The Activity Editor interface
The following sections describe the views, menus, toolbars,
and keyboard shortcuts that are part of the Activity Editor interface.
Activity Editor views
Activity
Editor has two views for adding code fragments: Graphical and Java(TM).
The following sections describe each view.
Graphical view of Activity Editor
The Graphical view of the Activity Editor enables you
to specify the action node's logic without having to write
much, if any, Java code.
Instead, you can drag and drop function blocks onto the workspace
to represent the flow of the activity definition. Figure 51 illustrates the Graphical view.
Figure 51. Activity Editor: Graphical view
Note:
The size of the graphical activity canvas is limited;
however, you can place activity components horizontally, vertically
or diagonally to achieve the graphical activity desired.
The Graphical view of Activity Editor has four main windows:
the Activity Workbook window, the Library window, the Content window,
and the Properties window.
- Activity Workbook window--This window, usually referred
to as the editing canvas, is where you drag and drop the function
blocks that make up the business logic for your action node.
- Library window--This window contains a tree view of
the available function blocks and, optionally, the named groups.
The function blocks are arranged in folders according to their purpose
(see Supported
function blocks for more information).
In addition, this window contains the following folders:
- System--This folder contains system elements that can
be added to the editing canvas. System elements include comments,
descriptions, labels, to-do tags, and constants. (See New Constant function block and Tags for activity definitions for
more information on using these components.)
- My Library--This folder enables you to customize the
Library window.
- My Collection--This folder enables you to create a collection
of the components you use most often. You can place regular function
blocks in this folder, or create your own reusable component group
(see Component
groups for more information).
- Variables--This folder contains global variables that
are available for use in the current activity. It typically contains
the port's business object variables, as well as all of
the other business objects and variables defined in the scenario.
- Content window--This window contains a large icon list
of the function blocks available within the currently selected folder
in the Library window. You can select a function block to view its
description and properties in the Properties window, or you can
drag and drop a function block icon onto the editing canvas to create
part of the activity flow.
- Properties window--This window displays the properties
of the currently selected function block. Properties are displayed
in a grid within this window. Some properties can be edited directly
in the Properties window, while others are read-only.
Java view
of Activity Editor
The Java view
can be used to add traditional Java code
to an action node. Use this view if you prefer to write code instead
of representing it graphically, or if the Graphical view does not
provide all of the functions you need for the code fragment.
Important
Once you enter or modify code in the Java view, you cannot use
the Graphical view. All further work on the code fragment must be
done in Activity Editor's Java view, or directly in the
Code Fragment window of the Action Properties dialog box.
To
simplify the reading and understanding of program code, the Java view
displays code using a color-coded scheme, as described inTable 45.
Table 45. Code Fragment Color Scheme
Color |
Code Type |
Green |
Comment |
Pink |
String literal |
Blue |
Keyword |
Figure 52 illustrates the Activity
Editor's Java view.
Figure 52. Activity Editor: Java view
Activity
Editor menus
This section describes the functionality available from
the Activity Editor menus.
File
menu
The Activity Editor File menu provides the following options:
- Save--Saves the activity to Process Designer Express.
- Print Setup--Opens the Print Setup dialog box for specifying
print options.
- Print Preview--Switches the editor to print preview
mode. This menu option is available only in the Java view.
- Print--Opens the Print dialog box for printing the current
activity. This menu option is available only in the Java view.
- Close--Closes the Activity Editor.
Edit
menu
The Activity Editor Edit menu provides the following options:
- Undo--Clears the last change you made and restores the
previous version. This menu option is available only in the Java view.
- Redo--Restores a change that was previously removed
with the Undo command. This menu option is
available only in the Java view.
- Cut--Deletes the selected item. The item is copied to
the clipboard.
- Copy--Copies the selected item to the clipboard.
- Paste--Pastes the object currently in the clipboard
into the activity at the point where the cursor is located.
- Delete--Deletes the selected object.
- Select All--Selects all objects in the activity.
