A dialog that Polybench uses to display properties of components in Polybench to the user, and to allow the user to change these properties.

Properties Viewer

Overview

This dialog let you change properties of objects. If a new value is entered for any of the properties, that property changes its value at once.

Open from main menu: View -> Properties window...
Open by shortcut key: Ctrl+Space
Open by clicking once on an object
Open via the context menu (right-click on an object); select item name or Properties...
See also: "Tool windows in the designer".

User Interface

1. Object Help button

Open the help page for the object for which properties are displayed.

2. Sort Mode button

Let the properties table list property items in categories, or sorted alphabetically.

3. Pin Mode button

Activate Pin Mode for the dialog

4. Options Table

Here the properties of the object are displayed. On the right side you can edit the property values, but only if the property is not grayed out. If a property is changed, this immediately has effect on the object.

5. Close Dialog

Closes the dialog. Note that changes to properties are immediate, so you cannot cancel the changes made.

Details

For most objects in Polybench, the property items are listed in a table in this dialog. The table offers a lot of features, which are described below. Some objects however, offer custom dialogs, because their properties cannot be put in a table efficiently. Objects that use custom dialogs will explain the dialog in the documentation of the object.

In the yellow box below the table of properties, for each property a short description is given. Some of the properties offer an extended editor for filling in the value of the item. If that editor is offered, a small button appears in the box that contains the value, as soon as you click in that box. Click on the button to activate the editor.

Note that a property of an object changes immediately after entering a new value. You cannot 'undo' that change.

The Properties dialog is the dialog that you will probably use the most of all dialogs in Polybench. It therefore offers some features to ease the use of the dialog:

Quick close
You may close the dialog by pressing the Close button, but also by clicking somewhere on the drawing board of Polybench. The dialog will automatically close.

Keep open (Pin mode)
If you want the dialog to stay open, also if you open other dialogs or edit objects on the drawing board, then you should activate the Pin button, which is located on the right-top of the dialog.

Items per category or sorted
Some Polybench objects offer a lot of properties. To help you find your way in these properties, the items are categorized in a few pre-defined, numbered categories. This feature takes care that similar properties are always displayed in the same order, and in known categories. The categories are printed in a bold type face. Should you however not require the categories, you can set the list to display items in alphabetical order, by pressing the View Mode button on the right-top of the dialog.

Keep open while viewing Variable Parameters
Normally, the Properties dialog closes if another dialog is opened (if the dialog is not in Pin mode). This is not true when opening the Variable Parameters dialog ("Variable Parameter Viewer"), because then the Properties dialog stays open. This is handy if you want to check or copy the Action address of a variable, that can be used as a property for some objects.