y_root + 10}")
 
+    _mark_tree_drop_row(_tree_row_under_pointer(event.x_root, event.y_root))
+
+
+def _pointer_over_widget(widget, x_root, y_root):
+    left = widget.winfo_rootx()
+    top = widget.winfo_rooty()
+    return (left <= x_root < left + widget.winfo_width()
+            and top <= y_root < top + widget.winfo_height())
+
 
 def _pointer_over_canvas(x_root, y_root):
-    left = canvas.winfo_rootx()
+    return _pointer_over_widget(canvas, x_root, y_root)
-    top = canvas.winfo_rooty()
+
-    return (left <= x_root < left + canvas.winfo_width()
+
-            and top <= y_root < top + canvas.winfo_height())
+def _tree_row_under_pointer(x_root, y_root):
+    """The navigation tree row under the pointer, or None off the tree or between rows."""
+    if app_state.xml_root_element is None or not _pointer_over_widget(tree, x_root, y_root):
+        return None
+    row = tree.identify_row(y_root - tree.winfo_rooty())
+    if not row:
+        return None
+    elem = app_state.tree_element_map.get(row)
+    if elem is not None and elem.get("type") == "":
+        return None                  # a "..." stand-in for a child not loaded from the device
+    return row
+
+
+def _drop_on_tree_row(kit_name, type_name, row):
+    """Adds kit::type inside the component a tree row stands for."""
+    parent = app_state.tree_element_map.get(row)
+    if parent is None and tree.parent(row) == "":
+        parent = app_state.xml_root_element.find("app")   # the root row is the app
+    if parent is None:
+        return
+
+    # Opened first, so the rebuild after the add keeps it open and the new row shows.
+    tree.item(row, open=True)
+    grid_x, grid_y = sax_file.grid_position_below_children(parent)
+    sax_file.add_component(kit_name, type_name, grid_x, grid_y, parent=parent)
 
 
 def on_palette_release(event):
@@ -3117,6 +3231,11 @@ def on_palette_release(event):
     if not was_dragging or not kit_name or not type_name:
         return
 
+    tree_row = _tree_row_under_pointer(event.x_root, event.y_root)
+    if tree_row is not None:
+        _drop_on_tree_row(kit_name, type_name, tree_row)
+        return
+
     if not _pointer_over_canvas(event.x_root, event.y_root):
         return
 

sax_file.py

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ from sax_dom import (
     find_component_by_path,
     find_parent_element,
     get_component_path,
+    read_meta_property,
     restore_children,
     snapshot_children,
     update_meta_property,
@@ -936,9 +937,38 @@ def build_config_values(full_type, overrides=None, device_values=None):
     return config_values
 
 
-def add_component(kit_name, type_name, grid_x, grid_y):
+def grid_position_below_children(parent):
-    """Places a new component of kit::type at a grid position. Returns the element."""
+    """A spot for a component added without a drop point: under the parent's lowest child.
-    parent = current_sheet_container()
+
+    Used when a component is placed from the tree, where there is no point on the sheet
+    to drop it at. Lining it up on the left margin below everything already there keeps
+    it clear of the existing boxes in the common case; Tidy sorts out the rest.
+    """
+    min_step = wiresheet.layout_margin(app_state.meta_scale) // app_state.meta_scale
+    lowest = None
+    for child in parent:
+        if child.tag != "comp":
+            continue
+        meta_prop = child.find("prop[@name='meta']")
+        y = read_meta_property(meta_prop.get("val") if meta_prop is not None else None)[1]
+        lowest = y if lowest is None else max(lowest, y)
+
+    if lowest is None:
+        return min_step, min_step
+    return min_step, max(min_step, min(wiresheet.META_COORD_MAX, lowest + TREE_DROP_GAP))
+
+
+# Meta steps between the lowest existing box and one added under it from the tree.
+TREE_DROP_GAP = 8
+
+
+def add_component(kit_name, type_name, grid_x, grid_y, parent=None):
+    """Places a new component of kit::type at a grid position. Returns the element.
+
+    parent is the component it goes inside; None means the sheet that is open.
+    """
+    if parent is None:
+        parent = current_sheet_container()
     if parent is None:
         messagebox.showwarning("Add Component", "Open a SAX file first.")
         return None