Understanding The User Interface

The user interface is shown below and divides into the main editing area, the menu system, the status bar and an optional side panel.



To understand the interface quickly, we will first load an existing project and run it. To do so, locate the FILE > OPEN PROJECT button and select it:



Now find the PelicanDemo folder and open this to reveal the PelicanDemo.DBPRO file. This is the project file we wish to open, so select it and click OPEN:



Once the project has loaded in, click the green arrow button as indicated in the shot below to compile and run the project:



You have just loaded an existing project, compiled and run the program it contained. Now we shall look at the selections available in the interface menus. The menu bar divides into the following options:




FILE Menu


NEW : Starts a new project or DBA file
OPEN : Opens an existing project or DBA file
CLOSE : Close window holding current source code
SAVE : Save currently edited source code
SAVE AS : Save current source code under a new name
SAVE PROJECT : Save the current project
SAVE PROJECT AS : Save project under a new name
SAVE ALL : Save all source code of current project and project itself
PRINT : Print current source code to printer
PRINT SETUP : Launch printer setup dialog
EXIT : Exit the editor

EDIT Menu


UNDO : Restore source code to previous state
REDO : Reapply state prior to UNDO being used
CUT : Copy and cut currently selected text to clipboard
COPY : Copy currently selected text to clipboard
PASTE : Paste contents of clipboard to source code cursor
SELECT ALL : Selects all text in current source code window
FIND : Opens a dialog allowing source code to be scanned for matching text
FIND IN FILES : Opens a dialog allowing all project to be scanned for matching text
REPLACE : Opens a dialog allowing source code to be replaced with matching text
BOOKMARKS : Allows bookmarks to be set, cleared and navigated to
INSERT/REMOVE BREAKPOINT : Toggles breakpoint within source code at cursor
REMOVE ALL BREAKPOINTS : Removes all the breakpoints in the source code
ADVANCED - GO TO LINE : Jumps to the line in the current source code
ADVANCED - GO TO PROJECT LINE : Jumps to the line taking the whole project into account
ADVANCED - COMMENT SELECTION : Allows highlighted text to be given comment text
ADVANCED - UNCOMMENT SELECTION : Removes comment text from a highlighted section
ADVANCED - INCREASE LINE INDENT : Indents the highlighted text in the source code
ADVANCED - DECREASE LINE INDENT : Reduces the indent in the highlight text
ADVANCED - GO TO DEFINITION : Goes to the line holding the definition of the call currently under the cursor
ADVANCED - GO TO LAST LINE : Goes to the last line in the source code
OUTLINING - HIDE SELECTION : Hide currently selected outlining
OUTLINING - STOP HIDING CURRENT : Show currently select outlining
OUTLINING - TOGGLE OUTLINING : Toggle the currently selected outlining
OUTLINING - TOGGLE ALL OUTLINING : Toggle all outlining used
OUTLINING - COLLAPSE TO DEFINITIONS : Collapse all definitions using outlining
OUTLINING - STOP OUTLINING : Stops all outlining
ENABLE OUTLINING : Toggles whether outlining is used in the editor
AUTOMATIC OUTLINING : Toggles whether outlining should be applied automatically
LINE NUMBERS : Toggles whether line numbers are displayed in the editor

COMPILE Menu


COMPILE : Compiles the current project but does not run it
COMPILE & RUN : Compiles and runs the current project
COMPILE & RUN IN DEBUG MODE : Compiles and runs through the built-in debugger
COMPILE & RUN IN STEP-THROUGH MODE : Compiles and runs through the built-in step-through debugger
EXECUTE PREVIOUS APPLICATION : Runs the last successfully compiled application

VIEW Menu


FULL SCREEN : Toggles the editor into windowed or full screen mode (more editing space)
TOOLBARS - Standard : Toggles whether the basic toolbar icons are shown in the editor
TOOLBARS - Edit : Toggles whether the edit toolbar is shown in the editor
TOOLBARS - Browser : Toggles whether the help browse toolbar is shown in the editor
TOOLBARS - Solution Explorer : Toggles whether the solutions explorer tab is shown in the editor
TOOLBARS - Media : Toggles whether the media tab is shown in the editor
TOOLBARS - Cursors : Toggles whether the cursors tab is shown in the editor
TOOLBARS - Properties : Toggles whether the properties tab is shown in the editor
TOOLBARS - To Do and Comments : Toggles whether the todo tab is shown in the editor
TOOLBARS - Code View : Toggles whether the code view tab is shown in the editor
TOOLBARS - Output : Toggles whether the output window is shown in the editor
STATUS BAR : Toggles whether the status bar is shown in the editor

TOOLS Menu


KEYSTATE HELPER : A handy tool to quickly show the state value of keys
COMMAND ARGUMENTS : Can preset a string to act as the command line argument
REBUILD KEYWORDS : If a new keyword file has been included, this will update the editor
ASSOCIATE PROJECT AND SOURCE FILES : This ties DBA and DBPRO files to this editor
CUSTOMIZE : Launches a standard interface customization dialog
OPTIONS : Launches the options dialog to control editor presets

HELP Menu


DARKBASIC PROFESSIONAL HELP : Shows the main help system
DARKBASIC PROFESSIONAL VIDEOS : Opens a dialog containing any available videos
KEYBOARD MAP : Opens a dialog allowing keys to be mapped to editor functions
CHECK FOR UPDATES : Checks the TGC server for Upgrades
CHECK DARKBASIC PROFESSIONAL MODULES : Reveals which modules you have installed
OPEN GAME CREATOR STORE : Opens the built-in Game Creator Store feature
ABOUT DARKBASIC PROFESSIONAL EDITOR : Shows the current editor version number
ABOUT DARKBASIC PROFESSIONAL COMPILER : Shows the current compiler version number


GO TO THE NEXT PAGE