The Browser ( Builder Xcessory Browser ) is your primary control window while you are building your interface. With the Browser menus you open and save interface files, customize your views of Builder Xcessory and your interface, interact with other tools in your development environment, control your code generation, access special Builder Xcessory managers, and access on-line help.
The Browser displays the logical structure of your interface. This parent-child hierarchy of UI objects is displayed as a tree showing parents on the left and children on the right. You have the choice of viewing the Instance hierarchy of your interface, or you can view the Class hierarchy, the structure of all the high-level UI objects that you've created or imported for your interface.
A Simple UI and Corresponding Browser Display Area shows a simple UI and the corresponding Browser display area:
In addition to viewing your UI elements, you can manipulate these abstract representations directly with the mouse, using the Browser as a construction area.
Refer to
Browser
Allows you to control your files by performing the following operations:
· Create new user interface files
· Open and save user interface files
· Read one user interface file into another
· Load and save high-level UI classes
· Generate source code for your interface
Allows you to manipulate the objects in your interface by performing the following operations:
· Cut, copy, paste, or delete an object
· Copy an object to the Palette
· Revert UI to previous saved state
· Raise and lower objects, both in terms of visibility on the screen, and in terms of position in your instance hierarchy
· Control the size and position of the UI objects, in particular alignment
· Create high-level classes from groups of your UI objects
· Designate a member of a class as the receptor for the class
Allows you to modify the appearance of the Browser by performing the following operations:
· Control the view of some complex UI objects (such as compound Motif widgets and menu structures)
· Select the parent of the currently selected widget
· Force any widget created later to become a child of the currently selected widget
· Force each selected widget to align itself with the underlying placement grid if it is moved or resized
· View or hide the message area, the search area, the Toolbar, and your high-level Class hierarchy
Allows you to interact with the other tools in your development environment by performing the following operations:
· Put your interface in Play Mode to test its dynamic behavior
· Build the application for which you are creating an interface
Allows you to customize the Builder Xcessory environment and behavior by performing the following operations:
· Choose a default programming language
· Set code generation behavior
· Control the Builder Xcessory user interface
Provides access to the Builder Xcessory managers, which help you organize and effectively use different elements of your project. You can access the following managers:
Helps you manage your entire work area by performing the following operations:
· Iconify or deiconify all windows (Builder Xcessory and your UI)
· Raise any of the Builder Xcessory windows to the top of your desktop
Provides access to the online, hypertext help system, as well as version and copyright information.
Invoked by pressing MB3 while the mouse pointer is over a UI object, or its representation in the Browser window. This menu contains actions appropriate to the item under the mouse. You can apply all the items from the Browser Edit menu and also perform the following actions:
The Toolbar, optionally shown with the Browser View menu, allows you to place frequently used menu items within easy reach.
The Message Area, optionally shown with the Browser View menu, displays status and error messages from Builder Xcessory. The types of messages you can expect include confirmation of file generation and reports of attempted illegal user operations.
The display area in the Builder Xcessory Browser allows you to view your interface hierarchy and to manipulate that hierarchy. Depending on the view selected with the Instances/Classes view combination box on the left of the Browser, you can view and manipulate the instance or class hierarchy of your interface.
Navigate through the display area with the Panner, located in the upper left- hand corner of the Browser. The Panner functions as a two-dimensional scrollbar.
The Top-Level Object List at the left of the Browser permits you to view or hide both an interface window and its Browser representation by clicking on the object name with MB1 to select or deselect it.
To collapse or expand a section of your instance or class tree in the display area, with the corresponding interface window visible and available for work, click on the folder icon at the desired node of the tree.
When the Browser is in Instances view (default), the display area shows the instance hierarchy of your interface, that is, the parent-child relationships of all the UI objects in your interface. You can work directly with the UI objects in their respective windows, or you can work with their representations in the display area by performing the following operations:
· Drag objects from the Palette and drop them directly onto the display representations
· Drag a display representation from one position to another, reparenting that object
· Drag objects between their respective windows and the display area
· Edit objects using the Browser Edit menu or the MB3 Quick Access menu
When the Browser is in Classes view, the display area shows the contents of each of the high-level objects, or classes, that you have built or imported and are using. Only in this view can you edit a class after it has been initially built. In Classes view you have the same drag and drop capabilities as you have in Instance view.
For more information on classes, see Classes and Methods .
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