Working with ABL procedure files

The GUI Designer editor is the default editor for the procedure .w files created with the GUI Designer or standalone AppBuilder application. This editor is used to edit the ABL code of these valid .w files.

Note: You must be in the OpenEdge AppBuilder perspective to work with the .w files created in the GUI Designer or standalone AppBuilder application.

The .w files created with the GUI Designer or standalone AppBuilder are indicated with an AppBuilder

icon in the Project Explorer view.

There can be .w files in an OpenEdge project that are not created using the GUI Designer or standalone AppBuilder. Such .w files do not open with the GUI Designer editor, instead open with only the ABL Text editor.

Opening .w files

Open .w files by using one of the following methods:

Drag and drop the .w file from the Project Explorer view onto the GUI Designer window.
Double-click on a .w file in the Project Explorer view.
Choose File > Open from the main menu in the OpenEdge AppBuilder perspective.

See Viewing and editing the source code.

Editing .w files

A .w file opened in the AppBuilder is displayed graphically in the GUI Designer design canvas. In addition, the code within the .w file is displayed below the design canvas in the GUI Designer editor. The editor allows full editing of the .w file. The textual and graphical views of the .w file are synchronized. A change in one view causes a change in the other view.

Synchronization is not performed immediately. The synchronization is performed when:

Focus changes from the AppBuilder to the ABL Editor.
The ABL Editor loses focus.

It is possible that an analyzer error or a syntax error in the ABL Editor might make synchronization with the AppBuilder impossible. In this case, the window corresponding to the .w file in the AppBuilder closes. It is no longer valid, and cannot be modified. However, you can still use the ABL Editor to edit the .w file.

Once the file in the ABL Code Editor is updated, and synchronization takes place, the AppBuilder tries to load the .w file and the window opens if there are no errors.

The Edit > Undo feature or the local history feature can be used to recover a version of the file that will not cause an error while loading in the AppBuilder.

Note: Currently, templates for adding procedures, functions and triggers to .w files are not available. However, the .w files can be edited as long as the new code follows the structure of a .w file. In addition, there is an Insert > Trigger option available from the Edit menu in AppBuilder.

Saving .w files

You can save a file opened in the AppBuilder by selecting File > Save or File > Save As from the AppBuilder menu bar. If the file is part of a project, the Save and Save As operations map to the Save and Save As options in Progress Developer Studio for OpenEdge . You can also use the Save and Save As options directly from within Progress Developer Studio.

If a file opened in the AppBuilder is not a project file, the Save and Save As options can be used to save the file into the project directory.

Running a .w file

You can run a .w file by clicking the Run button on the AppBuilder main window or on the Progress Developer Studio for OpenEdge toolbar.

When you use the AppBuilder Run button, AppBuilder runs whatever file has focus in the design window. It runs the file just as you see it in the design window, even if the file has not been saved.

When you select Run from the Progress Developer Studio for OpenEdge toolbar, Progress Developer Studio runs the last saved version of whatever file has focus in the code editor. To run a file from the Progress Developer Studio toolbar that was changed in the design window, you have to save the file in the code editor.

Closing .w files

A project file opened in the AppBuilder can be closed either from the AppBuilder or from the ABL Editor.