PB Object Outline

The PB Object Outline provides a convenient, single view for navigating and manipulating object components.

The PB Object Outline shows all the components of a PowerBuilder object that is open for editing. The components are grouped into categories such as Controls, Events, and Functions. If you open or switch to a different painter, the PB Object Outline changes to show the components in the painter. If no PowerBuilder object is open, the window contains no outline.

In the outline, you can:

Expand and collapse individual folders, or use the buttons at the top to expand or collapse all folders.
Expand a nonvisual object that is open in a nonvisual object painter, or used in a window or visual user object, to show its events and functions.
Expand interfaces to show any indexers, events, functions, and .NET properties. Interfaces can extend other interfaces. When an object in the outline extends other interfaces, those interfaces expand to the same information as the interface object. You can expand each level recursively until there are no more extended interfaces.
Expand controls to view nested controls and control scripts.
Expand enumeration types into the enumerated values.
Expand structure types into the structure elements.

Object icons

Each object in the PB Object Outline has an icon representing its object type.

Events, functions, indexers, and .NET properties have an additional state icon that indicates the location of the object's script: either locally (with the object), in an ancestor only, or both locally and in an ancestor. The indexer and .NET property state icons reflect the combined get and set states, because an element can represent both methods.

An element that is under source control displays the same source control state icon in the outline and in the system tree.

Sorting and filtering options

The context menu for scripts includes options for sorting and filtering the outline.

For indexers, functions, events, and .NET properties, only local scripted objects are shown, by default, in the outline. Context menu options let you include unscripted and scripted ancestor objects.

The default sorting scheme groups all locally scripted objects first, followed by objects that are scripted in an ancestor, followed by unscripted objects. Context menu options let you change the sorting scheme.

Items in menu and global structure outlines appear in the order defined in the menu, unless you change the outline sort order.

When you use context menu options to change sorting or filtering, you override the global settings that are defined in the Script Lists page of the Options dialog box, which apply to all instances of the PB Object Outline. Changes to the current instance of the PB Object Outline do not affect any other instances.

Context menu actions

Context menus for items in the outline can include one or more of these actions:

New item – opens a new script for an indexer, event, function, .NET property, enumeration, or structure.
For example, in the PB Object Outline for a window object, if you right-click the Events folder and select New Event, the window's Script view opens with a New Event tab, where you can complete the event definition.
Nonvisual Object actions – the context menu for nonvisual objects provides two methods for adding a nonvisual object:
- New – displays a submenu of built-in nonvisual class types to choose from, and it creates a new nonvisual instance of the type you select. This method is convenient, but you cannot insert a named nonvisual object from your library.
- Add Nonvisual Object – opens the Select UserObject dialog box, from which you can insert a previously created nonvisual user object into the current object.
Go To Declare object – opens a Declare script for a using, interface, instance variable, shared variable, global variable, or external function.
Go To Script – opens the Script view tab of the selected outline item.
Edit Namespace – opens the Script view Namespace \ Usings tab for the selected namespace.
Remove – deletes the selected element.
Properties – opens the Properties view for the selected element.