Files

The project, model and file that you create with the Workbench are all stored under a single directory that represents your workspace. The location of the workspace was set in the dialog that first opens when you start the Workbench.

All of the projects, models and files that you create with the Workbench are stored as normal directories and files on the machine. This allows the use of other tools when working with the files. 

Deleting Resources

Here are instructions on how to delete the Python script file.

• Select file MyScript.py in the Project Explorer view.
• To delete the file do one of the following:
  • From the project's pop-up menu choose Delete
  • Press the DEL key
  • Choose Edit > Delete from the main menu
• A prompt asks for confirmation of the deletion. Accept and click Yes.

The same steps work for any resource shown in the Project Explorer view except for project resources.

When deleting a project, users can also delete the project from the workspace but keep its contents in the file system.

Copying and Renaming

Workbench resources can be copied and renamed using popup menu operations in the Project Explorer view. In this section files that have been created are copied and renamed.

Prior to copying files, some setup is required:

Setup

• In the Project Explorer view, create a new text file file1.txt. The Project Explorer view should look like this:

Double click file1.txt and ensure that it contains the following text.

This is a sample text file.
There is not much else
we can really say about it other
than it has five lines of
text that are rather dull.

• Close the editor on file1.txt file.

Copying

You can copy file1.txt to the help folder using the following steps.

• Ensure that the setup described in the introduction to this section has been performed.
  • In the Project Explorer view, select file1.txt.
• From the file's context menu, select Copy (or Ctrl+C)
  • In the Project Explorer view, select help as the destination.
• From the folder's context menu, select Paste (or Ctrl+V).

As an alternative to copying files using the copy operation, users can also copy files by holding down the Ctrl key while dragging a file from one folder to another folder. Once the file has been copied it can be renamed.

Renaming

Now that file1.txt has been copied from MyProject folder to Help folder it is ready to be renamed as something else.

• In the Project Explorer view, select file1.txt in help folder.
• From the file's context menu, select Rename.
  • The navigation view overlays the file's name with a text field.
• Type in file2.txt and press Enter.

• To halt the renaming of a resource, Escape can be pressed to dismiss the text field. Copy and rename works on folders as well.
• In the Project Explorer view, select the folder Help.
• From the folder's context menu choose Rename.
  • Once again the navigation view overlays the folder name with an entry field to allow the typing in of a new name.
• Change the folder name to be HelpFolder.
• Rename the folder back to its original name (Help).

Searching

RT-LAB objects, text strings, and files can be searched within the Workbench. Search dialogs can be opened by selecting the search menu or by clicking on the Search button in the main toolbar.

Search Menu

Search buttons - Main toolbar

The Ctrl+H shortcut key can be used to open the RT-LAB Search dialogs.

The search dialogs available in the workbench are:

• RT-LAB Search
• File Search

The results of the search are displayed in the Search View.

Users can also start a quick text search. To perform this type of search, select a text, select the submenu Text from the main menu Search and then click Workspace. It starts a file search with the specified text and the results are displayed in the Search View.

Quick text search

Rearranging Views and Editors

This section explains how to rearrange editors and views to customize the layout of the Workbench.

Setup

Before rearranging the Workbench, a little housekeeping is required.

• Start by choosing Window > Reset Perspective and selecting OK. This resets the current perspective to its original views and layout.
• Ensure there are editors open for file1.txt and file2.txt. Close any other editors. The Workbench should now look like this:

Drop Cursors

Drop cursors indicate where it is possible to dock views in the Workbench window. Several different drop cursors may be displayed when rearranging views.

Rearranging Views

The position of the Project Explorer (or any other) view in the Workbench window can be changed.

• Click the title bar of the Project Explorer view and drag the view across the Workbench window. Do not release the mouse button yet.
  • While still dragging the view around on top of the Workbench window, note that various drop cursors appear.
• These drop cursors (see the previous section) indicate where the view is docked in relation to the view or editor area underneath the cursor when the mouse button is released.
  • Note also that a rectangular highlight is drawn that provides additional feedback on where the view is docked.
• Dock the view in any position in the Workbench window, and view the results of this action.
• Click and drag the view's title bar to re-dock the view in another position in the Workbench window.
  • Observe the results of this action.
• Click and drag the view's title bar outside the Workbench window.
  • Notice that it becomes a Detached window (hosted in its own shell).
• Drag the Project Explorer view over the Compilation view. A stack cursor is displayed. If the mouse button is released the Project Explorer is stacked with the Compilation view into a tabbed notebook.
  • Note that you must grab the view tab, NOT the window title. This is used only for repositioning the window containing the detached view.
• Finally, drag the view to its original location.

Rearranging Tabbed Views

In addition to dragging and dropping views on the Workbench, the order of views can also be rearranged within a tabbed notebook.

