The following are some tips, tricks, and little nuggets within Flex Builder.
NOTE - some of these tips only work in Flex 3 Beta.I. Code Hinting:
CNTRL-SPACE pops up coding hint-menu. (Most of the time!)
ﾠII. Find Closing Bracket:
CNTRL-SHIFT-P or APPLE-SHIFT-P toggles cursor between the first “{” and the corresponding closing “}” when editing ActionScript code.
III. Moving a Block of Code
Highlight or click a line or lines - hold the ALT key down while moving the up/down arrows. This will shift the code block up or down respectively. This is very useful for relocating code blocks.
IV. Highlight All Instances in Code
Step 1: Highlight an instance in ActionScript.
Step 2: Click on the “Mark Occurences” icon.
Step 3: The result is all instances are highlighted.
V. Auto Comment ActionScript
CNTRL + “/” or Apple + “/” = auto comment all highlighted/selected lines.
VI. Compare History of File Changes: this is a pretty nifty and powerful feature that allows you to see older versions of the file you are working on.ﾠﾠ
ﾠStep 1: Right-click on file in the “Navigator” window > Select “Compare With” > “Local History”
Step 2: You will see a list of versions in the “History” pane at the bottom of Flex Builder. Select a timestamp by double-clicking. The two versions will be shown in parallel windows for comparison and review. Differences will be highlighted.
VII. Syntax Coloring (Customize)
Preferences > Flex > Editors > Syntax Coloring
VIII. Multiple Instances of the Text Editor:
For viewing multiple instances of the same file (ie: split file mode) or for viewing multiple files side by side.
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Step 1: Create a new editor window instance. Right-click on the .mxml file tab in the source window mode. Select “New Editor”.
Step 2: Click and hold your new tab. You will see a little icon that looks like a stack of file folders. While holding the mouse button down drag tab to the right edge of Flex Builder until you see a square recticle dividing your work area in half.
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Step 3: The end result is you now have two code windows for the same file (or different files). This allows you to work at the top of a file in one window (ie: in your ActionScript code) and in the bottom of your file in the other window (ie: your MXML code). Or you could use this method to compare two separate files.
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NOTE - you do not have to put the template side by side. You can stack them horizontally or vertically. In fact you can mix and match. Dividing the work area into a left & right, and then further sub-dividing the right side into a top or bottom frame. I am not sure what the limits of this ability is, but the example below shows you that you can get pretty extreme with this feature.
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IX: Disable Flex Builder’s Auto-Copying Files to Bin
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The default behavior of Flex Builder to copy numerous files into the bin directory can create headaches for developers. Especially those utilizing version control software such as SVN (Subversion), as the SVN files are also copied creating nested arrangements that can break your local working directory’s relationship with your code repository.
The following figure shows you where to disable this:
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Step 1: Select a project and select properties.
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Step 2: Choose “Flex Compiler”
Step 3: Uncheck the box titled “Copy non-embedded files to output directory” as seen in the figure below.
Hope you found these examples and insights helpful and of use. I think it is always beneficial to share what we learn or discover, as well as that which has been shared with us. If you have any similar tips or tricks - please feel free to post them in reply.
And always…if something wasn’t simple enough to understand, please let me know and I’ll endeavor to clarify it further. Thank you!
- The Saj
X: Additional Tips’n'Tricks (sent from our readers)
CTRL-O: Opens the “quick” outline panel.
SHIFT-CTRL-O: Organizes and alphabetizes import statements in .as files
F3 (function key 3): Jumps to the definition / declaration of the highlighted class, function, or variable.
Double-click on a tab to maximize it; double-click on it again to restore it to its previous size (comes in handy for searching the Console).
Ctrl + Shift + R will open a filterable search dialog that supports the use of wildcards.
Tomado de theSaj Blog:
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