IDE usability enhancements

IDE theme support

The following features introduce themes to modernize the IDE appearance and improve method readability.

  • Flat-style UI themes

    The IDE supports a modern flat-style user interface through themes:

    • Flat Design Dark -- A flat UI style with dark backgrounds and light text, designed to reduce eye strain in low-light environments and provide a modern look.

    • Flat Design Light -- A flat UI style with light backgrounds and dark text, offering a clean, traditional appearance suitable for bright environments.

    • Flat Design Orange -- A flat UI style with an orange color scheme, offering a warm and inviting feel, with clear contrast between different elements.

    • Do not use theme -- The classic UI style that was used in the previous versions.

    You can switch themes from the Tools menu > System Options menu > IDE Theme option.

    When you switch between "Do not use theme" and "Flat Design xxx", you will need to restart IDE for the selected option to take effect; when you switch between "Flat Design xxx", the selected theme will take effect immediately without needing to restart IDE.

    You can customize the syntax colors (such as function, variable, keyword etc.) of the selected theme in the Design menu > Options menu > Coloring tab page.

  • Distinct icons by access level in Function List

    When IDE theme is enabled, Public, Protected, and Private methods use different color icons (green, yellow, red) to improve readability.

Data handling

The following features improve efficiency and readability when viewing and editing data within the IDE.

  • Database Painter — Edit Data shows table/view name and DB profile

    The result window title bar now displays the table or view name together with the active DB profile name, making multiple result panes easy to distinguish.

  • DataWindow Column Specification improvements

    • DBName column accepts longer input and is no longer constrained by the initial column width.

    • Name and DBName columns can receive focus and allow copy values (read-only) via CTRL+C.

Window usability

The following features enhance clarity and usability of frequently accessed IDE windows.

  • Debug — Modify Variable window enhancements

    • Resizable window.

    • Word wrap enabled to read long variable values more conveniently.

  • Search Library/Object Entries window enhancements

    • The Search For field remembers the last searched keyword.

    • For PBTs/Projects, search scope can be limited to the selected PBLs only (users can select or deselect PBLs in the search window).

  • QuickWatch/Watch window enhancements

    • Double-clicking an expression will open the Display Value window.

    • QuickWatch adds a Copy Value button; when inspecting an expression, the Change Value button will show as Display Value.

  • Migrate window improvements

    • Default window size increased by 150% for better overview.

    • Resizable window to view long library lists with ease.

  • Help → About window refinements

    • Added a Copy Info button to copy version details to the clipboard in one click.

  • Expression window enhancements

    • Resizable window to comfortably inspect long expressions. (Specify Filter window is also enhanced to be resizable.)

  • System Tree context menu enhancements

    • (Workspace format) For PB object nodes in the System Tree and Library Painter, Copy Name context menu is added to easily copy the object name. (This is already supported in the solution format in the previous version)

    • On PBT nodes, Optimize context menu is added so that all of the PBLs within that PBT can be optimized in one click (PBAutoBuild and ORCA do NOT support this feature).