Maintaining Miscellaneous Options

Use the miscellaneous preferences to change your default file suffixes (for example, the schema file suffix of .scm), the base locale, and interface and versioning options.

To change your miscellaneous preferences

  1. In the Preferences or JADE Installation Preferences dialog, click the Miscellaneous sheet.

  2. To change a file suffix, enter the required file suffix in the appropriate text box in the File Suffixes group box. (JADE files have default predefined suffixes.)

    Your file suffix can be in the range one through three characters. (You can specify lowercase or uppercase characters.) Do not specify the period character (.) that separates the file prefix from the suffix. This is assumed, and is applied automatically by JADE.

  3. In the Interface Options group box:

    1. If you want generated stub methods in classes that implement an interface to automatically compile and generate class methods with errors so that they can be dealt with, check the When implementing an interface, generate class methods with errors so they must be dealt with check box.

      A compile-time error (caused by a text block added to the beginning of the method body) is then generated in implementing classes. This can help you to find the methods that you are likely to want to flesh out to make the implementation useful. For details, see "Adding Interface Methods", in Chapter 14.

    2. Check the Generate stub methods without prefix check box if you want new interface method names to be generated with the same name as the original interface method name, with no added prefix.

      This check box is unchecked by default, indicating that interface methods are prefixed with a default value of stub_ until you define another prefix in the Generated stub method prefix text box or you check this check box to set this value to null.

    3. If you want to specify the method name prefix that is generated for all new implemented interface methods, specify the prefix that you require in the Generated stub method prefix text box.

    These options apply to new implemented interface methods only; that is, they do not affect existing implemented interface method names. For details about implementing interfaces, see "Implementing an Interface", in Chapter 14.

  4. In the Versioning Options group box:

    1. Check the Warn when schemas are versioned check box if you want a warning dialog displayed to all users signed on to the JADE development environment who have a window open against the newly-versioned schema so that they can continue working in the current schema version or change to the latest (uncommitted) version. By default, all users of the JADE development environment are not warned when schemas are versioned.

    2. Check the Warn before making changes to any versioned source… check box if you want a warning dialog displayed when an attempt is made to change source code when a schema is versioned. By default, a warning is not displayed when source code is changed.

    3. If you want to remove or change the JADE skin to decorate opened source windows in the latest (that is, uncommitted) version of schemas to provide a distinction between current version and latest version windows, select <None> or the skin that you require from the list in the Select an alternative Jade skin… list box.

      By default, the Cashmere skin is used in the latest version to distinguish between current and latest version windows; that is, JADE2016Cashmere is displayed in this list box. (For details, see "Using JADE Skins in Your Runtime Applications", in Chapter 1 of the JADE Runtime Application Guide.)

      We recommend that you use a different skin for the latest version, to provide strong visual feedback of the versioned state of your schema.

      If required, remove or change the skin for the current version from the Window sheet of the User Preferences dialog and for the latest version from the Miscellaneous sheet of the User Preferences dialog.

    4. If you want to show the composite view in new windows opened in versioned schemas rather than the selected version only, select the Show composite version view by default value from the list in the Default viewing preference for new windows list box.

      Composite views show all versions of an object (for example, a class, property, or method in one window), with icons indicating the versions. By default, the selected version view is displayed; that is, windows for the current version or for the latest version.

      You can toggle the display of the composite view and a selected version only view, by selecting the Show Composite View command from the View menu. When a composite version view is displayed, a check mark is displayed to the left of the command in the View menu.

    For details about versioning, see "Object Versioning", in Chapter 13 of the JADE Developer's Reference.

  5. For a specific schema, the JADE development environment can maintain forms and translatable strings in that schema for multiple locales.

    If a schema supports several locales (by using the Locales command from the Schema menu), the Base Locale combo box in the Select the Base Locale group box enables you to select the locale that you want to use as your default form and string translations in the development environment for all schemas.

    When you have set your base locale, any forms that you access in the JADE Painter are loaded from this locale. Additionally, any translatable strings that you access in the String Browser are obtained from your base locale.

  6. If you want to save (export) all of your values on all Preference dialog sheets to a text file, click the Export Preferences button. (This option is not available on the administrative JADE Installation Preferences dialog, as it is user-specific.)

    The common Save As dialog is then displayed, to enable you to change the name of the file and to specify the location of your extracted user preferences. The file name defaults to JadeUserPreferences.ini and the location defaults to your JADE working directory (for example, the JADE bin directory or to the last directory to which you saved a file in JADE).

    The Export User Preferences message box then advises you that your user preferences were successfully written to the specified directory and location.

    For details about loading your exported user preferences using the non‑GUI jadclient or jade executable command line, see "Loading User Preferences from the Command Line", in Chapter 1 of the JADE Runtime Application Guide.

    The loading of an exported file of your user preferences does not support the older‑style editor key bindings entries in your user preferences that were created in releases earlier than JADE version 2018.0.01. The loading of such files is therefore rejected when you import an earlier user preferences file and by a batch file load using the non‑GUI jadclient or jade executable command line.

    You should therefore export your older user preferences to a file in JADE 2018.0.01 and higher before importing or loading them into JADE 2020.0.01 and higher.

  7. If you want to load (import) user preference values from an existing user preferences extract file, click the Import Preferences button. (This option is not available on the administrative JADE Installation Preferences dialog, as it is user-specific.)

    The common Open dialog is then displayed, to enable you to select the user preferences text file that you want to load. (For details about extracting user preferences to a file, see the previous step of this instruction.)

    The Import User Preferences message box then advises you that the selected user preferences file has been successfully read and that the Preferences dialog is updated with all values from this file. When you click the OK button on the Preferences dialog, the JADE development environment is updated.

  8. If you want to save (export) your user‑defined theme that is currently displayed in your work session to an Extensible Markup Language (XML) format file so that you can import it into your next or another work session, click the Export JADE Theme button. (This option is not available on the administrative JADE Installation Preferences dialog, as it is user-specific.)

    The common Save As dialog is then displayed, to enable you to change the name of the file and to specify the location of your extracted user‑defined themes. The file name defaults to JadeTheme.xml and the location defaults to your JADE working directory (for example, the JADE bin directory or to the last directory to which you saved a file in JADE).

    A message box then advises you that your current user‑defined theme was successfully written to the specified directory and location. The exported theme consists of the current Window, Editor, and Relationship sheet colors, the currently selected theme name, and the current color mode.

  9. If you want to load (import) a user‑defined theme from an existing user‑defined theme extract file, click the Import JADE Theme button. (This option is not available on the administrative JADE Installation Preferences dialog, as it is user-specific.)

    The common Open dialog is then displayed, to enable you to select the user‑defined theme XML file that you want to load. (For details about extracting your user‑defined themes to a file, see the previous step of this instruction.)

    A message box then advises you that the selected theme file has been successfully read and that the Preferences dialog is updated with all values from this file. When you click the OK button on the Preferences dialog, the JADE development environment is updated.

  10. If you want the JADE default miscellaneous values applied to all of your files, click the Defaults button. (This option is not available on the administrative JADE Installation Preferences dialog, as it is user-specific.)

  11. Click the OK button. Alternatively, click the Cancel button to abandon your selections.

The current window then has focus. Your specified values then become your miscellaneous defaults for your schemas.

For details about importing and exporting hierarchy browser form layouts, see "Customizing the Layout of Hierarchy Browser Forms", earlier in this chapter.