Macromedia ColdFusion Builder Instruction Manual
Using
ADOBE® COLDFUSION® BUILDER
™
Copyright
© 2010 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Using Adobe® ColdFusion® Builder™
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Last updated 1/20/2012
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
ColdFusion and ColdFusion Builder documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
ColdFusion and ColdFusion Builder learning resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Chapter 2: About ColdFusion Builder
ColdFusion Builder configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Activating ColdFusion Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Updating ColdFusion Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Installing third-party Eclipse plug-ins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
ColdFusion Builder Help System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Getting started with ColdFusion Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter 3: ColdFusion Builder Workbench Basics
About the workbench . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Workbench menus, toolbars, and keyboard shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
About ColdFusion Builder perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
ColdFusion Builder Development perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
ColdFusion Debugging perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Add views to the workbench . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
ColdFusion Builder editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Customizing a perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
iii
Chapter 4: Code Editing in ColdFusion Builder
CFML Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Code Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Code colorization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
SQL Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Code folding and unfolding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Syntax checking and highlighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Code refactoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Tag wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Typing preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
CFML Editor keyboard shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Chapter 5: Managing Servers
Understanding web server terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Adding ColdFusion servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Using Servers View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Import RDS server settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Chapter 6: Managing Projects
About projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Creating a ColdFusion project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Configure properties for projects and servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
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Contents
Add ColdFusion pages, interfaces, and components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Set URL Prefix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Import, export, and delete projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Cloak projects and files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Link to resources outside the workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Deploy projects over FTP and Secure FTP connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Import Ajax libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Working with Flash Builder projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Developing AIR applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Chapter 7: Debugging Applications
Using ColdFusion debugger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Debugging your application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Debugging remote applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Chapter 8: ColdFusion Builder Extensions
About extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Developing extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Creating user interfaces for extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Specifying callback commands from handlers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Using the Extensions view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Use ColdFusion Builder Extension Creator to create and package extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
iv
Chapter 9: Using Extensions
Adobe CFC Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
AS Class Generator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Model-Glue Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
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Chapter 1: Introduction
Adobe® ColdFusion® Builder™ is an integrated development environment (IDE) for developing Adobe®
ColdFusion®applications.
There are various resources to help you get started and become proficient in using ColdFusion Builder. Depending on
your background and what you want to accomplish with ColdFusion Builder, take a few minutes to read through the
appropriate documentation resources.
New to ColdFusion
❖ It is most useful if you have basic ColdFusion experience before you start using ColdFusion Builder. You can start
by viewing the Getting Started experience, which is available from the ColdFusion Administrator.
Experienced ColdFusion developers
• ColdFusion Builder is built on Eclipse™(an open source IDE), so you must know specific terms and concepts to
effectively use it. If you are, however, familiar with working in an Eclipse-based environment, you will find that
ColdFusion Builder uses similar workbench conventions.
For more information, see “ColdFusion Builder Workbench Basics” on page 9.
1
• If you have developed code using a text editor in the past, you will find that ColdFusion Builder provides enhanced
functionality that makes developing code much easier. For more information, see
page 3.
• For a quick overview of the features that are available with ColdFusion Builder, see “Getting started with
ColdFusion Builder” on page 7.
• To successfully develop ColdFusion applications using ColdFusion Builder, use CFML Reference and ColdFusion
Developer Guide. The CFML Reference contains detailed information on the CFML language elements and is
available from the ColdFusion Builder Help system. For more information, see
page 6.
• For information about the complete documentation available for ColdFusion and ColdFusion Builder, see
“ColdFusion and ColdFusion Builder documentation” on page 1.
“About ColdFusion Builder” on
“Display CFML Reference Help” on
ColdFusion and ColdFusion Builder documentation
All ColdFusion and ColdFusion Builder documentation is accessible from within ColdFusion Builder through the
integrated Help system. For more information, see
Go to the ColdFusion Help and Support pages at www.adobe.com/go/learn_cfu_support_en to view the online
documentation.
In addition to viewing the documentation, you can also add and view comments to the documentation.
“ColdFusion Builder Help System” on page 4.
