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Setting Netscape Application Builder Options

This section describes how to set and change Netscape Application Builder options.

The following topics are described in this section:


About Netscape Application Builder Options
In Netscape Application Builder, you can set options to customize your work environment. Options for the project itself are found under the Project menu on the Project Options dialog box. Project options include the ability to specify which HTML page serves as your project's start page during testing and which files will serve as the base classes in your project.

You can also set options for your development environment. Options for the development environment are found under the Tools menu on the Development Options dialog box. Examples of development options include which external code editor to use with Netscape Application Builder, if any, and which web browser to use for viewing HTML pages.

In addition, Netscape Application Builder also allows you to set runtime options, which affect the runtime characteristics of the Netscape Application Server used to run your application. Runtime options are found under the Tools menu on the Runtime Options dialog box. Typically, you do not need to change these settings often. Changes may be necessary, for example, if any IP addresses change or if you need to relocate files to a different directory.


Setting Project Options
Netscape Application Builder allows you to perform the following tasks by pulling down the Project menu, then choosing Project Options:

Setting the Start Page
Netscape Application Builder allows you to test a project before deploying it. Each time you successfully test your project, Netscape Application Builder launches your application from a specified start page. If your project includes an index.html page, it is automatically designated the start page until you specify otherwise. You may want to specify a start page other than index.html if, for example, you want to test only a portion of your project. The page you specify applies only to testing. For more information, see Compiling, Testing, and Debugging Applications.

To set the start page, click the Start Page tab, then choose an HTML page as shown in the following figure:

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Setting Base Classes
The Base Classes tab enables you to specify files other than those Netscape Application Builder creates by default to serve as the base classes of your application.

Netscape Application Builder automatically adds AppResource.java and BaseServlet.java to each new project as the project is created. These files store code generated by Netscape Application Builder wizards and other property editors.

AppResource.java
The application resource file stores session information specific to your Netscape Application Builder project. Servlets use sessions to store information about each user's interaction with the application. For example, a login servlet might create a session object to store the user's login name and password. This session data is then available to other servlets in the application.

To specify which file serves as the application resource class for your project, click the Base Classes tab, then choose a file from the Application Resource Class drop-down list.

For detailed information about using an application resource file, see Using an AppResource Class.

BaseServlet.java
A base class servlet enables you to reduce redundant coding by centralizing application functionality and letting other servlets inherit from it.

The BaseServlet.java file stores shared code such as classes and methods. You may want to specify several different Java files to serve as Base servlets in your project if, for example, multiple members of a team are simultaneously working on a Netscape Application Builder project.

To specify which file serves as the base servlet class for your project, click the Base Classes tab, then choose a file from the Base Servlets list, which identifies the classes that you can use as a base servlet for your project.

For detailed information about using base servlets, see Using a Base Servlet.


Setting Development Options
Netscape Application Builder allows you to customize settings for the following features:

You can customize these settings by pulling down the Tools menu, then choosing Development Options.

Setting Startup Options
The Startup tab enables you to specify how Netscape Application Builder behaves when it is launched. This tab is particularly useful if, upon opening Netscape Application Builder, you select the "Don't show dialog at startup" checkbox on the Welcome dialog box as shown in the following figure:

If you want the Welcome dialog box to appear next time you start Netscape Application Builder, click the Startup tab in Development Options, then select the appropriate option button as shown in the following figure:

If you choose "Don't show dialog at startup," Netscape Application Builder changes the Startup developement option to "Load most recently used project," which automatically loads the last project. If you do not want either option, you can choose "Do nothing," which will open the project and neither prompt you to load a project or load one automatically.

Setting Code Generation Options
The Code Generation tab allows you to specify the kind of code that NAB generates and to specify other options related to code generation. To set Code Generation options, click the Java tab as shown in the following figure:

Check "Use Extended API for Generic Servlet?" to use NAB extensions in your servlet or uncheck this option to create standard servlets. For information about standard servlets, see "Standard Servlets" on page 309. For information about NAB extensions, see "What the NAS Extended Runtime Servlet Model Provides" on page 311.

Check "Show a warning message prior to every insertion wizard?" if you want to be reminded to set the cursor where code will be generated. If checked, the following message will appear each time you insert code using a wizard:

You can uncheck the Code Generation option or check the "Don't show this message again" box in the warning dialog box itself, which also unchecks the Code Generation option.

