The AppBrowser window

The AppBrowser window has three general areas:

The behavior of these panes depends on which tab is selected at the bottom of the window, and which type of node is selected in the Navigation pane.

Tabs | Icons | Glyphs

Exploring the AppBrowser

To explore the AppBrowser and discover new features, right-click and double-click on various tabs, tree nodes, icons, and surfaces. Drag-and-drop actions are also available, such as dragging a file onto the Opened tab. Notice that the tabs at the bottom of the window change automatically when you double-click some items. The tabs and icons are listed below.

To return to the starting state, click the Project tab and the Home icon. For a handy project to experiment with, choose Help|Welcome Project.

See also:
Getting Started with JBuilder: The AppBrowser
Getting Started with JBuilder: AppBrowser modes


Tabs in the AppBrowser


Tabs on the left side of the AppBrowser
Project The Project Browser mode of the AppBrowser shows the project tree with nodes for the current project, its files, and its packages.
Opened The Opened Files Browser mode shows a list of files opened during this session. These files do not need to be part of the compiled project. When you select a file, the file is loaded into the Structure pane and Content pane.
Directory The Directory Browser mode lets you navigate through directories and easily look at the structure and content of the files. To keep a file available, you can drag-and-drop it onto the Opened or Project tab.
Debug Appears when you are using the Debugger. The two panes on the left become the Threads and Stack pane and the Data pane.
Watch Shows the Watch pane of the Debugger.
Hierarchy The Class Hierarchy Browser mode shows the class hierarchy tree for the selected class, enabling you to easily examine the structure, content, and relationship of .java files.
Search The Search Results browser displays a list of .java files that contain text that was searched for with the Search Source Path dialog box.

Tabs on the right side of the AppBrowser
Source The Source tab shows Java or HTML code for the file selected in the Navigation pane, in the upper left. While Debugging, the Source pane displays additional features. (See the Source pane for the Debugger topic for more information.)
Design The Design tab switches to the visual design tools, including the Component Tree in the lower left, the UI Designer or Menu Designer on the right side of the AppBrowser, and the Component Inspector window to the right of the AppBrowser. The Component Palette above the AppBrowser enables you to drop a component onto the Component Tree or UI Designer.
Bean The Bean tab exposes the BeansExpress Property, Event, BeanInfo, and Property Editor designers. Use them to add properties and events to your bean, choose what properties are exposed, and create custom property editors.
Doc The Doc tab shows the API reference documentation for the class that is selected in the Navigation pane on the upper left, if the documentation is available.
View The View tab shows the formatted HTML results for the file that is selected in the Navigation pane, on the upper left.
Viewer The Viewer tab displays the .gif or .jpg image file that is selected in the Navigation pane, on the upper left.
Error pane The error pane appears after compiling, if there are errors or warnings. To show or hide the error pane, choose View|Message View.


Icons in the AppBrowser


Icons for Source Editing or Design mode
Home to First in Browser History Returns to your starting point, within the context of the selected tab on the lower left.
Prior in Browser History Shows the previous node that was viewed in the AppBrowser, within the context of the selected tab on the lower left.
Next in Browser History Shows the next node that was viewed in the AppBrowser, if you used the Back button recently. Operates within the context of the tab selected at the bottom of the AppBrowser.
Add to Project, Open into Opened List Adds a file to the tree currently displayed in the Navigation pane, such as the project tree or the Opened list.
Remove from Project, Remove from Opened List Removes the file or node from the tree currently displayed in the Navigation pane, such as the project tree or the Opened list.
Refresh Listing Refreshes the directory listing. Appears when the Directory tab is selected in the lower left.

Icons in the Menu Designer
Insert Item Inserts a placeholder for a new menu item above or to the left of the cursor.
Insert Separator Inserts a separator bar immediately above the currently selected menu item.
Insert Nested Menu Creates a placeholder for a nested submenu and adds an arrow to the right of the selected menu item.
Delete Item Deletes the selected menu item (and all its submenu items, if any).
Enable/Disable Item Toggles the Enabled property of the selected menu item between enabled and disabled and dims it when it is disabled.
Checkable/ Uncheckable Item Makes the menu item checkable.

Icons in the Debugger
Run Runs the current program in the Debugger.
Step Over Executes the method call at the execution point, without pausing at any statements in the called method.
Trace Into Executes the method call at the execution point, pausing at statements in the called method.
Pause Temporarily halts the program being debugged, enabling you to examine or modify values, and continue debugging from the current execution point.
Reset Exits the Debugging session and resets the program being debugged.


Glyphs in the AppBrowser


  Navigation pane
  Project file
  Source file
  Runnable source file
  Native source file
  Image file
  HTML file
  Unknown file type

  Structure pane
  Superclass
  Interface
  Method
  Runnable method
  Native method
  Polymorphic method
  Class or object
  Runnable object
  Native object
  Constructor
  Primitive data
  Object data (array)
  The package for the current class
  Imported class or package
  HTML anchor
  Local HTML link
  Remote HTML link

  Component Tree
  Component under design
  Visual container
  Layout manager
  Visual component
  JavaBean component
  Group of components

  Debugger
  Primitive data
  Class or object
  Group of data types
  Method
  Thread
  Execution point
  Breakpointable line
  Unverified breakpoint
  Verified breakpoint
  Invalid breakpoint