Setting preferences for Rich UI appearance

To set the appearance of Rich UI items in the EGL editor:
  1. From the main menu, click Window > Preferences. The Preferences window is displayed.
  2. Expand EGL and Rich UI; and then click Appearance. The Appearance pane is displayed with three tabs: General, Browser size, and Languages.
For information about setting preferences in each tab, see the "General tab," "Browser size tab," and "Languages tab" sections in this topic. After you set the preferences on the tabs, do as follows:
  1. If you want to return the settings on the Appearance pane to the original product settings, click Restore Defaults.
  2. To save your changes and remain in the Preferences window, click Apply. To save your changes and exit the window, click OK. To cancel the changes and exit the window, click Cancel.

General tab

On the General tab, do as follows:
  1. In the Editor tab section, select Design, Source, or Preview to indicate which tab to use when you open the EGL editor.
  2. In the Widget creation section, indicate whether the EGL editor must prompt you for a variable name each time that you drag a widget from the palette to the Design surface. If you clear Prompt for a variable name, the EGL editor creates its own variable name, which is the widget type name (for example, Button) that is followed by a sequentially assigned integer. For example, the assigned names might be Button1, Button2, Box1, and so forth.
  3. In the Transparency section, indicate how to handle the transparency controls, which set how the widgets are displayed in the Design tab of the EGL editor. The transparency controls are particularly useful when you work on a Design surface with many widgets that are close together.

    The Design surface is composed of two layers. The bottom layer is the Web browser, which displays widgets, including initial text values. The top layer is an editing overlay, including angle brackets at each corner of each widget. The background of the top layer can have any of the following characteristics: transparent, or a pattern of white and transparent dots, or (on Windows® platforms) a white layer with a varying level of transparency.

    The transparency options provided in the Appearance pane affect the behavior of the EGL editor every time you open the editor. However, when you are working in the editor, you can change the transparency options that are in use for the editing session. The options are as follows:
    1. To indicate whether to display the transparency control, either select or clear Show transparency controls. When you start working with Rich UI, you might prefer hiding the controls, as is the default setting for this preference.
    2. Select one of the following transparency modes, which affect the background of the top layer of the Design surface:
      • Fully transparent means that the background is transparent.
      • Dotted transparency pattern means that the background is a pattern of white and transparent dots. The refresh rate of your monitor might cause the pattern to shimmer.
      • On Windows platforms, Variable transparency means that the background is a white layer with a varying level of transparency. You can adjust the level by changing the numeric value of a slider. The dotted transparency pattern described earlier is roughly equivalent to the variable transparency pattern at 38%.
    3. To use a temporary transparency mode as you drag a widget from the palette to the Design surface or from one location on the Design surface to another, select Enable semi-transparency while dragging. If you select this option, the temporary mode is the dotted transparency pattern; otherwise, your usual transparency mode remains in effect. If your usual transparency mode is the dotted transparency pattern, this option has no effect.
  4. In the Colors section, specify details about the following issues:
    • The border of the currently selected widget
    • The potential drop locations for a widget that is dragged from the palette to the Design surface or from one location on the Design surface to another
    • The selected drop location, which is a potential drop location over which the widget is hovering during a drag-and-drop operation

    For the border and each location, you can click the adjacent button to display a color window from which you can choose or refine a color. Also, for the border and the selected drop location, you can select or clear a check box to include or exclude the displayed pattern.

  5. In the Performance section, select the radio button that reflects your current need, whether for greater responsiveness or for less usage of runtime resources, such as memory. If you select Optimize to use fewer resources, you increase the amount of time needed to display content when you select the Design or Preview tab.
  6. In the Dependencies section, you can specify that the EGL editor prompt you before adding a project to the EGL build path. The nature of project dependencies is described in "The EGL build path."

    In this case, the dependency issue arises because the Widget types in the palette can be from any project in the workspace. The prompt, if any, occurs when you attempt to drop a widget for which the type is defined in a project that is not in the EGL build path.

    To cause a prompt, which you use to add an entry to the EGL build path or to cancel the operation, select the check box. To add the entry automatically, clear the check box.

Browser size tab

In the Browser size tab, you set the browser size that is appropriate for a specific kind of device, such as a cell phone. Specifically, you use this tab to set options that are in effect whenever you open the EGL editor. However, when you are working in the editor, you can change the browser-size options for the file that you are editing.

In the Browser size tab, you can set the following options:
  1. To indicate whether to display the controls when a file is opened in the EGL editor, either select or clear Browser size controls. When you start working with Rich UI, you might prefer hiding the controls, as is the default setting for this preference.
  2. To specify the default height and width in pixels, change the numeric values of the sliders. The default that you set becomes the browser size that is provided initially in the EGL editor. You can also change the numeric values of the sliders to specify the minimum and maximum height and width that are valid in any file open in the EGL editor. You can change the maximum and minimum on the Appearance page only.

Languages tab

On the Languages tab, you assign values that determine what messages to use when you run Rich UI applications in the Preview tab of the EGL editor or in an external browser. For details about the use of locales, see "Use of properties files for displayable text."

When you work in the Languages tab, you choose among locales that are listed in the Rich UI pane, as described in "Setting preferences for Rich UI." To set preferences in the Languages tab:
  1. From the Runtime messages locale list, select the locale for the EGL runtime messages, which are provided by the EGL Runtime and are distinct from the messages that are included in a properties file that you customize.
  2. From the Rich UI handler locale list, select the locale for the messages that are included in a properties file, if any, that you customize.

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