Check "Prompt the user for a data model after a project has been created?" if you want to be reminded to create a data model whenever you create a project. If checked, the following message will appear each time you choose New Project from the File menu:

You can uncheck the Code Generation option or check the "Don't show this message again" box in the warning dialog box itselff, which also unchecks the Code Generation option.

Setting Java Compiler Options
The Java tab allows you to customize the behavior of the Java compiler. For instance, you may specify an external compiler and set compiler options. To set Java compiler options, click the Java tab as shown in the following figure:

If you specify an external compiler on the Java tab, Netscape Application Builder launches that application rather than the built-in compiler.

If you specify an external Java editor, but do not select the "Double-click invokes external editor" checkbox, Netscape Application Builder continues to launch its built-in editor. You can opt to open Java files with your external editor by choosing the Open With option found under the Edit menu or by enabling the Double-click Invokes External Editor checkbox on the Java tab.

Click Help for detailed information about each Java compiler option.

Setting HTML Options
The HTML tab enables you to specify which HTML style to use in your project pages and JavaServer Pages (JSPs). You can also specify which external editor to use to create HTML pages, which image editor to use to modify images, and which HTML browser to use to view HTML pages and JSPs. To set HTML options, click the HTML tab to display the following figure:

Each HTML style has its own set of colors and font styles. The HTML style you choose defines the appearance of the HTML pages and JSPs in your project. For more information about HTML pages and JavaServer Pages, see About Presentation Layout.

If you specify an external image editor on the HTML tab, Netscape Application Builder launches that application each time you open an image file. If you specify an external HTML editor, but do not select the "Double-click invokes external editor" checkbox, Netscape Application Builder continues to launch its built-in editor. You can opt to open HTML files with your external editor by choosing the Open With option found under the Edit menu or by enabling the Double-click Invokes External Editor checkbox on the HTML tab.

Setting Text Colors
The Text Coloring tab enables you to customize the color of the code appearing in an editor window. For instance, you may specify that Java keywords within your code appear in red text. These options apply only to editors built in to Netscape Application Builder. For information on specifying an external editor, see Setting Java Compiler Options.

To set text coloring options, click the Text Coloring tab to display the following dialog box:

Click Help for detailed information about each text coloring option.

Setting Source Control Options
The Source Control tab enables you to specify the external source control program and associated commands. For detailed information on source code control, see To set source control options, click the Source Control tab:Working with Source Control.

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You can choose your Source code control system from the drop-down list and make changes to the commands. If you click on Set To Default, the default values you specifed to commands will be replaced by the original values that were set when you installed Netscape Application Builder.


Setting Runtime Options
Netscape Application Builder enables you to perform the following tasks associated with the runtime characteristics of the Netscape Application Server used to run your application:

You can perform these tasks by pulling down the Tools menu, then choosing Runtime Options.

Changing the Product Key
Every purchase of Netscape Application Builder comes with a unique license number called a product key. If you are evaluating Netscape Application Builder for purchase, you use an evaluation key—a temporary product key that expires after a certain time.

After the evaluation key expires, you can no longer start the runtime server. To prevent this from happening, you must purchase Netscape Application Builder and enter the new, nonexpiring product key.

Instead of re-installing Netscape Application Builder and supplying the new product key during installation, you can change the product key in your current installation. To do so, pull down the Tools menu. Choose Runtime Options to display the following figure, then enter the product key in the Product Key field.

Changing File Pathnames
When a web application is called on to display a page or to execute code, the application looks in particular directories for the files it needs. These file path names are set by the user who installs Netscape Application Builder. However, if the file system has been reorganized, you may need to change the path names.

To change file path names, click the Paths tab to display the following dialog box:

On this tab, you may replace or append existing text. If you specify multiple path names in one text field, directories are searched in order, starting from the left. Use a semicolon as a separator between path names.

Note
To enable the application server to access the HTML directory for its JSP engine, you should include the HTML page directory path name in the HTML template/JSP text field.

Setting Options for Message Logging
Netscape Application Server logs the messages generated by application-level and system-level services. These messages describe events that occur while a service is running. You may want to change the amount and type of information that a Netscape Application Server application logs. For example, you can increase the amount of message logging to help diagnose problems; increased logging provides more information about errors and warnings. On the other hand, you can decrease the amount of message logging to use less disk space and increase server speed.