Adobe ColdFusion documentation
The ColdFusion documentation set includes the following titles:
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Introduction
Manual Description
2
Installing Adobe® ColdFusion® 9
Adobe ColdFusion® 9 Administrator's Guide Describes how to perform ColdFusion administration tasks such as managing server
Developing Adobe® ColdFusion® 9 Applications
Adobe® ColdFusion® 9 CFML Reference
Describes system installation and basic configuration for Windows, Macintosh,
Solaris, Linux, and AIX.
settings, configuring data sources and web servers, managing security, and
deploying ColdFusion applications.
This book also provides information about caching, setting up CFX tags, and
monitoring server activity using the ColdFusion Server Monitor.
Describes how to develop your dynamic web applications.
This book provides detailed information about using the CFML programming
language and ColdFusion features, such as ColdFusion Web Services, ColdFusion
Portlets, ColdFusion ORM, Ajax support, Flex and AIR integration, and integration
with other products and technologies such as Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, and
SharePoint.
Provides descriptions, syntax, usage, and code examples for all ColdFusion tags,
functions, and variables.
Adobe ColdFusion Builder documentation
The ColdFusion Builder documentation set includes the following titles:
Manual Description
Installing Adobe® ColdFusion® Builder
Describes ColdFusion Builder installation, as a standalone installation or as a set of
plug-ins within an existing Eclipse workbench, for Windows and Macintosh
platforms.
Using ColdFusion® Builder
Describes how to use ColdFusion Builder as an integrated development environment
(IDE) for developing applications using ColdFusion.
ColdFusion and ColdFusion Builder learning resources
The following additional online resources are available for learning ColdFusion and ColdFusion Builder:
Resource Link
ColdFusion Help and Support www.adobe.com/go/learn_cfu_support_en
ColdFusion Developer Center www.adobe.com/go/learn_cfu_cfdevcenter_en
Adobe ColdFusion online forums www.adobe.com/go/learn_cfu_forums_en
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Chapter 2: About ColdFusion Builder
Adobe® ColdFusion® Builder™ is built on top of Eclipse™, an open-source IDE (Integrated Development Environment).
An IDE contains most of the tools that developers need within a single application. ColdFusion Builder provides tools
for editing and validating code, managing files and projects, and debugging. The plug-in architecture of ColdFusion
Builder lets you extend the functionality for your own needs.
ColdFusion Builder runs on Microsoft® Windows® and Apple® Macintosh platforms. The installation configuration
options let you install ColdFusion Builder as a standalone installation or as a set of plug-ins within an existing Eclipse
workbench installation. For more information, see Installing Adobe ColdFusion Builder.
ColdFusion Builder configurations
The ColdFusion Builder installer provides the following two configuration options:
Standalone ColdFusion Builder IDE Installation Installs ColdFusion Builder as a standalone IDE (Integrated
Development Environment) built on Eclipse™ 3.5.1
3
ColdFusion Builder plug-ins within Eclipse IDE Installs ColdFusion Builder as a plug-in within an existing Eclipse or
Adobe® Flash® Builder™ installation. This configuration is for users who already use the Eclipse workbench and want
to add ColdFusion Builder plug-ins to their toolkit of Eclipse plug-ins.
Note: You must have Eclipse 3.4.2 or higher installed on your computer to install the plug-in configuration of ColdFusion
Builder.
If you are not sure which configuration to use, follow these guidelines:
• If you already use and have Eclipse 3.4.2 or higher installed, select the plug-in configuration.
• If you do not have Eclipse 3.4.2 or higher installed, select the standalone configuration. This configuration also
allows you to install other Eclipse plug-ins, so you can expand the scope of your development work in the future.
The two configurations provide the same functionality. However, some menu names and the ways to access the menu
commands sometimes differ slightly in the plug-in configuration.
Activating ColdFusion Builder
When you start ColdFusion Builder, you are prompted to enter the product serial number. When you enter a valid
product serial number, activation happens in the background the first time the software detects an Internet
connection. For more information, visit the Adobe Product Activation Center at
If you do not enter the product serial number when you start ColdFusion Builder, you can use the trial version of
ColdFusion Builder for 60 days. Once the trial expires, you need to purchase a license to continue using ColdFusion
Builder.
www.adobe.com/go/activation.
Managing ColdFusion Builder licenses
If you are a single-license user you can use ColdFusion Builder on up to two computers. To use your ColdFusion
Builder license on a different computer than your original two computers, deactivate the ColdFusion Builder license
on one of the two computers. After which, you can use it on another computer.
