Navigating in Eclipse

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to Navigate Source Code Editors and Use the Outline Feature.

Navigation in Eclipse

Navigation in Eclipse

ABAP Development Tools provides several ways to access development objects and their elements quickly. In the source code editor, you can navigate quickly from the definition of a method and its parameters and exceptions to its implementation.

Pressing F1, F2, or F3 in ABAP code will open the ABAP Language Help, the Tooltip Description or navigate to the definition respectively

Key Functions

When working with ABAP code, certain function keys in ABAP Development Tools will help you. These function keys are as follows:

  • F1: The F1 key displays the ABAP language help for the current statement. A statement is the name for a command in ABAP.
  • F2: The F2 key displays information about the object on which the cursor is placed.
  • F3: The F3 key navigates to the definition of the object on which the cursor is placed. You can return from there to the original object using the key combination, Alt + Left arrow, on your keyboard.

Quick Views

A Quick View is an in-place view displayed on top of the source code editor area. There are two types:

  • Quick Outline – displays the internal structure of a class, program, or interface. Choose Ctrl+O(on your keyboard).
  • Quick Type Hierarchy – displays the type hierarchy of a class or interface. Use Ctrl+T (on your keyboard).

The Outline View

When you open a development object in the source code editor, the editor-specific Outline view for that object also opens by default. The Outline view displays the structural elements of the object, such as attributes, data types, or methods. You can use the view's filter functions to determine which elements are visible and which are hidden.

Screenshot of the Outline view after selecting a method in the source code editor view

The outline view is synchronized with the contents of the source code editor. Therefore, when you select an element in the Outline view, you can navigate quickly to the corresponding position in the ABAP source code. Conversely, if you select an element in the source code editor, the selection is highlighted in the outline.

Note that the Outline view is synchronized with the contents of the editor, even if the latter has not yet been saved.

Navigation Using the Outline View

When you open a development object from the Source Library in the source code editor, the Outline view for that object will also be opened. The Outline view displays the internal structure of a class, interface, or program. It lists elements such as attributes, data types, or methods of ABAP classes.

  1. Open a development object.
  2. In the Outline view, select an element to navigate to the corresponding position in the source code editor.
  3. You can use the buttons in the toolbar to hide non-public components of classes or components that are not methods.

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