Customizing the IDE

The IDE is configurable over a wide range of parameters: colors can be changed, screen resolution. The configuration settings can be reached via the sub-menu Environment in the Options menu.

Preferences

The preferences dialog is called by the menu item . The preferences dialog is shown in figure [fig:oeprefs].

Video mode

The drop down list at the top of the dialog allows selecting a video mode. The available video modes depend on the system on which the IDE is running.

Remark:

1. The video mode must be selected by pressing space or clicking on it. If the drop down list is opened while leaving the dialog, the new video mode will not be applied.

2. For the DOSversion of the IDE, the following should be noted: When using VESA modes, the display refresh rate may be very low. On older graphics card (1998 and before), it is possible to use the UniVBE driver from SciTech⁸

Desktop File

Specifies where the desktop file is saved: the current directory, or the directory where the config file was found.

Desktop

Configure certain aspects of the desktop:

Show clock

Displays a clock in the upper right corner of the desktop.

Show heap monitor

Displays used memory in kilobytes in the lower right corner of the desktop.

Auto save

Here it is possible to set which files are saved when a program is run or when the IDE is exited:

Editor files

The contents of all open edit windows will be saved.

Environment

The current environment settings will be saved.

Desktop

The desktop file with all desktop settings (open windows, history lists, breakpoints etc.) will be saved.

Options

Some special behaviors of the IDE can be specified here:

Auto track source

Close on go to source

When checked, the messages window is closed when the ’go to source line’ action is executed.

Change dir on open

When a file is opened, the directory of that file is made the current working directory.

The desktop

The desktop preferences dialog allows to specify what elements of the desktop are saved across sessions, i.e. they are saved when the IDE is left, and they are again restored when the IDE is started the next time. They are saved in the file fp.dsk. The desktop preferences dialog is shown in figure [fig:oedesk].

The following elements can be saved and restored across IDE sessions:

History lists

Most entry boxes have a history list where previous entries are saved and can be selected. When this option is checked, these entries are saved in the desktop file. On by default.

Clipboard content

When checked, the contents of the clipboard are also saved to disk. Off by default.

Watch expressions

When checked, all watch expressions are saved in the desktop file. Off by default.

Breakpoints

When checked, all breakpoints with their properties are saved in the desktop file. Off by default.

Open windows

When checked, the list of files in open editor windows is saved in the desktop file, and the windows will be restored the next time the IDE is run. On by default.

Symbol information

When checked, the information for the symbol browser is saved in the desktop file. Off by default.

CodeComplete wordlist

When checked, the list of codecompletion words is saved. On by default.

CodeTemplates

When checked, the defined code templates are saved. On by default.

Return to last directory

When checked, othe current directory will be set to the directory last used upon exiting the IDE. Off by default.

The Editor

Several aspects of the editor window behavior can be set in this dialog. The editor preferences dialog is shown in figure [fig:oeeditor]. Note that some of these options affect only newly opened windows, not already opened windows (e.g. Vertical Blocks, Highlight Column/Row).

The following elements can be set in the editor preferences dialog:

Create backup files

Whenever an editor file is saved, a backup is made of the old file. On by default.

Insert mode

Start with insert mode.

Auto indent mode

Smart indenting is on. This means that pressing will position the cursor on the next line in the same column where text starts on the current line. On by default.

Use tab characters

When the tab key is pressed, use a tab character. Normally, when the tab key is pressed, spaces are inserted. When this option is checked, tab characters will be inserted instead. Off by default.

Backspace unindents

Pressing the key will unindent if the beginning of the text on the current line is reached, instead of deleting just the previous character. On by default.

Persistent blocks

When a selection is made, and the cursor is moved, the selection is not destroyed, i.e. the selected block stays selected. On by default.

Syntax highlight

Use syntax highlighting on the files that have an extension which appears in the list of highlight extensions. On by default.

Block insert cursor

The insert cursor is a block instead of an underscore character. By default the overwrite cursor is a block. This option reverses that behavior. Off by default.

Vertical blocks

When selecting blocks spanning several lines, the selection doesn’t contain the entirety of the lines within the block; instead, it contains the lines as far as the column on which the cursor is located. Off by default.

Highlight column

When checked, the current column (i.e. the column where the cursor is) is highlighted. Off by default.

Highlight row

When checked, the current row (i.e. the row where the cursor is) is highlighted. Off by default.

Auto closing brackets

When an opening bracket character is typed, the closing bracket is also inserted at once. Off by default.

Keep trailing spaces

When saving a file, the spaces at the end of lines are stripped off. This option disables that behavior; i.e. any trailing spaces are also saved to file. Off by default.

Codecomplete enabled

Enable code completion. On by default.

Enable folds

Enable code folding. Off by default.

Tab size

The number of spaces that are inserted when the key is pressed. The default value is 8.

Indent size

The number of spaces a block is indented when calling the block indent function. The default value is 2.

Highlight extensions

When syntax highlighting is on, the list of file masks entered here will be used to determine which files are highlighted. File masks should be separated with semicolon (;) characters. The default is *.pas;*.pp;*.inc.

File patterns needing tabs

Some files (such as makefiles) need actual tab characters instead of spaces. Here a series of file masks can be entered to indicate files for which tab characters will always be used. Default is make*;make*.*.

Keyboard & Mouse

The Keyboard & mouse options dialog is called by the menu item . It allows adjusting the behavior of the keyboard and mouse as well as the sensitivity of the mouse. The keyboard and mouse options dialog is shown in figure [fig:oemouse].

Keys for copy, cut and paste

Set the keys to use for clipboard operations:

• CUA-91 convention (Shift+Del,Ctrl+Ins,Shift+Ins)

• Microsoft convention (Ctrl+X,Ctrl+C,Ctrl+V)

Mouse double click

The slider can be used to adjust the double click speed. Fast means that the time between two clicks is very short; slow means that the time between two mouse clicks can be quite long.

Reverse mouse buttons

the behavior of the left and right mouse buttons can be swapped by by checking the checkbox; this is especially useful for left-handed people.

Ctrl+Right mouse button

Assigns an action to a right mouse button click while holding the key pressed.

Alt+right mouse button

Assigns an action to right mouse button click while holding the key pressed.

The following actions can be assigned to -Right mouse button or -right mouse button:

Nothing

No action is associated to the event.

Topic search

The keyword at the mouse cursor is searched in the help index.

Go to cursor

The program is executed until the line where the mouse cursor is located.

Breakpoint

Set a breakpoint at the mouse cursor position.

Evaluate

Evaluate the value of the variable at the mouse cursor.

Add watch

Add the variable at the mouse cursor to the watch list.

Browse symbol

The symbol at the mouse cursor is displayed in the browser.