feat[canvas]: Patch the orange-canvas to add an export and import menus as ewoks json workflow by maxenceprog · Pull Request #503 · ewoks-kit/ewoksorange

maxenceprog · 2026-10-14T15:14:07Z

closes #79

PR summary

Done with Claude... I made the review and looks ok but maybe i miss something. It patches orangecanvas.application.canvasmaiCanvasMainWindow.__init__. This is maybe a beit creepy but not sure there is a more conventional solution as the main canvas init is done in main managed by oasys or orange.

This add two menus Export Ewoks workflow... and Import Ewoks workflow.... This uses ows_to_ewoks api to convert ows file as a json workflow for Export and the reverse principle for Import.

Screencast.from.2026-10-14.17-25-40.mp4

AI Disclosure

No AI used
AI tool(s) claude used for generate the code

codecov · 2026-10-14T15:17:29Z

Codecov Report

❌ Patch coverage is 56.52174% with 30 lines in your changes missing coverage. Please review.

Files with missing lines	Patch %	Lines
src/ewoksorange/gui/canvas/menu.py	56.71%	29 Missing ⚠️
src/ewoksorange/gui/canvas/main.py	50.00%	1 Missing ⚠️

📢 Thoughts on this report? Let us know!

maxenceprog · 2026-10-14T15:15:49Z



 def main(argv=None):
+    patch_canvas_menu()


Maibe there is a better solution but as the main function is managed by orangecanvas, not sure there is a better way

For Orange, main calls Main().run(argv)

You could override Main in this case to tune the canvas main window.

However, it won't work with oasys

i think i look at the code of oasys and OASYSMainWindow inhirits from orangecanvas.application.canvasmai.CanvasMainWindow.

https://github.com/oasys-kit/OASYS2/blob/main/oasys2/canvas/application/canvasmain.py

But yes maybe cleaner anyway to override main i will look at that

Oh ok I misunderstand your comment. You said the method you propose will not work with Oasys right?

So I would say we have to keep the patch like now ?

You said the method you propose will not work with Oasys right?

Yes, I fear so.

So I would say we have to keep the patch like now ?

Yes, I don't see another way.

Rather than patch_canvas_menu, the function name could be clearer.

Like add_ewoks_import_export_actions

maxenceprog · 2026-10-14T15:31:06Z

+    if _patched:
+        return
+    _patched = True
+    original_init = CanvasMainWindow.__init__


I have verified in the code and Oasys / Orange looks to both use orangecanvas.application.canvasmaiCanvasMainWindow so it should works

Put this as comment perhaps?

maxenceprog · 2026-10-14T15:41:39Z

TODO add unit tests and changelog

woutdenolf · 2026-10-14T18:22:01Z

+
+    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
+        original_init(self, *args, **kwargs)
+        _add_actions(self)


Adding actions is a good idea. Perhaps there are other ways to do this without patching? Not sure.

Yes. One question is: how much different is it from the already existing Save / Save As / Open function that already exists ?
At the end this is only the file format that changes right ?

yes we save as a json ewoks workflow

equivalent to an ewoks convert .ows <-> .json

Sorry, I wasn’t clear. My question is whether we should add new actions or, if possible, reuse the existing one and adapt the current code (QDialog, save/load functions).

I can investigate first if this is possible (Without going to deep into monkey patching / changing orange canvas api)

But in my opinion. It looks normal for me to have an "export import" pattern. --> The native way to save load orange workflow is ows.

For me this is the same as word. You save / load as docx but you can export import as open office format

I agree with you on the technical side. That said, I keep wondering: what is the user actually expecting here? Could it be confusing for them to have to choose between saving and exporting? And are we at risk of ending up with too many actions?

I’m not pushing for one option over the other, but I think we should at least ask ourselves these questions first. The technical side can come second.

If we were to ignore completely the technical side, yes I agree that it would be better to have "Ewoks workflow" as a new filter in the open/saving box:

I'll try to have Claude provide this as an alternative to compare but no promises.

See #504

As expected, four things need patching: CanvasMainWindow._open_workflow_dialog, CanvasMainWindow.open_scheme_file, CanvasMainWindow.save_scheme_as and the QFileDialog for saving.

Also, the opening for OASYS needs to be patched separately since the implementation is slightly different.

What do you think @payno ?

Hard to say. Modifying _open_workflow_dialog and QFileDialog is playing with fire.

