# Display GUI component dynamically?

**URL:** <https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/display-gui-component-dynamically/11519>\
**Category:** General Discussion\
**Created:** [April 18, 2016, 2:28am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/display-gui-component-dynamically/11519 "2016-04-18T02:28:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@ian](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/ian)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 2:28am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/display-gui-component-dynamically/11519/1 "2016-04-18T02:28:35Z")

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Currently I am showing a number of user-defined GUI components (templates) (let’s give it a name: signal) in some of my main windows. Those GUI components are spread around the windows and are quite a lot in number (\>50) and I have multiple of such windows.

[attachment=1]signal.png[/attachment]

Now, there is a requirement comes to make whatever signal is displayed in the GUI window to be shown in a list of GUI.

[attachment=0]signal2.png[/attachment]

My questions are:

1. How to obtain list of GUI component (template) of the same type (signal) using Ignition Python/Jython Script?
2. How to get its custom properties (such as customDisplayName)
3. How to draw the GUI component (template) dynamically?

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**Author:** ![nmudge](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/nmudge/32/3394_2.png) [@nmudge](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/nmudge)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 1:32pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/display-gui-component-dynamically/11519/2 "2016-04-18T13:32:40Z")

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Have you looked at using the template repeater or template canvas?

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@ian](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/ian)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2016, 2:17am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/display-gui-component-dynamically/11519/3 "2016-04-19T02:17:20Z")

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@nmudge ah, yes. It is possible to do that if I only have the list. However, what I would like to rather ask is how to make the list having the copy of the items shown in the GUI without I have to put them manually.

It is like, when I put new signal in the main windows, the signal will be automatically appear in the list. Also, my list is in the same page of the main window. Currently, what I do is to make a copy for every signal I create in the main window to the list. It is not hard to do that, but just it is a duplicating work which might have higher chance of error as the number of signal gets higher.

So, regarding of getting and creating UI elements dynamically, is that possible?