fix(properties-panel): enhance element detection and error handling for nested structures

readme.hints.md

@@ -12,10 +12,16 @@ The properties panel had timing issues detecting rendered elements because:
 1. Added a 100ms initial delay to allow render completion
 2. Implemented recursive element search that:
    - Searches through nested children up to 5 levels deep
-   - Checks shadow roots of elements
-   - Handles complex DOM structures
+   - Checks both light DOM and shadow DOM for all elements
+   - Handles complex DOM structures generically
+   - Works with any wrapper elements, not specific to dees-demowrapper
 3. Added retry mechanism with up to 5 attempts (200ms between retries)
 4. Improved error messages to show retry count
+5. Comprehensive error handling:
+   - Errors in element search don't break the update cycle
+   - Individual property errors don't prevent other properties from rendering
+   - scheduleUpdate always completes even if createProperties fails
+   - Clears warnings and property content appropriately on errors
 
 ### Code Flow
 1. Dashboard renders element demo into viewport using `render(anonItem.demo(), viewport)`

readme.plan.md

@@ -61,4 +61,28 @@ The properties panel has timing issues detecting rendered elements because:
 - Access children via wrapper.children property
 - Updated documentation with correct import path (lowercase 'demotools')
 - Examples show how to use querySelector for powerful element selection
-- Added clarifying comment about querySelector working on slotted content
+- Added clarifying comment about querySelector working on slotted content
+
+## Fixed Properties Panel Compatibility:
+- Made element search generic - works with any container elements
+- Searches both light DOM and shadow DOM recursively
+- Improved error handling to prevent breaking the update cycle
+- Errors in one property don't prevent others from rendering
+- Detection continues working even after errors occur
+- Maintains compatibility with all element structures
+
+# Test Elements Created (COMPLETED)
+
+## Created comprehensive test elements:
+1. **test-noprops** - Element with no @property decorators
+2. **test-complextypes** - Element with arrays, objects, dates, and complex nested data
+3. **test-withwrapper** - Element that uses dees-demowrapper in its demo
+4. **test-edgecases** - Element with edge cases (null, undefined, NaN, Infinity, circular refs)
+5. **test-nested** - Element with deeply nested structure to test recursive search
+
+These test various scenarios:
+- Properties panel handling of elements without properties
+- Complex data type display and editing
+- Element detection inside dees-demowrapper
+- Error handling for problematic values
+- Deep nesting and shadow DOM traversal

test/elements/index.ts

@@ -1 +1,6 @@
 export * from './test-demoelement.js';
+export * from './test-noprops.js';
+export * from './test-complextypes.js';
+export * from './test-withwrapper.js';
+export * from './test-edgecases.js';
+export * from './test-nested.js';

test/elements/test-complextypes.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,137 @@
+import {
+  DeesElement,
+  customElement,
+  type TemplateResult,
+  html,
+  property,
+  css,
+} from '@design.estate/dees-element';
+
+interface IComplexData {
+  name: string;
+  age: number;
+  tags: string[];
+  metadata: {
+    created: Date;
+    modified: Date;
+    author: string;
+  };
+}
+
+@customElement('test-complextypes')
+export class TestComplexTypes extends DeesElement {
+  public static demo = () => html`
+    <test-complextypes 
+      .complexData=${{
+        name: 'Test User',
+        age: 25,
+        tags: ['developer', 'designer'],
+        metadata: {
+          created: new Date(),
+          modified: new Date(),
+          author: 'System'
+        }
+      }}
+    ></test-complextypes>
+  `;
+
+  @property({ type: Array })
+  public stringArray: string[] = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry'];
+
+  @property({ type: Array })
+  public numberArray: number[] = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
+
+  @property({ attribute: false })
+  public complexData: IComplexData = {
+    name: 'Default Name',
+    age: 0,
+    tags: [],
+    metadata: {
+      created: new Date(),
+      modified: new Date(),
+      author: 'Unknown'
+    }
+  };
+
+  @property({ type: Object })
+  public simpleObject = {
+    key1: 'value1',
+    key2: 'value2',
+    key3: 123
+  };
+
+  @property({ attribute: false })
+  public functionProperty = () => {
+    console.log('This is a function property');
+  };
+
+  @property({ type: Date })
+  public dateProperty = new Date();
+
+  public static styles = [
+    css`
+      :host {
+        display: block;
+        padding: 20px;
+        background: #f5f5f5;
+        border: 2px solid #ddd;
+        border-radius: 8px;
+        font-family: monospace;
+      }
+      .section {
+        margin: 10px 0;
+        padding: 10px;
+        background: white;
+        border-radius: 4px;
+      }
+      .label {
+        font-weight: bold;
+        color: #333;
+      }
+      .value {
+        color: #666;
+        margin-left: 10px;
+      }
+      pre {
+        background: #f0f0f0;
+        padding: 8px;
+        border-radius: 4px;
+        overflow-x: auto;
+      }
+    `
+  ];
+
+  public render() {
+    return html`
+      <div class="section">
+        <span class="label">String Array:</span>
+        <span class="value">${this.stringArray.join(', ')}</span>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="section">
+        <span class="label">Number Array:</span>
+        <span class="value">${this.numberArray.join(', ')}</span>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="section">
+        <span class="label">Complex Data:</span>
+        <pre>${JSON.stringify(this.complexData, null, 2)}</pre>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="section">
+        <span class="label">Simple Object:</span>
+        <pre>${JSON.stringify(this.simpleObject, null, 2)}</pre>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="section">
+        <span class="label">Date Property:</span>
+        <span class="value">${this.dateProperty.toLocaleString()}</span>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="section">
+        <span class="label">Function Property:</span>
+        <span class="value">${typeof this.functionProperty}</span>
+      </div>
+    `;
+  }
+}

