Invocation After installation, the (Web site translator) VE is hard to
Invocation After installation, the VE is hard to notice. When you open Eclipse help, you will see a separate chapter for the Visual Editor. After a short browse through the supplied information, you may find out that the VE can be applied to any Java compilation unit. To do so, you must open a closed Java file with the context function Open with > Visual Editor. Afterwards, this file will be always opened with the VE when you double-click it in the Package Explorer. During your first steps with the VE you will soon notice that a large screen is required to work with the VE efficiently, because the editor area is subdivided into a visual design area and an area for the source code. As a matter of fact, you can maximize the editor area by double-clicking its title bar. Unfortunately, this is not a good solution because the Java Beans View and the Properties View are used frequently during the design process. So, it is better to switch back to the normal workbench mode. Bad news for notebook users, it seems. A nice feature is that the division of the design area and the source code area is not fixed but can be varied by moving the sash between the areas. By clicking one of the arrows on the sash you can maximize one area or the other. Furthermore, there is a viewing mode switch in the Java Beans View (second button from the left), which you can use to switch this view to a navigator function: the view shows the design area in reduced size, and by moving the gray rectangle you can easily navigate within a large layout. Preferences Of course, you can also opt not to use this split-screen editor but use a tabbed folder instead. In this case, both the design area and the source code area completely fill the editor area of the workbench and are activated by selecting the appropriate tab at the bottom of the editor area. This mode is especially useful for smaller screens (notebook users enjoy!). To activate this mode, go to Window > Preference > Java > Visual Editor. On the Appearance page, from the Show the Visual Editor and Source Editor section, select the On Separate Notebook Tabs option. On the same page you can also determine the skin (Look&Feel) to be used for generated Swing GUIs. If you own a fast computer, you may also want to shorten the delay for updating the source code after design changes (or vice versa). This is done on the Code Generation page under Source Synchronization Delay. The default value is 500 msec. Composition Composing GUIs with the VE is quite simple. On the left margin of the VE you will find a menu with GUI elements. These are organized in groups: Swing Components, Swing Containers, Swing Menus, and AWT Controls. Clicking such a group will expand it and collapse all others. However, clicking the pin at the right-hand side of the group name lets you keep a group open permanently. To move a GUI element to the design area, first select it with the mouse. Then click the target position in the design area. You don t drag and drop elements, but rather you move them as you would move cards in the card game Freecell. 46 Chapter 3
Our unmatched NT experience allows us to provide the most reliable and affordable hosting for our customers, just check NT Web Hosting services.