- Find--Finds specified text in the editing area. This
menu option is available only in the Java view.
- Replace--Finds specified text and replaces it with the
new text you specify. This menu option is available only in the Java view.
- Goto Line--Moves the cursor to a specified line. This
menu option is available only in the Java view.
View
menu
The Activity Editor View menu provides the following options:
- Design mode--Toggles between Design mode and Quick View
mode.
- Quick View mode--Toggles between Quick View mode and
Design mode.
- Go To--Opens the following submenu for navigating within
the activity:
- Back--Moves backward in the navigation history.
- Forward--Moves forward in the navigation history.
- Up One Level--Displays the diagram from one higher level.
- Home--Goes to the top-level diagram in the Graphical
view.
- Zoom In--Magnifies content in the editor.
- Zoom Out--Minimizes content in the editor.
- Zoom To--Opens the Zoom dialog box for specifying a
particular level of zoom.
- Library window--Toggles the Library window on and off.
- Content window--Toggles the Content window on and off.
- Properties window--Toggles the Properties window on
and off.
- Toolbars--Opens the following submenu for displaying
and closing toolbars:
- Standard--Toggles the Standard toolbar on and off.
- Graphics--Toggles the Graphics toolbar on and off.
- Status Bar--Toggles the status bar on and off.
- Preferences--Opens the Preferences dialog box for specifying
the Activity Editor's default behavior.
Tools
menu
The Activity Editor Tools menu provides the following
option:
- Translate--Translates the current activity to Java code
and opens the Java view.
Help
menu
The Activity Editor Help menu provides the following options:
- Help Topics--Opens the help topics.
- Documentation--Opens the InterChange Server Express documentation.
Context
menu
The Activity Editor context menu is accessed by right-clicking
on the editing canvas. It provides the following options:
- New Constant--Creates a new Constant component on the
editing canvas.
- Add Label--Creates a new label component on the editing
canvas.
- Add Description--Creates a new description component
on the editing canvas.
- Add Comment--Creates a new comment component on the
canvas.
- Add To Do--Creates a new reminder component in the activity.
- Add To My Collection--Creates a new component group
for reuse in the Library window.
Activity Editor toolbars
Activity Editor has two toolbars: the Standard toolbar
and the Graphics toolbar. The Standard toolbar provides functionality
for saving and printing activities, cutting, copying, pasting, and
deleting elements in the activity, and accessing help.
The Graphics toolbar provides functionality for navigating within
activities. The buttons correspond to the View --> Zoom
and View --> Go To menu items.
Activity Editor keyboard shortcuts
Table 46 lists the Activity
Editor menu items and the keyboard shortcuts associated with them.
Table 46. Activity Editor keyboard shortcuts
Menu |
Menu item |
Keyboard shortcut |
File menu |
Save |
Ctrl+S |
Print Setup |
Ctrl+Shift+P |
Print Preview |
No shortcut available |
Print |
Ctrl+P |
Close |
No shortcut available |
Edit |
Cut |
Ctrl+X |
Copy |
Ctrl+C |
Paste |
Ctrl+P |
Delete |
Del |
Select All |
Ctrl+A |
Find |
Ctrl+F |
Goto Line |
Ctrl+G |
View |
Design Mode |
No shortcut available |
Quick View Mode |
No shortcut available |
Go To/Back |
Alt+Left Arrow |
Go To/Forward |
Alt+Right Arrow |
Go To/Up One Level |
No shortcut available |
Go To/Home |
Alt+Home |
Zoom In |
Ctrl++ |
Zoom Out |
Ctrl+ - |
Zoom To |
Ctrl+M |
Library Window |
No shortcut available |
Content Window |
No shortcut available |
Properties Window |
No shortcut available |
Toolbars |
No shortcut available |
Status Bar |
No shortcut available |
Preferences |
Ctrl+U |
Tools |
Translate |
Ctrl+T |
Help |
Help Topics |
F1 |
Documentation |
No shortcut available |