• Choose Window > Reset Perspective to reset the RT-LAB Edition perspective back to its original layout.
• Click the Compilation View title bar and drag it on top of the Project Explorer view.
  • The Compilation View is now stacked on top of the Project Explorer view.
• Click the tab of the Project Explorer view and drag it to the right of the Compilation View tab.

Once the cursor is to the right of the Compilation tab and the cursor is a stack cursor release the mouse button. Observe the Project Explorer tab is now to the right of the Compilation View tab.

Tiling Editors

The Workbench allows for the creation of two or more sets of editors in the editor area. The editor area can also be resized but views cannot be dragged into the editor area.

• Open at least two editors in the editor area by double-clicking editable files in one of the navigation views.
• Click and drag one of the editor's tabs out of the editor area. Do not release the mouse button.
  • Note that the restricted cursor displays if an attempt is made to drop the editor either on top of any view or outside the Workbench window.
• Still holding down the mouse button, drag the editor over the editor area and move the cursor along all four edges as well as in the middle of the editor area, on top of another open editor.
  • Note that along the edges of the editor area the directional arrow drop cursors appear, and in the middle of the editor area, the stack drop cursor appears.
• Dock the editor on a directional arrow drop cursor so that two editors appear in the editor area.
  • Note that each editor can also be resized as well as the entire editor area to accommodate the editors and views as necessary.
• It is important to observe the color of an editor tab

• Drag and dock the editor somewhere else in the editor area, noting the behavior that results from docking on each kind of drop cursor. Continue to experiment with docking and resizing editors and views until the Workbench has been arranged to satisfaction. The figure below illustrates the layout if one editor is dragged and dropped below another.

Maximizing and Minimizing Elements of the Workbench Presentation

RT-LAB presentation provides a rich environment consisting of (in its basic form) an Editor Area (containing one or more stacks showing the open editors) surrounded by one or more View Stacks (each containing one or more views). These various parts compete for valuable screen real-estate and correctly managing the amount of screen given to each can greatly enhance your productivity within the IDE.

The two most common mechanisms for managing this issue are 'minimize' (i.e. make me use as little space as possible) and 'maximize' (i.e. give me as much space as you can).

The RT-LAB presentation provides a variety of ways to access these operations:

• Using the minimize and maximize buttons provided on a stack's border
• Selecting the Minimize or Maximize item on the context (right-click) menu for a stack
• Double-clicking on a stack
• Using Ctrl+M: this is a key binding for a command that toggles the currently active part between its maximized and its restored (i.e. normal) states.

Maximize

It is desirable at times to focus your attention on one particular part to the exclusion of the others. The most popular candidate for this is, of course, maximizing the editor area in order to make as much of the display available for editing as possible (but there are workflows where it would make sense to focus on a view as well).

The default presentation implements the maximize behavior by minimizing all stacks except the one being maximized. This allows the maximized stack to completely occupy the main presentation while still allowing access to any open views in your perspective by using the icons in their Trim Stack (the area around the edges of the window is called the 'trim').

The behavior for managing the editor maximization operates on the complete Editor Area (rather than simply maximizing the particular Editor Stack. This allows for 'compare' workflows which require the ability to see both files in a split editor area at the same time.

Minimize

Another way to optimize the use of the screen area is to directly minimize stacks that are of no current interest. The default presentation minimizing a stack causes it to be moved into the trim area at the edges of the workbench window, creating a Trim Stack. View Stacks get minimized into a trim representation that contains the icons for each view in the stack.

The minimize behavior for the Editor Area is somewhat different; minimizing the Editor Area results in a trim stack containing only a placeholder icon representing the entire editor area rather than icons for each open editor (since in most cases all the icons would be the same, making them essentially useless).

If your particular workflow is such that you need to have more than one element (i.e. having the Editor Area and a View Stack in the presentation at the same time) you can still gain additional screen space by minimizing the stacks that aren't of current interest. This removes them from the main presentation and places them on the outer edge of the workbench window as Trim Stacks, allowing more space for the remaining stacks in the presentation.

Depending on how the Trim Stack was created its behavior is different; when un-maximizing only those trim stacks that were created during the initial maximize is restored to the main presentation while stacks that were independently minimized stay that way.

Tip: This difference is important in that it allows you fine-grained control over the presentation. While using maximize is a one-click operation it's an 'all or nothing' paradigm (i.e. no other stack is allowed to share the presentation with a maximized stack).

While adequate for most tasks you may find yourself wanting to have the presentation show more than a stack. In these scenarios don't maximize; minimize all the other stacks except the ones you want in the presentation.

Once you have it set up you can still subsequently maximize the editor area but the un-maximize only restores the particular stack(s) that were sharing the presentation, not the ones you've explicitly minimized.