The graphical browser

Visual Eiffel comes with a small graphical browser. This browser enables you to "paint" the relation between classes.

The graphical browser is activated by toggling a button on the toolbar. Now when you drag-and-drop a class name into the editor a "bubble" will be created.

"Drag To Browser" button

The placement is "semi-automatic" - you can fine-tune it as the picture grows. You start with the class you are most interested in and extend the picture.

In our case we drag HASH_LIST_DEMO to the edit area. A new window with the corresponding bubble will be created. We can now adjust the picture scale with "Zoom In/Out" buttons:

"Zoom In/Out" buttons

It is also possible to drag into a browser window already open, not only into the empty space.

Pressing the right button at a bubble opens the expansion menu.

Now you can extend the system - just press Show Suppliers. Unfortunately this results in rather a lot of suppliers.

Fortunately everything can be fixed - just hide the suppliers again - the context menu allows this. Then drag CONTAINER_ to the same window: Both bubbles will now coexist. You can also move them around the window, even to the "empty" space on the editing area. In this case a new window will open. Dragging to the view area in the lower right area will show the requested information about the class. Now  we delete the red bubble and expand our picture.

Playing with ancestors, clients, suppliers and descendants and moving bubbles on the screen finally results in a nice picture. As we want to include it in our documentation we export it using the Enhanced Metafile Format (.emf). Now we can include it in our technical documentation.

It is also possible to save the picture in an internal format and to load it again later.

It is possible to mix edit and graphical browser windows (just toggle the toolbar button again)


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Last updated: 2005/02/02 11:51:37