test/elements/test-edgecases.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,195 @@
+import {
+  DeesElement,
+  customElement,
+  type TemplateResult,
+  html,
+  property,
+  css,
+} from '@design.estate/dees-element';
+
+@customElement('test-edgecases')
+export class TestEdgeCases extends DeesElement {
+  public static demo = () => html`<test-edgecases></test-edgecases>`;
+
+  // Property with null value
+  @property({ type: String })
+  public nullableString: string | null = null;
+
+  // Property with undefined value
+  @property({ type: Number })
+  public undefinedNumber: number | undefined = undefined;
+
+  // Very long string
+  @property({ type: String })
+  public longString: string = 'Lorem ipsum '.repeat(50);
+
+  // Property with special characters
+  @property({ type: String })
+  public specialChars: string = '!@#$%^&*()_+-=[]{}|;\':",./<>?`~';
+
+  // Property that could cause rendering issues
+  @property({ type: String })
+  public htmlString: string = '<script>alert("test")</script><b>Bold text</b>';
+
+  // Numeric edge cases
+  @property({ type: Number })
+  public infinityNumber: number = Infinity;
+
+  @property({ type: Number })
+  public nanNumber: number = NaN;
+
+  @property({ type: Number })
+  public veryLargeNumber: number = Number.MAX_SAFE_INTEGER;
+
+  @property({ type: Number })
+  public verySmallNumber: number = Number.MIN_SAFE_INTEGER;
+
+  @property({ type: Number })
+  public floatNumber: number = 3.14159265359;
+
+  // Boolean-like values
+  @property({ type: String })
+  public booleanString: string = 'false';
+
+  @property({ type: Number })
+  public booleanNumber: number = 0;
+
+  // Empty values
+  @property({ type: String })
+  public emptyString: string = '';
+
+  @property({ type: Array })
+  public emptyArray: any[] = [];
+
+  @property({ type: Object })
+  public emptyObject: {} = {};
+
+  // Circular reference (should not break properties panel)
+  @property({ attribute: false })
+  public circularRef: any = (() => {
+    const obj: any = { name: 'circular' };
+    obj.self = obj;
+    return obj;
+  })();
+
+  public static styles = [
+    css`
+      :host {
+        display: block;
+        padding: 20px;
+        background: #fff3e0;
+        border: 2px solid #ff9800;
+        border-radius: 8px;
+        font-family: monospace;
+        font-size: 12px;
+      }
+      .warning {
+        background: #ffe0b2;
+        padding: 10px;
+        border-radius: 4px;
+        margin-bottom: 10px;
+        color: #e65100;
+      }
+      .property {
+        margin: 5px 0;
+        padding: 5px;
+        background: white;
+        border-radius: 2px;
+        word-break: break-all;
+      }
+      .label {
+        font-weight: bold;
+        color: #f57c00;
+      }
+      .value {
+        color: #666;
+      }
+      .special {
+        background: #ffccbc;
+        padding: 2px 4px;
+        border-radius: 2px;
+      }
+    `
+  ];
+
+  private formatValue(value: any): string {
+    if (value === null) return 'null';
+    if (value === undefined) return 'undefined';
+    if (value === Infinity) return 'Infinity';
+    if (Number.isNaN(value)) return 'NaN';
+    if (typeof value === 'string' && value.length > 50) {
+      return value.substring(0, 50) + '...';
+    }
+    if (typeof value === 'object') {
+      try {
+        return JSON.stringify(value);
+      } catch (e) {
+        return '[Circular Reference]';
+      }
+    }
+    return String(value);
+  }
+
+  public render() {
+    return html`
+      <div class="warning">
+        ⚠️ This element tests edge cases and problematic values
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="property">
+        <span class="label">Nullable String:</span>
+        <span class="value special">${this.formatValue(this.nullableString)}</span>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="property">
+        <span class="label">Undefined Number:</span>
+        <span class="value special">${this.formatValue(this.undefinedNumber)}</span>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="property">
+        <span class="label">Long String:</span>
+        <span class="value">${this.formatValue(this.longString)}</span>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="property">
+        <span class="label">Special Characters:</span>
+        <span class="value">${this.specialChars}</span>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="property">
+        <span class="label">HTML String (escaped):</span>
+        <span class="value">${this.htmlString}</span>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="property">
+        <span class="label">Infinity:</span>
+        <span class="value special">${this.formatValue(this.infinityNumber)}</span>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="property">
+        <span class="label">NaN:</span>
+        <span class="value special">${this.formatValue(this.nanNumber)}</span>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="property">
+        <span class="label">Very Large Number:</span>
+        <span class="value">${this.veryLargeNumber}</span>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="property">
+        <span class="label">Float Number:</span>
+        <span class="value">${this.floatNumber}</span>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="property">
+        <span class="label">Empty String:</span>
+        <span class="value special">[empty]</span>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="property">
+        <span class="label">Circular Reference:</span>
+        <span class="value special">${this.formatValue(this.circularRef)}</span>
+      </div>
+    `;
+  }
+}

test/elements/test-nested.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+import {
+  DeesElement,
+  customElement,
+  type TemplateResult,
+  html,
+  property,
+  css,
+} from '@design.estate/dees-element';
+
+// Helper component for nesting
+@customElement('test-nested-wrapper')
+class TestNestedWrapper extends DeesElement {
+  public render() {
+    return html`
+      <div style="border: 1px dashed #ccc; padding: 10px; margin: 5px;">
+        <slot></slot>
+      </div>
+    `;
+  }
+}
+
+// The actual test element deeply nested
+@customElement('test-nested-target')
+class TestNestedTarget extends DeesElement {
+  @property({ type: String })
+  public message: string = 'I am deeply nested!';
+
+  @property({ type: Number })
+  public depth: number = 0;
+
+  @property({ type: Boolean })
+  public found: boolean = false;
+
+  public static styles = [
+    css`
+      :host {
+        display: block;
+        padding: 15px;
+        background: #e1f5fe;
+        border: 2px solid #0288d1;
+        border-radius: 4px;
+        margin: 5px;
+      }
+      .info {
+        font-family: monospace;
+        color: #01579b;
+      }
+    `
+  ];
+
+  public render() {
+    return html`
+      <div class="info">
+        <strong>Nested Target Element</strong><br>
+        Message: ${this.message}<br>
+        Depth: ${this.depth}<br>
+        Found by properties panel: ${this.found ? '✅' : '❌'}
+      </div>
+    `;
+  }
+}
+
+@customElement('test-nested')
+export class TestNested extends DeesElement {
+  public static demo = () => html`
+    <test-nested></test-nested>
+  `;
+
+  @property({ type: String })
+  public testId: string = 'nested-test';
+
+  public static styles = [
+    css`
+      :host {
+        display: block;
+        padding: 20px;
+        background: #f5f5f5;
+        border: 2px solid #999;
+        border-radius: 8px;
+      }
+      .explanation {
+        background: #fff;
+        padding: 10px;
+        border-radius: 4px;
+        margin-bottom: 10px;
+      }
+      .structure {
+        background: #f0f0f0;
+        padding: 10px;
+        border-radius: 4px;
+      }
+    `
+  ];
+
+  public render() {
+    return html`
+      <div class="explanation">
+        <h3>Nested Structure Test</h3>
+        <p>The actual element with properties is nested deep inside multiple layers:</p>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="structure">
+        <test-nested-wrapper>
+          <div style="padding: 10px; background: #ffe;">
+            <test-nested-wrapper>
+              <div style="padding: 10px; background: #efe;">
+                <test-nested-wrapper>
+                  <div style="padding: 10px; background: #eef;">
+                    <!-- The target element is here, 3 levels deep -->
+                    <test-nested-target
+                      .message=${'Found me at depth 3!'}
+                      .depth=${3}
+                    ></test-nested-target>
+                  </div>
+                </test-nested-wrapper>
+              </div>
+            </test-nested-wrapper>
+          </div>
+        </test-nested-wrapper>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div style="margin-top: 10px; font-style: italic; color: #666;">
+        Properties panel should find the test-nested-target element despite the deep nesting.
+      </div>
+    `;
+  }
+}