To change the amount and type of information logged, click the Logging Tab as shown in the following figure:

The Logging tab in Netscape Application Builder allows you to specify the names of the log files and preferences for the kind and amout of information written to these files.

If you specify a file name for Log To File, a log file is created for the Java server port and the C++ server port. You can determine the port numbers associated with these ports by clicking on the IP/Ports tab. Netscape Application Builder appends the name of the port to the log file name. For example, if you specify nabr.log as the filename and your ports are 10818 and 10819, respectively, Netscape Application Builder creates log files with the names nabr.log.10818 and nabr.log.10819. If you do not specify a file name for Log To File, these files are not created.

The Logging types specify the information you want to log. Logging types are described briefly in the following table:

Type of Logging
Description
General
Logs error messages and warnings. Errors are messages describing a critical failure of a service from which recovery is not likely. Warnings are messages describing non-critical problems that might indicate larger problems. If you select the All Messages button, both Error and Warning messages are logged.
Web Plug-in
Logs requests that come into the web server. You can determine the amount of detail logged by choosing Verbose (more detailed) or Normal (less detailed). Choose None to disable web plug-in logging.
Database
Logs information related to your connection to and interaction with a database. You can choose to record both connection information and query information, or disable both database logging options.

Setting Server IDs
When you install Netscape Application Builder, you either supply addresses or accept default values for the following in the runtime environment:

Three of these values, Executive server port, Javaserver port, and C++ server port, correspond to Netscape Application Server's internal servers. The remaining values, web server port and IP address, correspond to the web server you use with Netscape Application Builder and the IP address of your local machine, respectively.

If any of these values change, you must update Netscape Application Builder to match the new values. Instead of re-installing Netscape Application Builder each time a setting changes, you can change server IDs by clicking the IP/Ports tab as shown in the previous figure. The values are not necessarily dependent on each other; in other words, you may change one value without changing other values.

If you want to update your IP address, click Set to Local; your machine's current address automatically appears in the IP address field.

Configuring Database Drivers
When you install Netscape Application Builder, you specify the drivers that enable connectivity to a backend database. If you need to add, remove, or change database connectivity after installing Netscape Application Builder, click the DB Drivers tab as shown in the following figure:

You can use the Add, Edit, or Remove buttons as needed to modify database connectivity settings. Click Help for detailed information about each option.

Configuring Data Sources
A data source is a logical definition of a backend connection. Whenever you need to add, remove, or modify your database connectivity, you must configure the data sources. To do so, click the Data Sources tab as shown in the following figure:

You can add or remove a data source as needed. To edit the name of a data source, you can type directly in the Data Source text field. To change driver information, use the Driver drop-down list. Click Help for further information about each option.


Customizing the Palette
The palette is made up of palette pages that can be accessed by tabs at the bottom of the window. The HTML and Form palette pages are locked, which means that you can not delete them or remove any components from them. You can create new, unlocked pages using the methods described in the following table.

Customization
Action to Take
Create a new palette page
Right-click the palette and choose New Page. Name the new page.
Delete a palette page
Right-click the palette and choose Delete Page. Confirm the page deletion.
Reorder pages
Left-drag tabs to the desired location.
Reordering components on a page
Left-dag components to the desired order.
Moving components between palette pages
Left-drag components to the tab of an unlocked page to move the component to that page. Alternatively, right-click the component and choose Cut, select the page where you want to copy the component, and then right-click the page and choose Paste. You cannot copy components to locked pages (HTML, Form) but you can copy from them.
Copying components between palette pages
Ctrl+drag components with the left mouse button to the tab of an unlocked page to copy the component to that page. Alternatively, right-click the component and choose Copy, select the page where you want to copy the component, and then right-click the page and choose Paste. You cannot move components to or from locked pages (HTML, Form) but you can copy from them.
Renaming palette pages
Click the page you wish to rename with the right mouse button and choose Properties. Rename the page. You can rename locked pages.
Viewing and editing component properties
Right-click the component and choose Properties. Component properties can be changed on locked pages. Alternatively, you can copy the component onto an HTML page or JavaServer Page (JSP) and edit its properties with the Properties window, although you can not then copy the component back onto a locked palette page. You can, however, copy it to an unlocked palette page.
Deleting components
Right-click the component you wish to delete and choose Delete Item. Confirm the component deletion.

 

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