Introducing the ABL Editor

The ABL Editor is customized for working with ABL code. It supports many features to make coding easier, including:

Code-generation wizards for creating new files and adding code blocks to existing files
Customizable code-completion assistance and syntax help
Macros
Auto-formatting
Color-coding of syntax elements to improve readability
Drag-and-drop capability to add schema references to code
Integration with the OpenEdge Visual Designer (Windows only)
Support for editing CGI Wrapper files for WebSpeed application development

By default, an ABL Editor buffer opens whenever you create an ABL source file or open an existing one (unless the file type is associated with a specialized OpenEdge editor such as the AppBuilder or the Visual Designer). You can have multiple buffers open at the same time, including ABL Editor buffers and other editors.

Preferences

You can control many aspects of the ABL Editor's behavior through preference settings. The available options are in two categories, OpenEdge-specific preferences and standard Eclipse preferences.

OpenEdge-specific preferences

Preferences that apply exclusively to the ABL Editor include options for editing assistance, build behavior, color-coding of syntax elements, and the use of annotations and template (macros).

To view or set these options, select Window > Preferences > Progress OpenEdge > Editor

Eclipse preferences

Like all text editors that run in the Eclipse framework, the ABL Editor inherits the Eclipse editor preferences.To view or set these options, select Window > Preferences > General > Editors

Note: For information on the Eclipse text editor preferences, see the Workbench User Guide, starting with Editors.