But save_scheme_as could be fully rewrite or we could ask the orange team to do some modifications.
_open_workflow_dialog is used at three places where there is public API:

def open_scheme(): dlg = self._open_workflow_dialog() dlg.setParent(dialog, Qt.Dialog) dlg.fileSelected.connect(self.open_scheme_file) dlg.accepted.connect(dialog.accept) dlg.exec() ... def open_scheme(self): # type: () -> None """ Open a user selected workflow in a new window. """ dlg = self._open_workflow_dialog() dlg.fileSelected.connect(self.open_scheme_file) dlg.exec() def open_and_freeze_scheme(self): # type: () -> None """ Open a user selected workflow file in a new window and freeze signal propagation. """ dlg = self._open_workflow_dialog() dlg.fileSelected.connect(partial(self.open_scheme_file, freeze=True)) dlg.exec()

So I agree this is more code to maintain. But at a first glance it could be 'clean' enough.

Let's discuss this in the next workflow meeting to reach a collective agreement then.

In the mean time, I think we can merge this PR

loichuder · 2026-10-15T12:27:38Z

+    # Here i import to the canvas then re export it and verify the exported json.
+
+    with OrangeCanvasHandler() as handler:
+        monkeypatch.setattr(


Not a fan of monkeypatch but there seem to be no other way

yep me too but that's the better way to bypass the dialog

loichuder · 2026-10-15T12:28:53Z



 def main(argv=None):
+    patch_canvas_menu()


Rather than patch_canvas_menu, the function name could be clearer.

Like add_ewoks_import_export_actions

loichuder · 2026-10-15T12:29:20Z

+    if _patched:
+        return
+    _patched = True
+    original_init = CanvasMainWindow.__init__


Put this as comment perhaps?

loichuder · 2026-10-15T12:37:21Z

+    import_action = QAction(
+        "Import Ewoks workflow...", window, objectName="action-import-ewoks"
+    )
+    import_action.triggered.connect(lambda: _import_ewoks(window))


Not sure if this raises issues from the Qt lifecycle.

@t20100 ?

It's likely to keep some reference to keep access to window and thus may create a reference cycle.

Basically except for module-level functions and methods, connecting anything else (lambda, closure function, partials) may create a reference cycle that may delay destruction some widgets.

yes that's maybe bad as if user click on new window and close the first one, so the RAM will not be freed right now.

For software like darfix this is an issue

So I need to change this but the problem is as this is patching I cannot use class method... I have to think about this...

@maxenceprog Don't think too hard until we made a decision on whether we make new actions or patch the existing ones 😉

…us as ewoks json workflow

loichuder

As mentioned, let's merge this as a temporary solution

Co-authored-by: Loïc Huder <42204205+loichuder@users.noreply.github.com>

maxenceprog force-pushed the issue_79 branch 2 times, most recently from 2b3d227 to a803fef Compare October 14, 2026 15:26

maxenceprog commented Oct 14, 2026

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maxenceprog self-assigned this Oct 14, 2026

maxenceprog requested a review from a team October 14, 2026 15:32

maxenceprog marked this pull request as draft October 14, 2026 15:41

woutdenolf reviewed Oct 14, 2026

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maxenceprog force-pushed the issue_79 branch 2 times, most recently from 013ed22 to 9860deb Compare October 15, 2026 11:24

maxenceprog requested a review from loichuder October 15, 2026 11:26

maxenceprog marked this pull request as ready for review October 15, 2026 11:29

loichuder reviewed Oct 15, 2026

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feat[canvas]: Patch the orange-canvas to add an export and import men…

03b4cba

…us as ewoks json workflow

maxenceprog force-pushed the issue_79 branch from 9860deb to 03b4cba Compare October 15, 2026 13:08

loichuder mentioned this pull request Oct 16, 2026

Replace Ewoks import/export by file filters in the Open and Save As dialogs #504

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loichuder approved these changes Oct 16, 2026

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Comment thread src/ewoksorange/gui/canvas/menu.py Outdated

Update src/ewoksorange/gui/canvas/menu.py

a7ef1f9

Co-authored-by: Loïc Huder <42204205+loichuder@users.noreply.github.com>

maxenceprog enabled auto-merge (rebase) October 16, 2026 08:45

maxenceprog merged commit d32fa9d into main Oct 16, 2026
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