Beginning with version 4.0, Together implements a new model for the Inspector, used to view the properties of objects represented in diagrams and source. The implementation is through the API rather than configuration properties. This is bad news-good news: the bad news is that you can't customize Inspectors by editing underlying configuration properties in a text file... you have to write some Java code. The good news is that you have the entire open API at your disposal.
The new abstract model represents properties of some object in a structured way. Inspector varies it's content depending on the IDE context that contains information about the selected element. For example, if you look at the Inspector for a regular Java class and an EJB implementation class, the content displayed is quite different.
Inspector consists of several components, each representing a group of properties, their names, and values. The model and the UI representation are independent of one another.
If you want to customize the names of property fields, populate stereotype lists, etc. you must modify one of the Inspectors delivered with Together. Inspector source code is "open source" and is delivered with Together in %TOGETHER_HOME%/modules/com/togethersoft/modules/inspector. The names are descriptive of the type of Inspector: ClassInspector.java, GeneralizationLinkInspector.java, etc.
The basic steps are:
Determine which of the standard Inspectors you want to customize by reviewing it's source code.
Save a backup of the original source, and of the inspector.jarfile.
Modify the source of the Inspector as desired and compile it with the JDK compiler included with Together.
Place it into the inspector.jar file in the inspector directory shown above.
The best way to learn how to write an inspector is to study the source code of the Inspectors delivered with Together. The API documentation provides some technical documentation of the key classes and interfaces, and a commented example of how to do a simple Inspector customization. This documentation is in %TGH%/doc/api/com/togethersoft/openapi/ide/inspector/package.html.
Together also provides a visual facility of inspector customization.
Make sure that the module Custom Properties is activated. If this module is not activated, check the box Custom Properties on the menu Options | Activatable Modules.
Invoke the Inspector for the selected object. Additional tab Custom Properties appears in the Inspector:
Press add property button and specify property's name and value in the dialog window. Hit Enter to confirm. Add as many properties as required, and in the end press Control+Enter to apply the changes and close the Inspector.
Use the button remove property to delete selected properties. Press Control+Enter to apply the changes and close the Inspector.
If you wish to create your own page or add new properties in an existing inspector, you can use Inspector API. Inspector is a statrup module located in %TGH%\modules\com\togethersoft\modules\, and does not display in the Modules tab of Together. If you need to customize the inspector, you have to edit appropriate manifest files and classes. Updated startup module activates upon restart of Together
Classes that enable adding new page and fields to the Inspector are not included in the Inspector module, but reside in %TGH%\modules\com\togethersoft\modules\inspector\examples.
Open appropriate manifest file (*.def) in %TGH%\modules\com\togethersoft\modules\inspector\examples and uncomment the lines
MainClassName = com.togethersoft.modules.inspector.examples.MainClassName Time = Startup
Create a Together project with the desired classes AddPageToInspector.java (or AddFieldsToInspector.java).
Create a backup copy of the class AddPageToInspector.java (or AddFieldsToInspector.java) and edit source code, specifying the desired page and field names:
IdeInspectorProperty property;
// Replace "myPage" with the custom page name
property = new RwiInspectorStringProperty(rwiElements, "taskDescription");
// Specify custom name to be shown in the UI
property.setName("Task manager");
page.addProperty(property, null);
// Replace "myBooleanProperty"with the custom name of a boolean property
property = new RwiInspectorBooleanProperty(rwiElements, "isReady");
// Specify custom name to be shown in the UI
property.setName("Is the task completed");
page.addProperty(property, null);
// Replace "myStringProperty" with the custom string property name
property = new RwiInspectorStringProperty(rwiElements, "rate");/LISTING
// Specify custom name to be shown in the UI
property.setName("Select rate from the list");
// Specify custom names for the drop-down list
SwingComboBoxEditor editor = new SwingComboBoxEditor(
new DefaultComboBoxModel(
new String[] {
"rate1", "rate2", "rate3"
}
)
...
Compile the code. The compiler puts class files to the Destination directory $TGH$/out/classes/$PROJECT_NAME$. Specify same location for the class file as for the source file on the Options | Project(Default) | Tools | Destination directory.
Restart Together. Now invoke class speedmenu and observe customized inspector:
If you don't need additional Inspector page any more, all you have to do is to comment out MainClassName and Time lines in the manifest file and restart Together.
Presently, inspector customization through API is preferrable. However, users of the versions 3.x can refer to $TGH$/config/inspector.config that provides detailed information on inspector customization. Besides that, uncommenting the line
in %TGH%\modules\com\togethersoft\modules\inspector\examples\help.def allows the help module "How to Create Custom Inspector" activate upon the next start of Together. This module becomes available on the menu Help | Modules.
See also: