The Visual Inspector™ is a utility provided by Instantiations, Inc., and it comes with full source when you buy GF/ST. It is a learning tool, a productivity tool, and a better inspector, and we believe it will be a valuable addition to your Smalltalk environment. It provides a graphical presentation of any objects in Smalltalk, showing the relationships between them and allowing you to modify them directly.
When you click on the Show non-nil handle, the object display changes to show all non-nil instance variables:
Scale - A submenu displaying a set of predefined scales is displayed, ranging from 25% to 200%.
Zoom In - Increase magnification by 10%.
Zoom Out - Decrease magnification by 10%.
Add Object... - A prompter will appear. Type in a Smalltalk expression to be evaluated, and the resulting object will be placed in the Visual Inspector.
Delete Selections - Delete all selected objects from the display. Select multiple objects by rubber-banding completely around them.
Update - Update the display in the Visual Inspector.
Set Font... - A standard dialog will appear, allowing you to choose the font used in the Visual Inspector.
Set Selection Color... - A standard dialog will appear, allowing you to choose the color to indicate the selected object in the Visual Inspector. The default color is red.
Print - Print the display. What-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) printing is disabled for the free version of the Visual Inspector, but it is available to owners of GF/ST.
Paths - The submenu allows you to change all paths showing object connectivity to use straight lines with and without arrowheads, or orthogonal lines with and without arrowheads.
The Delete option is the same as pressing the red “x” handle in the upper left corner of the object. The submenus provide access to different display modes for objects and let you open other inspectors.
The Display menu lets you modify the default way an object displays in the Visual Inspector. By default, the class of the object is shown, and the full set of inspecting abilities are enabled, such as being able to show instance variables. You can also collapse the object to a tiny box, or display it as any arbitrary string in a box. Alternatively, you can keep the full range of inspecting options available, but change the title on the box.
Collapsed - Display in
Collapsed mode. The object will show up as a small square box and cannot be expanded to show instance variables. Connecting objects will still be connected to the
Collapsed display version.
As String - Display the “printString” result for the object. The resulting display cannot be expanded to show instance variables. Connecting objects will still be connected to the
As String display version.
Full - Display in the
Full mode, with a title of your choice (the class name is the default) and with access to the instance variables via handles or the pop-up menu.
Title - When using the “Full” display mode, the
Title submenu lets you modify the title at the top of the object display. You will still have access to the object’s instance variables.
Visual Inspector - Open a new Visual Inspector on the object. This option would be the equivalent of sending the message
psiVisualInspect to the object.
Standard Inspector - Open a standard inspector on the object. This option would be the equivalent of sending the message
inspect to the object.
Basic Inspector - Open a standard inspector on the object. This option would be the equivalent of sending the message
basicInspect to the object.
Class Browser - Open a class browser on the object. This option would be the equivalent of sending the message
browse to the object.
The Remove Field menu contents shows the instance or indexed instance variables which are currently showing. If no instance variables are showing for the object, the menu option will be disabled. When you select a field, the instance variable is deleted from the list. Choosing a field from the submenu is the same as clicking the red “x” at the left edge of the list.
Non-Nil - Only show fields that are not
nil.
Connected - Show only the fields that are connected to other objects in the display.
Specific - Show a submenu with all fields not currently being displayed. Selecting an item from the submenu will add it to the current list.
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