test/elements/test-noprops.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+import {
+  DeesElement,
+  customElement,
+  type TemplateResult,
+  html,
+  css,
+} from '@design.estate/dees-element';
+
+@customElement('test-noprops')
+export class TestNoProps extends DeesElement {
+  public static demo = () => html`<test-noprops></test-noprops>`;
+
+  public static styles = [
+    css`
+      :host {
+        display: block;
+        padding: 20px;
+        background: #f0f0f0;
+        border: 2px solid #ccc;
+        border-radius: 8px;
+      }
+      .message {
+        font-family: monospace;
+        color: #666;
+      }
+    `
+  ];
+
+  public render() {
+    return html`
+      <div class="message">
+        This element has no @property decorators.
+        Properties panel should handle this gracefully.
+      </div>
+    `;
+  }
+}

test/elements/test-withwrapper.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,111 @@
+import {
+  DeesElement,
+  customElement,
+  type TemplateResult,
+  html,
+  property,
+  css,
+} from '@design.estate/dees-element';
+
+// Import from local demotools
+import '../../ts_demotools/demotools.js';
+
+@customElement('test-withwrapper')
+export class TestWithWrapper extends DeesElement {
+  public static demo = () => html`
+    <dees-demowrapper .runAfterRender=${async (wrapper) => {
+      console.log('DemoWrapper: Found wrapper element', wrapper);
+      
+      const testElement = wrapper.querySelector('test-withwrapper');
+      if (testElement) {
+        console.log('DemoWrapper: Found test-withwrapper element');
+        testElement.dynamicValue = 'Set by demo wrapper!';
+        testElement.counter = 100;
+        
+        // Test querySelector functionality
+        const innerDiv = wrapper.querySelector('.inner-content');
+        console.log('DemoWrapper: Found inner div:', innerDiv);
+        
+        // Test querySelectorAll
+        const allButtons = wrapper.querySelectorAll('button');
+        console.log(`DemoWrapper: Found ${allButtons.length} buttons`);
+      }
+    }}>
+      <test-withwrapper></test-withwrapper>
+      <div style="margin-top: 10px; padding: 10px; background: #e0e0e0;">
+        This div is also inside the wrapper
+      </div>
+    </dees-demowrapper>
+  `;
+
+  @property({ type: String })
+  public dynamicValue: string = 'Initial value';
+
+  @property({ type: Number })
+  public counter: number = 0;
+
+  @property({ type: Boolean })
+  public isActive: boolean = false;
+
+  public static styles = [
+    css`
+      :host {
+        display: block;
+        padding: 20px;
+        background: #e8f5e9;
+        border: 2px solid #4caf50;
+        border-radius: 8px;
+      }
+      .wrapper-info {
+        background: #c8e6c9;
+        padding: 10px;
+        border-radius: 4px;
+        margin-bottom: 10px;
+      }
+      .inner-content {
+        background: white;
+        padding: 15px;
+        border-radius: 4px;
+        margin: 10px 0;
+      }
+      button {
+        background: #4caf50;
+        color: white;
+        border: none;
+        padding: 8px 16px;
+        border-radius: 4px;
+        cursor: pointer;
+        margin-right: 10px;
+      }
+      button:hover {
+        background: #45a049;
+      }
+      .status {
+        margin-top: 10px;
+        font-family: monospace;
+      }
+    `
+  ];
+
+  public render() {
+    return html`
+      <div class="wrapper-info">
+        This element is wrapped with dees-demowrapper in its demo
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="inner-content">
+        <h3>Dynamic Value: ${this.dynamicValue}</h3>
+        <p>Counter: ${this.counter}</p>
+        <p>Active: ${this.isActive ? 'Yes' : 'No'}</p>
+        
+        <button @click=${() => this.counter++}>Increment</button>
+        <button @click=${() => this.isActive = !this.isActive}>Toggle Active</button>
+        <button @click=${() => this.dynamicValue = 'Clicked!'}>Change Value</button>
+      </div>
+      
+      <div class="status">
+        Properties panel should detect this element inside the wrapper
+      </div>
+    `;
+  }
+}

