4 Object Browser and Object Palette

The Object Browser and the Object Palette are major views of Desktop for Eclipse.

Object Browser

The Object Browser opens up automatically when opening a project version. Thus you need to have a user role that allows opening project versions (any designer or administrator role) in order to see it. It is displayed as a tab next to the Repository Browser (by default located in the upper left corner of the VoiceObjects perspective).

Folders and subfolders

The Object Browser contains categories folders and subfolders that represent the corresponding object types – filled with the objects available for the respective type in the current project.

In addition, the Object Browser displays a Libraries folder containing any libraries linked into the current project.

The categories and object type folders are created dynamically, i.e. if no object exists in the current project for a particular type, the respective folder will not appear.

When creating a new project, the Object Browser initially displays the following folders:

· the Logic folder with the Expression subfolder containing some system expressions

· an empty Libraries folder

Categories folders

The folders containing the dialog objects represent the object categories Components, OSDMs, Resources, Logic, Action, Layers and Business Tasks. Each categories folder contains one subfolder for each object type that belongs to that category.

The same structure is reflected in the Object Palette from where new objects are created (see Object Palette below).

For an overview of all available object types, grouped into categories, and a detailed description of each object type see the Object Reference.

The elements within the subfolders represent the actual objects available in the current project.

When right-clicking a categories folder or an object type subfolder the respective context menu comes up. When right-clicking a particular object within a folder a different context menu comes up.

The Layers folder contains all available Layer objects. The items that show up when expanding a Layer object represent the available states of a Layer object.

In the Object Browser, the Layers folder is indicated by a Layer icon .

Libraries folder

The Libraries folder contains one subfolder for each library project that is linked into the current project. The names of these subfolders represent the names of the respective library projects. Within these subfolders the library objects are grouped into categories and types in the same way as the objects in the Object Browser.

In the Object Browser, library folders are indicated by a Library icon .

When right-clicking the Libraries folder or any of its subfolders the respective context menu comes up.

Icons and styles

In the Object Browser, there may appear a number of icons in front of an object name. Moreover, object names may be displayed in various styles. These icons and styles represent the following properties:

Icon / Style	Property
	(Green Lock icon) The object has been locked by you. For details on locking/unlocking objects see Lock or Unlock Objects in Chapter 7 – Basic Commands.
	(Red Lock icon) The object has been locked by any other user.
italic + grayed out	The object is disabled or the user account is inactive. For details on disabling/enabling objects see Enable or Disable Objects in Chapter 7 – Basic Commands.
+ italic + grayed out	(Green Lock icon) The object is disabled and has been locked by you.
+ italic + grayed out	(Red Lock icon) The object is disabled and has been locked by any other user.

Object Browser context menus

Within the Object Browser various context menus open up depending on the area you point to when right-clicking. The available context menus and their commands are listed below.

Context menu opening up when right-clicking a categories folder (e.g. Components) or any object type folder (e.g. Module)

These commands have the following functions, some of which will be explained in more detail in Chapter 7 – Basic Commands.

Menu Command	Function
New	In case of categories folders: Opens up a submenu displaying a list of all object types belonging to this category. Selecting an object type opens up the respective object editor in order to create a new object. In case of object type folders: Directly opens up the object editor for the selected object type in order to create a new object.
Refresh	Refreshes this folder and all its subfolders.

Menu Command

Function

New

In case of categories folders:
Opens up a submenu displaying a list of all object types belonging to this category. Selecting an object type opens up the respective object editor in order to create a new object.

In case of object type folders:
Directly opens up the object editor for the selected object type in order to create a new object.

Refresh

Refreshes this folder and all its subfolders.

Context menu opening up when right-clicking a particular object

These commands have the following functions, which will be explained in more detail in Chapter 7 – Basic Commands.

Menu Command	Submenu Command	Function
Edit		Opens up the object editor for the selected object.
Display Dialog		Displays the dialog flow in the Dialog Designer starting with the selected object.
Display and Validate Dialog		Displays the dialog flow in the Dialog Designer and validates the dialog flow starting with the selected object.
Copy		Creates a copy of the selected object.
Delete		Deletes the selected object.
Rename		Opens up a text box to rename the selected object.
Export		Exports the selected object and all its referenced objects as an XML file.
Test Application		Opens up the Test Monitor to test the dialog flow starting with the selected object.
Lock/Unlock		Locks or respectively unlocks the selected object.
Enable/Disable		Enables or respectively disables the selected object.
Search Parent Objects		Displays a list of all parent objects of the selected object.
Tools	Project Documentation	Opens up the Project Documentation window to specify various options and create the corresponding project documentation as a PDF document for the selected object.
	Storyboard Export	Opens up the Storyboard Export window to specify various options and create the corresponding storyboard as a Microsoft Excel file for the selected object.

i8Note: Depending on the object type of the selected object not all of the above-mentioned options may be available.

Context menu opening up when right-clicking the main Libraries folder or any individual Libraries folder

These commands have the following functions:

Menu Command	Function
Refresh	Refreshes this folder and, if existing, all its subfolders.
Configure Libraries	Opens up the Project Version editor with the Libraries tab in front to modify the list of libraries for the current project version.

Context menu opening up when right-clicking anywhere else within the Object Browser

These commands have the following functions:

Menu Command	Submenu Command	Function
Search		Opens up the Search window with all object types pre-selected. For details on the Search window see Chapter 8 – Object Search.
New	<listing all object types>	Lists all object types to select one and create a corresponding new object.
Refresh		Refreshes the Object Browser.
Export Project Version		Opens up the Export window in order to export an entire project version. For details see Export a Project Version in Chapter 3 – Repository Browser.

Object Palette

The Object Palette contains folders representing object categories filled with the respective object types available in VoiceObjects. It uses the same structure as the Object Browser and serves as a reference for all object types in order to create new objects.

Clicking a categories folder opens it up and shows the object types available in that category. To close it, click the same folder again or open another categories folder. Click the Pin icon in the upper right corner to keep a folder open (“pinned”) when opening another folder.

If the Object Palette is not displayed in the VoiceObjects perspective, you can show it by opening the Window menu, selecting Show view and then Object Palette. The Object Palette will be displayed in a separate view, initially located in the upper right corner of the VoiceObjects perspective.

With the Object Palette new objects can easily be created by double-clicking the desired object type, which opens up the respective object editor in order to configure the new object. Alternatively, you can use the drag & drop functionality to directly link a new object into an object editor or a dialog flow while creating it.

Depending on your user role and the mode you are working in (standalone or network) not all object types may be available. For detailed information on user roles and their privileges see Chapter 2 – User Management – Basic Topics in the Administration Guide.

For a detailed overview on all object categories and types see Object Types Overview in the Object Reference.