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About ColdFusion Builder
To deactivate the ColdFusion Builder license, select Help > Adobe ColdFusion Builder Deactivation.
Note: If you are uninstalling ColdFusion Builder, Adobe recommends that you first deactivate your license and then
uninstall ColdFusion Builder.
Updating ColdFusion Builder
Updates to ColdFusion Builder can include changes to security or new product functionality. Adobe recommends that
you periodically check and install the updates, when available.
1 In Adobe ColdFusion Builder, select Help > Adobe ColdFusion Builder Updates. If any new updates are available,
ColdFusion Builder downloads and installs the updates.
2 For the updates to take effect, restart ColdFusion Builder (standalone configuration) or restart Eclipse (plug-in
configuration).
Installing third-party Eclipse plug-ins
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ColdFusion Builder provides integration with third-party Eclipse plug-ins that let you extend or customize your
development environment. You can install the third-party Eclipse plug-ins on Windows and Mac OS X platforms.
1 In Adobe ColdFusion Builder, select Help > Install New Software.
2 Click Add.
3 Enter the name and URL of the plug-in to install. For example, to install Subclipse version 1.0, enter the following
http://subclipse.tigris.org/update_1.0.x
URL:
4 Select the plug-ins to Install.
5 Click Next and follow the instructions in the Install wizard.
6 Click Finish.
Note: To ensure that the plug-in installs correctly, add the Galileo Update Site URL
http://download.eclipse.org/releases/galileo(or an equivalent Eclipse update site URL).
ColdFusion Builder Help System
While you work in ColdFusion Builder, you can display context-sensitive Help for specific user interface elements of
the workbench (views and dialog boxes) and language-reference help for code elements.
Adobe Community Help Client
Adobe Community Help client (CHC) is an AIR application that displays help content for ColdFusion Builder. The
Help content is served directly from the web. When you open the CHC for the first time, an Internet connection is
needed. You can then download the Help content to your desktop to use and search offline.
To open and view the ColdFusion Builder Help system, select Help > ColdFusion Builder Help.
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Use context-sensitive Help
1 Select a view, dialog box, or any other user interface element in the workbench.
2 Press F1 (Windows) to open the associated Help page in the Community Help Client.
To use context-sensitive Help on Mac OS, set a keyboard shortcut to the Dynamic Help command. To specify a
keyboard shortcut for the Dynamic Help command, do the following:
1 Select Adobe ColdFusion Builder > Preferences.
2 In the tree view, select General > Keys.
3 Select the Dynamic Help command.
4 Press the key binding combination that you want to set. For example, to enter Ctrl+Shift+1, press and hold the keys
Ctrl and Shift and then press 1. A plus sign (+) between the keys indicates that you must press the keys in succession.
Community Help Client Preferences
You can set CHC preferences to control the Help content display.
1 In the CHC, select Edit > Preferences.
2 In the Preferences dialog box, set the following options, as required.
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General Settings
• You can select a light or dark theme for the CHC. A theme is a formatting choice that determines the appearance
of the CHC. For example, when you apply a dark theme, the CHC has a dark background and theme-specific fonts.
• The CHC is launched as an AIR application, by default. You can, however, choose to launch the CHC in your web
browser. To do so, select On (Launch Help In Browser).
Download Preferences
You can select the products and Help packages that you want to have available for offline use.
Updater Settings
CHC provides content updates and feature enhancements without reinstalling the AIR application. Select Notify Me
When Updates Are Available to be prompted for new updates when you either open or close the CHC. You can also
choose to manually search and install updates.
Local Content
You can manually delete the Help packages that you downloaded to your desktop.
Search and Filter options
CHC lets you search across different Help packages and search locations.
Click Search Options to display the following Search locations.
Local Help Searches the Help package downloaded to your desktop for offline viewing. Click Filter Results to narrow
down your search results to a specific book in the Help package.
Adobe.com Searches up-to-date definitive reference content across all online resources available on adobe.com,
including Developer Center articles, tutorials, and knowledgebase articles.
Community Help This search is cumulative of all the resources available on adobe.com as well as the most relevant
content contributed by experts from the Adobe community.
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Code Search The integrated code search lets you search through relevant code snippets available on adobe.com
Dynamic navigation
CHC provides dynamic navigation based on search results to find related content. All related content appears in the
Related Topics tab.
