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Find it fast

sed -n '<from>,<to>p' SKILL.md one section rather than reading the file; ./mxcli syntax <topic> answers how do I write this for a fraction of either.

lines	section
36-42	Prerequisites
43-82	LIST WIDGETS - Discover Widgets
83-163	UPDATE WIDGETS - Modify Properties
164-201	Important Notes
202-223	Workflow Example

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Bulk Widget Property Updates

EXPERIMENTAL: These commands are an untested proof-of-concept. Always use dry run first and backup your project before applying changes.

Use list widgets and update widgets to discover and modify widget properties across pages and snippets in bulk.

When to use which tool:

Scope	Tool
One page, one or several related changes	alter page — see alter-page
Many pages matched by WHERE filter (across one or more modules)	update widgets (this skill)

alter page is the right call for targeted, page-specific edits — it can combine set/insert/drop/replace in a single block. update widgets is for cross-page patterns like "set Class on every Container in MyMod" where naming each page explicitly would be tedious or error-prone.

Prerequisites

Widget commands require a full catalog build:

refresh catalog full;

LIST WIDGETS - Discover Widgets

Basic Usage

-- Show all widgets
list widgets;

-- Filter by module
list widgets in MyModule;

-- Filter by widget type (case-insensitive LIKE)
list widgets where widgettype like '%combobox%';

-- Filter by name
list widgets where Name = 'myGrid';

-- Combine filters
list widgets where widgettype like '%DataGrid%' and Name like '%Overview%' in MyModule;

Output Columns

Column	Description
NAME	Widget name (may be auto-generated)
WIDGET TYPE	Full widget type ID (e.g., com.mendix.widget.web.combobox.Combobox)
CONTAINER	Page or snippet qualified name
MODULE	Module name

Common Widget Type Patterns

Pattern	Matches
%combobox%	ComboBox widgets
%datagrid%	DataGrid2 and related widgets
%textbox%	TextBox widgets
%dropdown%	DropDown widgets
%gallery%	Gallery widgets

UPDATE WIDGETS - Modify Properties

Syntax

update widgets
  set 'propertyName' = value [, 'propertyName' = value ...]
  where condition [and condition ...]
  [in module]
  [dry run];

Dry Run (Preview Changes)

Always preview changes first:

mdl 1;
-- See what would change without modifying
update widgets
  set 'showLabel' = false
  where widgettype like '%combobox%'
  dry run;

Output shows:

found 5 widget(s) in 3 container(s) matching the criteria

[dry run] The following changes would be made:
  Would set 'showLabel' = false on combobox1 (combobox) in MyModule.OrderForm
  Would set 'showLabel' = false on combobox2 (combobox) in MyModule.CustomerPage
  ...

[dry run] Would update 5 widget(s)

run without dry run to apply changes.

Apply Changes

Remove dry run to apply:

mdl 1;
update widgets
  set 'showLabel' = false
  where widgettype like '%combobox%'
  in MyModule;

Property Value Types

Type	Examples
String	'contains', 'above'
Number	4, 100, 3.14
Boolean	true, false
Null	null

Examples

mdl 1;
-- Hide labels on all comboboxes
update widgets
  set 'showLabel' = false
  where widgettype like '%combobox%';

-- Set multiple properties
update widgets
  set 'showLabel' = false, 'labelWidth' = 4
  where widgettype like '%textbox%'
  in MyModule;

-- Change filter mode on DataGrid filters
update widgets
  set 'filterMode' = 'contains'
  where widgettype like '%DatagridTextFilter%';

Important Notes

Known Limitations (Experimental)

UPDATE WIDGETS functionality is not fully implemented.

• The DRY RUN mode shows which widgets would be matched
• Actual property updates require additional implementation work
• Use LIST WIDGETS for discovery, then manually update properties in Studio Pro

After Making Changes

1. Refresh the catalog to see updated data:

   refresh catalog full force;
   

2. Open the project in Studio Pro to verify changes

Supported Properties

Only primitive properties (string, number, boolean) are supported:

• showLabel, labelWidth, placeholder
• filterMode, defaultValue
• Widget-specific configuration properties

NOT supported:

• DataSource properties
• Action properties (onClick, etc.)
• Nested object properties
• Expression properties

Finding Property Names

To find the correct property names:

1. Create a widget in Studio Pro
2. Use describe page Module.PageName to see widget structure
3. Or check the Mendix widget documentation

Workflow Example

mdl 1;
-- 1. Build catalog
refresh catalog full;

-- 2. Discover widgets
list widgets where widgettype like '%combobox%';

-- 3. Preview changes
update widgets set 'showLabel' = false where widgettype like '%combobox%' dry run;

-- 4. Apply changes
update widgets set 'showLabel' = false where widgettype like '%combobox%';

-- 5. Rebuild catalog
refresh catalog full force;

-- 6. Verify
list widgets where widgettype like '%combobox%';