Browsing and exploring objects and their elements


You can view members of classes in both the Object Browser and the Explorer. Source files in a file system are represented as Java objects. Each source file node contains at least one class node as well as code representing members such as methods, constructors, and variables. In the Object Browser, the top-level and inner classes are shown in the Objects pane with all of their members appearing in the Members pane. In the Explorer, classes, named inner classes, and members are all represented hierarchically in subtrees of the Java objects.

If you want to change the way the nodes for elements are labeled, you can choose Tools | Global Options... from the main menu, select the Java Elements node, and enter a format for each type of element. See Java Elements reference for a guide to the substitution codes and formats available.

The tool tip for each object and element displays the full signature for each element, including access modifiers and field types.

It is also possible to create elements of classes using the contextual menus of classes in the Explorer and Object Browser.

Table 4: Source and form file icons
Icon
Description
Java source file
Java file without source code
Runnable Java object
Invalid Java source file (cannot be parsed)
Form object
Runnable form object
Incorrect form object (cannot be parsed)

Invalid package declarations

Source files that have the wrong package named in their code are marked with Invalid package declaration in the tool tip. To rectify this, you can change the package name in the file or mount a different directory. As a shortcut, you can use the Open File feature to mount a new directory and open a file in that directory. See Adding a file to the IDE.


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