Feedback and rating
You can comment on, rate, and contribute to Help content if you have a valid Adobe ID. If you do not have an Adobe
ID, you can get one by registering yourself at https://www.adobe.com/membership.
Click Feedback And Rating in the bottom left-corner of the CHC, and provide your feedback. You can provide
feedback in the form of a tip, example, or by suggesting a link to a relevant online resource.
Eclipse Help System
The Eclipse Help system displays CFML reference Help for code elements. The Eclipse Help system also displays Help
for any third-party plug-ins that you install or that come packaged with ColdFusion Builder.
To open and view the Eclipse Help system, select Help > Help Contents.
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Display CFML Reference Help
The CFML Reference is integrated into ColdFusion Builder, letting you quickly review the reference Help for a CFML
tag or function.
• To open the Help topic for a CFML tag or function, do the following:
1 In the CFML editor, select a CFML tag element or function by highlighting or placing the pointer on the built-
in tag or function name.
2 Press F1 (Windows) or the equivalent keyboard shortcut for Mac OS. A link to the Help page for the selected
tag is displayed in the docked Help window.
Note: In Mac OS, when you press Command+Shift+/ to view Help for a CFML tag or function, generic editor Help
appears in the docked Help window. To see the tag or function-specific Help, click the selected tag or function name
in the CFML Editor again.
3 Click the Help page link. The Help page for the selected tag or function is displayed.
Set Help Preferences
You can set Help preferences to control how Help is displayed in the Eclipse Help system.
1 In ColdFusion Builder, select Window > Preferences.
2 In the Preferences dialog box, you see a tree-view structure on the left side. Select Help.
3 Set the following options, as required.
Use External Browser Lets you display help in a web browser of your choice. By default, the embedded browser of
the IDE displays Help. Select the Use External Browser check box and then select the Web Browser link to select
your web browser.
Open Window Context Help Determines how to display context-sensitive Help links for an open window. By
default, context-sensitive Help links are displayed in the Dynamic Help view which, when opened, is docked into
the current perspective like all other views. To display context-sensitive Help links in an infopop (similar to a
tooltip), select In An Infopop.
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Open Dialog Context Help Determines how to display context-sensitive Help links for an open dialog box. By
default, Help is displayed in the dialog box. To display context-sensitive Help links in an infopop (similar to a
tooltip), select In An Infopop.
Open Help View Documents Determines where to display documents that are opened from links in Dynamic Help.
By default, In-place is selected, and Help documents open in the Dynamic Help view window. To open Help
documents in the ColdFusion Builder IDE editing area, select In-place.
Use dynamic Help
Dynamic Help is docked to the current perspective and displays topics for the associated views and dialog boxes.
❖ Select Help > Dynamic Help.
To change the default keyboard shortcut binding, select Window > Preferences > General > Keys, and change the
associated binding for the Dynamic Help command. For more information on changing keyboard shortcuts, see
“Keyboard shortcuts” on page 14.
Getting started with ColdFusion Builder
Using ColdFusion Builder, you can develop ColdFusion applications in a full-featured IDE that lets you complete the
following tasks:
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Note: Before getting started with the tasks, ensure that you are familiar with the ColdFusion Builder workbench and its
capabilities and features. For more information, see
“ColdFusion Builder Workbench Basics” on page 9.
• Create ColdFusion projects: Using the Project wizard, you can create a project and configure a local or remote
server with it. For more information, see
“Creating a ColdFusion project” on page 55.
• Add and manage servers: ColdFusion Builder includes integrated server management that allows you to manage
your ColdFusion servers, the ColdFusion Administrator, and Server Monitor within ColdFusion Builder.
You can configure both JRun and non-JRun servers. To manage your applications efficiently, ColdFusion Builder
provides features such as virtual hosts, virtual directories, and URL prefixes.
For more information on using these features and managing your servers, see “Managing Servers” on page 46.
• Deploy remote projects over FTP connection: ColdFusion Builder lets you manage both local and remote servers.
The remote servers can be connected either through RDS (Remote Data Services) or FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
connection. For more information about deploying and synchronizing remote projects over FTP connection, see
“Deploy projects over FTP and Secure FTP connections” on page 61.
• Create ColdFusion pages, components, and interfaces: ColdFusion Builder provides wizards that let you create
resources such as, ColdFusion pages, ColdFusion components (CFCs), and interfaces. You can associate these
resources to a project. For more information, see
“Add ColdFusion pages, interfaces, and components” on page 56.
