Working with Preferred Classes Browsers

You can use a Preferred Classes Browser to collect and structure your favorite classes. You can navigate in the browser, use drag-and-drop, select classes, and apply context menu commands on them.

You can open several preferred classes browsers.

This task shows you how to:

See Also
About Tools for Managing Classes

Display the Preferred Classes Browsers

You can display preferred classes browsers, they are not displayed by default.

To display a Preferred Classes Browser, do the following:
  • If minimized, any Preferred Classes Browser is represented by an icon on the right side of the screen. Click this icon to display it.
  • If not displayed, from the View section of the action bar, click Preferred Classes .
    Tip: You can also access this command from any of:
    • The App Options panel. To access the App Options panel, from the Tools section of the action bar, select App Options .
    • The Action Pad panel. To access the Action Pad panel, from the Tools section of the action bar, click Action Pad , or right-click an empty area and select Display > Action Pad.

The preferred classes browsers are displayed.

Tip: To hide the preferred classes browsers, click again (from the action bar or the App Options panel) Preferred Classes , or close the browsers. You can also minimize a browser, if not docked.

Display as Thumbnails

You can display the classes as thumbnails, including the Modelica class paths.

  1. Click Switch View .
    The classes are displayed as thumbnails, including the Modelica class paths.

  2. To display the classes in a list, click Switch View again.

Sort the Contents of a Preferred Classes Browser

You can sort the contents of a Preferred Classes Browser alphabetically, in ascending or descending order. You can sort the class names or the full path names.

Tip: You can also sort the classes in the browser by drag and drop.

  1. Right-click any class or folder and select one of the following commands:
    • Sort by name.

      The classes and folders are sorted by the class names.

    • Sort by full path.

      The classes and folders are sorted by the full class paths.

  2. To change between ascending and descending order, perform the given command again.
    The order is toggled each time the same command is given.

Add a Class to the Preferred Classes Browser

You can add a class to the Preferred Classes Browser, either at the top level or in a folder.

  1. In the Preferred Classes Browser, open the folder where you want to locate the class. (If no folder is opened or present, the class is added at the top level.)

    Tip: If you use drag and drop, you don´t have to open any folder.

  2. To add a class as a preferred class use one of the following ways:
    • Drag the class from a Package Browser, and drop it in the Preferred Classes Browser.
    • Right-click the class in any Package Browser displaying the class, and select Manage Shortcuts > Add to Preferred Classes.

The class is added in the current folder of the Preferred Classes Browser.

Remove a Class or a Folder from the Preferred Classes Browser

You can remove a class or a folder from the Preferred Classes Browser.

  1. In the Preferred Classes Browser, select the class or folder you want to remove from the browser.
  2. Click Remove .

    Tip: This command is also available from the context menu of a selected class or folder in the Preferred Classes Browser.

The class or folder is removed from the Preferred Classes Browser.

Navigate in the Folder Structure of the Preferred Classes Browser

You can navigate in the folder structure in the Preferred Classes Browser. The history of your navigation is kept and can be used for further navigation.

Before you begin:

You have a Preferred Classes Browser with a folder "A" at the top level. In that folder "A" you have a folder "B". You are at the top level, you see the folder "A", like the below:

  1. To open the folder A, double-click it.
    • The folder A is opened and the content (folder B) is displayed.
    • The path in the header is changed to PreferredClasses/A.
  2. To open the folder B, double-click it.
    • The folder B is opened and the content is displayed.
    • The path in the header is changed to PreferredClasses/A/B.
  3. To open the folder A again, do any of the following:
    • Click Parent Folder ? .

      The parent folder (A) is opened.

    • Click Previous Folder ? .

      The previously visited folder (A) is opened.

  4. To open the folder B again, do any of the following:
    • Double-click the folder A.
    • Click Next Folder ? .

Add a Folder to the Preferred Classes Browser

You can add a folder in the Preferred Classes Browser. You can add classes in the newly added folder.

  1. Open the folder where the folder should be added.

    If no folder is opened, the folder is added at top level.

  2. Click Create a new folder in the Preferred Classes Browser.
    The Create a folder dialog box appears.
  3. Enter the name of the folder.
  4. Click OK.

A new folder is added.

Create an Additional Preferred Classes Browser

You can create a new Preferred Classes Browser from a folder in an existing Preferred Classes Browser.

In an existing Preferred Classes Browser, right-click a folder and select Open in New Browser.

A new Preferred Classes Browser is created, displaying the content of the folder.

Note: When you work with several preferred classes browsers, you still work with only one structure. If you, for example, add a class to a certain folder in one Preferred Classes Browser, all other preferred classes browsers displaying this folder are updated to display this new class as well.

Import Shortcuts from a Model (.mo file)

You can import shortcuts from a model (.mo file) containing corresponding annotations to the Preferred Classes Browser.

The corresponding annotations are annotation(__Dymola_menu=true), annotation(__Dymola_toolbar=true), and annotation(__Dymola_shortcut=true).

Important:
  • Only the structure corresponding to the result of the annotations is imported, not any other aspects of the annotations.
  • Prefilled parameter values of the models or functions in the structure are not imported.

  1. In the Preferred Classes Browser, click Import shortcuts contained in mo file in PreferredClasses .
    The Import a Modelica File dialog box appears.
  2. Browse for the wanted model and click Open.
    A folder with the specified model is created in the Preferred Classes Browser. The folder contains the shortcut structure imported from the model.

Use Actions and Commands for Classes in the Preferred Classes Browser

You can perform a number of actions on a class in the Preferred Classes Browser using drag and drop or using the context menu.

From the context menu you can: