Tim,

As of the release.html:

<<
The Alt-Down/Keypad Plus and Alt-Up/Keypad Plus keys now expand and
collapse nested properties in the Object Inspector.
>>

I don't understand that. When I use Alt-Down on the "Border" property
e.g., the nested properties "Bottom", "Left" etc. stay collapsed. But
that's what would be helpful.

<<
There is a new caption property editor in the IDE that makes it easier
to deal with multi-line captions for controls like the TLabel control.
>>

Very good for editing large text blocks, but now I can't type directly
into the object inspector any more. I have to open the editor, select
the old caption and then type the new one.
Can you enable direct editing again?

Thanks Uli

Uli,

<< I don't understand that. When I use Alt-Down on the "Border" property e.g., the nested properties "Bottom", "Left" etc. stay collapsed. But that's what would be helpful. >>

Just use the same keystrokes again to expand the next level of nested objects.

<< Very good for editing large text blocks, but now I can't type directly into the object inspector any more. I have to open the editor, select the old caption and then type the new one.  Can you enable direct editing again? >>

No.

Tim Young
Elevate Software
www.elevatesoft.com

Tim,

> Just use the same keystrokes again to expand the next level of nested objects.

That works only after selecting the next level.

> No.

Maybe a misunderstanding: I don't mean to restore the old way, but offer
both. Direct editing and a button to launch the editor.

Uli

Uli,

<< That works only after selecting the next level. >>

Yes, I understand.  But you would still have to navigate down to the next level, even if the next level was "auto-expanded" with the parent level.

<< Maybe a misunderstanding: I don't mean to restore the old way, but offer both. Direct editing and a button to launch the editor. >>

Direct editing of multi-line content is confusing and error-prone because you can't see the control characters, so anything that allows for multi-line content editing uses the content/caption editor.

Tim Young
Elevate Software
www.elevatesoft.com

Tim,

> Yes, I understand.  But you would still have to navigate down to the next level, even if the next level was "auto-expanded" with the parent level.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but I don't have to navigate to the next
level if it's "auto-expanded". Removing the border of a TImage e.g.: If
all child nodes are expanded with ALT+Down I just need to dblClick the
visible property 4 times and it's done. That's what I mean. And that's
what I expected from the enhancement.


> Direct editing of multi-line content is confusing and error-prone because you can't see the control characters, so anything that allows for multi-line content editing uses the content/caption editor.

I don't agree. In most cases the caption property will be a single line,
so it doesn't make sense for me to open an editor. Though it's useful
for multi line content off course.

Delphi's object inspector offers both: direct editing and opening an
editor. IMHO there is nothing confusing with it.

Uli

Uli,

<< Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but I don't have to navigate to the next level if it's "auto-expanded". Removing the border of a TImage e.g.: If all child nodes are expanded with ALT+Down I just need to dblClick the visible property 4 times and it's done. That's what I mean. And that's what I expected from the enhancement. >>

I wasn't referring to using the mouse.  I was referring to using the down arrow keys to move to each new sub-instance.  The enhancement in 2.04 was for the *keyboard*, not the mouse.

<< I don't agree. In most cases the caption property will be a single line, so it doesn't make sense for me to open an editor. Though it's useful for multi line content off course.

Delphi's object inspector offers both: direct editing and opening an editor. IMHO there is nothing confusing with it. >>

Noted.

Tim Young
Elevate Software
www.elevatesoft.com

Tim,

> I wasn't referring to using the mouse.  I was referring to using the down arrow keys to move to each new sub-instance.  The enhancement in 2.04 was for the*keyboard*, not the mouse.

Sure, the only mouse action I was referring to, is a DblClick on a
boolean property.

I mean that it's very useful to have a shortcut to expand all child
nodes *together* with the parent node. That would allow a quick change
of properties like "Top", "Bottom" etc. of a border e.g.

> Noted.

Thanks.

Uli