ts_web/elements/wcc-properties.ts

@@ -229,23 +229,28 @@ export class WccProperties extends DeesElement {
   private async findElementRecursively(container: Element, elementClass: any, maxDepth: number = 5): Promise<HTMLElement | null> {
     if (maxDepth <= 0) return null;
     
-    // Check direct children
-    for (const child of Array.from(container.children)) {
-      if (child instanceof elementClass) {
-        return child as HTMLElement;
-      }
-    }
-    
-    // Check shadow roots of children
-    for (const child of Array.from(container.children)) {
-      if (child.shadowRoot) {
-        const found = await this.findElementRecursively(child.shadowRoot as any, elementClass, maxDepth - 1);
-        if (found) return found;
+    try {
+      // Check direct children
+      for (const child of Array.from(container.children)) {
+        if (child instanceof elementClass) {
+          return child as HTMLElement;
+        }
       }
       
-      // Also check nested children
-      const found = await this.findElementRecursively(child, elementClass, maxDepth - 1);
-      if (found) return found;
+      // Search in all children recursively
+      for (const child of Array.from(container.children)) {
+        // First, always check the light DOM children
+        const found = await this.findElementRecursively(child, elementClass, maxDepth - 1);
+        if (found) return found;
+        
+        // Also check shadow root if it exists
+        if (child.shadowRoot) {
+          const shadowFound = await this.findElementRecursively(child.shadowRoot as any, elementClass, maxDepth - 1);
+          if (shadowFound) return shadowFound;
+        }
+      }
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.error('Error in findElementRecursively:', error);
     }
     
     return null;
@@ -254,6 +259,9 @@ export class WccProperties extends DeesElement {
   public async createProperties() {
     console.log('creating properties for:');
     console.log(this.selectedItem);
+    
+    // Clear any previous warnings
+    this.warning = null;
     const isEnumeration = (propertyArg): boolean => {
       const keys = Object.keys(propertyArg.type);
       const values = [];
@@ -315,15 +323,20 @@ export class WccProperties extends DeesElement {
       let retries = 0;
       while (!firstFoundInstantiatedElement && retries < 5) {
         await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 200));
-        firstFoundInstantiatedElement = await this.findElementRecursively(
-          viewport,
-          this.selectedItem as any
-        );
+        try {
+          firstFoundInstantiatedElement = await this.findElementRecursively(
+            viewport,
+            this.selectedItem as any
+          );
+        } catch (error) {
+          console.error('Error during element search retry:', error);
+        }
         retries++;
       }
       
       if (!firstFoundInstantiatedElement) {
         this.warning = `no first instantiated element found for >>${anonItem.name}<< after ${retries} retries`;
+        this.propertyContent = [];
         return;
       }
       const classProperties: Map<string, any> = anonItem.elementProperties;
@@ -337,9 +350,10 @@ export class WccProperties extends DeesElement {
         if (key === 'goBright' || key === 'domtools') {
           continue;
         }
-        const property = classProperties.get(key);
-        const propertyTypeString = await determinePropertyType(property);
-        propertyArray.push(
+        try {
+          const property = classProperties.get(key);
+          const propertyTypeString = await determinePropertyType(property);
+          propertyArray.push(
           html`
             <div class="property">
               ${key} / ${propertyTypeString}<br />
@@ -392,6 +406,10 @@ export class WccProperties extends DeesElement {
             </div>
           `
         );
+        } catch (error) {
+          console.error(`Error processing property ${key}:`, error);
+          // Continue with next property even if this one fails
+        }
       }
       this.propertyContent = propertyArray;
     } else {
@@ -413,7 +431,14 @@ export class WccProperties extends DeesElement {
   }
 
   public async scheduleUpdate() {
-    await this.createProperties();
+    try {
+      await this.createProperties();
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.error('Error creating properties:', error);
+      // Clear property content on error to show clean state
+      this.propertyContent = [];
+    }
+    // Always call super.scheduleUpdate to ensure component updates
     super.scheduleUpdate();
   }