OpenEdge Development:<br />Progress Dynamics Basic Development Object palette and object template information stored in the Repository

The AppBuilder custom files (.cst files) are static text files used to construct the AppBuilder Object Palette and to define a list of new object types based on pre-existing object templates. The template definition is currently used for both static and dynamic objects. However, the Palette currently is of limited use with dynamic objects.

Progress Dynamics stores that information in the Repository. The information from the .cst files is now stored in the new “template” and “palette” classes of Repository objects. This step creates opportunities for greater flexibility and extensibility at design time. If you have been using the .cst files that ship with Progress Dynamics, this change should be transparent. You might notice some previously available custom widgets missing from the pop-up menus of certain objects on the Object Palette.

At startup, the AppBuilder checks two new session parameters, stored as tags in the icfconfig.xml file, to decide which templates and palettes to load. Before you can use the Repository data to replace the .cst files, you must regenerate your configuration file or add the following parameters manually:

IDETemplate — Indicates the master template objects to load. It is a string of master template objects. The default list is

'templateContainer,templateSmartObject,templateProcedure,
templateWebObject'

IDEPalette — Indicates the master palette objects to load. It is a string of master palette objects. The default value is 'PaletteDynamics'.

Note: If you remove these session parameters from the icfconfig.xml file, the AppBuilder loads static .cst files as in previous versions. This enables you to continue using any customized .cst files that you have. You must remove both of the session parameters. You cannot choose to use the Repository for one function and a .cst file for the other function.

If you currently use customized .cst files, you can re-create your environment by creating new template and palette objects with the Repository Object Maintenance (ROM) tool. The following sections describe how to do this.