MacOS: How to update an AppDelegate property via editing a table view cell? - xcode

Question

In my macOS app I’m trying to update an AppDelegate property by editing a Table View Cell.
I created a sample project (Table View example project with array controller) using tips from the answer to this post.
I’m using macOS Big Sur (11.6.8) and Xcode 12.5.1. I'll be glad to supply a source archive download link or email it if requested. When I tried to add a link in this post it was rejected.
Here's my AppDelegate script:
script AppDelegate
property parent : class "NSObject"
property msg : ""
-- IBOutlets
property theWindow : missing value
property tableViewData : missing value
property arrayController : missing value
property showTableViewData : missing value
on `applicationWillFinishLaunching_(aNotification)`
appInit()
end applicationWillFinishLaunching_
on applicationShouldTerminate_(sender)
return current application's NSTerminateNow
end applicationShouldTerminate_
on appInit()
set my msg to (current date & return & return & "Initializing…") as string
delay .5
initTableView()
set my msg to (current date & return & return & "Ready.") as string
delay .5
end appInit
on initTableView()
set my tableViewData to {}
set my tableViewData to {{adName:("C21 ad" as string), pageNumber:("001" as string)}, {adName:("ERA ad" as string), pageNumber:("002" as string)}}
end initTableView
on `showTableViewData_(sender)`
set my msg to (current date & return & return & "showing tableViewData....") as string
delay .5
set displayText to ""
repeat with thisRecord in tableViewData
display alert "adName: " & (adName of thisRecord as string) & return & "pageNumber: " & (pageNumber of thisRecord as string)
end repeat
set my msg to (current date & return & return & "Ready.") as string
delay .5
end `showTableViewData_`
end script
How it works
As you can see I have hardcoded two records which I use to populate the tableViewData property on initialization which in turn is displayed in the table view. For some reason the adName data is not being displayed, but that bug is not what this post is about.
App initialized
Clicking the button reads the tableViewData property, iterates the records displaying them via an alert (so we can see it's contents).
Record display
Aside from the adName not displaying, so far so good.
Next, I edit the pageNumber table view cell for the first record (changing it from "001" to "777" and hitting return). When I click the button the first record is displayed which still shows a pageNumber value of "001" (instead of the "777" value I entered).
Record display after editing
Here are some shots of the table view cell attributes, connections, and bindings:
Attributes
Connections
Bindings
I tried selecting the bindings setting "Continuously Updates Value" but that doesn't seem to help; my tableViewData property is not updated with the newly entered data in the table view cell.
Most of the current developer docs use Obj-C or Swift instead of AppleScript and iOS or tvOS related. I'm using Xcode 12.5.1 because of problems binding UI elements to my code.
Thanks for taking the time to look this over.

Answer 1

The contents of tableViewData doesn't change but content of arrayController does. Try
repeat with thisRecord in content of arrayController
display alert "adName: " & (adName of thisRecord as string) & return & "pageNumber: " & (pageNumber of thisRecord as string)
end repeat
To make it work, use a Script Object instead of a record.
on makeAd(nameOfAd, pageNr)
script ad
property adName: nameOfAd
property pageNumber: pageNr
end script
return ad
end makeAd
on initTableView()
set my tableViewData to {makeAd("C21 ad", "001"), makeAd("ERA ad", "002")}
end initTableView