- Getting to Know Xcode
- Goodbye "8220;Hello, World"
- Hello, App Development for Mac OS X and iOS
- Getting Started with Xcode
- Using the Navigator
- Using Editors
- Working with Assistant
- Getting Help in an Editor Window
- Using UtilitiesInspectors
- Using UtilitiesLibraries
- Using the Text Editor
- Using the Organizer Window
- Summary
- Workshop
- Activities
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Using Utilities—Inspectors
At the right of the workspace window is the utility area. This consists of two panes stacked one above the other. You can drag the divider between them to change their sizes, but they always fill the utility pane.
At the top of utilities are the inspectors. They change as you select objects in the editor window. The content of the pane depends on what is selected in the editor, as well as on which of the buttons at the top of the inspector is selected. However, as you will see, a consistent framework applies to all selected objects.
In Figure Figure 1.25 you see the file inspector as it appears when a file is selected in the project navigator; if a line of text within a file is selected in the text editor, the display may look the same.
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Figure 1.25 Use the file inspector.
At the left of the top of the inspector, the small icon lets you view the information about the file you have selected. Information about the filename and file type is available. Each section of the file inspector has its own heading; you can expand or collapse each one.
These settings are self-explanatory, but one of them needs careful attention if you want to avoid problems. The location of each file can be set to one of six settings:
- Absolute Path
- Relative to Group
- Relative to Project
- Relative to Build Products
- Relative to Developer Directory
- Relative to SDK
Relative to project means that if you move the project to another computer, folder, or disk, all the files within the project move together and the internal file structure stays intact. An absolute path is great if the path is to a location on a shared server that a number of people will be using. In that case, the project files stay in one place, but the developers can move from computer to computer.
Relative to Group can be a good structure for a multiperson project where components are being developed by different people at different times. Each person can structure a group without worrying about how they will be arranged together. The remaining choices are useful in specific cases that typically are involved with large projects or special conditions.
To the immediate right of the file inspector button is a Quick Help button. If an element in the editor is selected and help is available, it will be displayed as shown in Figure 1.26.
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Figure 1.26 Quick Help is available wherever possible in the inspector pane.
In Figure 1.27, an Interface Builder document is open. The file inspector is still the left-most button at the top of the window, and its data is much the same. Immediately to its right, a help inspector will reflect information about the selected item in the editor. However, new inspectors are available to let you inspect items in the interface.
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Figure 1.27 Inspectors change depending on what is selected in the editor.
For example, in Figure 1.28, you see the Identity inspector in action. It identifies a selected object in the interface.
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Figure 1.28 Use the Identity inspector.
- Refer to Hour 11, p. 189, to find out more about how you can use these inspectors to set everything from an object’s location to its behavior as people type in it.