• Write and edit your ColdFusion application source code using the CFML editor: ColdFusion Builder provides
code editors to edit CFML, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS code. Based on the type of code that you are editing, the
appropriate editor is opened. For more information, see
The editors provide many features, including code colorization, code assist, and Outline view, which help you
navigate through your code.
“ColdFusion Builder editors” on page 30.
The CFML editor provides features such as code completion, code refactoring, and streamlined code navigation.
ColdFusion Builder lets you use different colors and fonts to display your code in the editor. For more information
on the complete feature-functionality of the CFML Editor, see
“Code Editing in ColdFusion Builder” on page 32.
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• Write and edit SQL statements using the SQL Editor: The CFML editor has an integrated SQL editor that lets you
edit and write SQL statements. You can also set code colorization preferences for supported SQL statements. For
more information on the SQL Editor, see
“SQL Editor” on page 38.
• Use and create CFML dictionaries: ColdFusion Builder provides built-in CFML dictionaries that assist you with
CFML code completion. CFML dictionaries are supported for ColdFusion versions 7, 8 and 9. You can also create
your own custom CFML dictionary. For more information about using and creating dictionaries, see
“CFML
Dictionaries” on page 37.
• Use ColdFusion Builder development views: ColdFusion Builder provides many views that let you develop your
applications easily.
The RDS FileView lets you access and explore file systems on local and remote servers. The RDS DataView lets you
access and explore local or remote data sources. For more information, see
“RDS FileView and RDS DataView” on
page 17.
You can also query data on a local or remote data servers using the RDS Query Viewer. For more information, see
“RDS Query viewer” on page 18.
The Services Browser view lets you browse through CFCs and their methods within the server web root. You can
access both local and remote CFCs and web services. For more information, see
“Services Browser view” on
page 21.
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The Snippets view and Outline view let you reuse and streamline your code. For more information, see “Snippets
view” on page 22 and “Outline view” on page 16.
For more information about all the development views, see “ColdFusion Builder Development perspective” on
page 15.
• Use the ColdFusion debugger to debug applications: ColdFusion Builder provides an integrated debugger with
debugging views, like the Debug view and the Breakpoints view, which let you debug your applications. For more
information about these views, see
“ColdFusion Debugging perspective” on page 24.
You can add breakpoints to your code, step into or over functions, and examine and evaluate expressions. You can
debug files on both local and remote servers. For more information, see
“Debugging Applications” on page 64.
The Problems view, TailView view, and Console view detect syntax, server, and compilation errors and display
them.
• Use and develop ColdFusion Builder extensions: Use the Extensions view to manage ColdFusion Builder
extensions.
You can develop extensions to generate code, design user interfaces, and perform basic CRUD (Create, Read,
Update, and Delete) operations on the database. You can also develop extensions to perform custom actions such
as opening files in the CFML Editor or inserting text in an open file. For more information about creating
extensions, see
“ColdFusion Builder Extensions” on page 71.
ColdFusion Builder provides the ColdFusion Builder Extension Creator to guide you through the process of
creating and packaging extensions. For more information, see
“Use ColdFusion Builder Extension Creator to create
and package extensions” on page 88.
The following extensions come packaged with ColdFusion Builder.
• Adobe CFC Generator
• ActionScript Class Generator
• Model-Glue Assistant
For more information on installing and using these extensions, see “Using Extensions” on page 90.
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Chapter 3: ColdFusion Builder Workbench Basics
ColdFusion Builder is an Eclipse-based development environment that allows you to develop Adobe ColdFusion
applications and run them on ColdFusion servers. You use it to develop ColdFusion applications using coding and
debugging tools.
About the workbench
The ColdFusion Builder workbench is a full-featured environment for developing Adobe ColdFusion applications.
Much of the basic functionality of the ColdFusion Builder IDE comes from Eclipse. The ColdFusion Builder plug-ins
add features and functionality for creating ColdFusion applications. The plug-ins also provide tools for modifying the
IDE user interface and supply some core functionality to support application building.
Workbench The workbench is the ColdFusion Builder development environment. The workbench contains three
primary elements: perspectives, editors, and views. You use all three in various combinations at various points in the
application development process. The workbench contains all the tools you use to develop applications.
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Perspective A perspective is a group of views, editors, menus, and toolbars in the workbench. Essentially it is a special
work environment that helps you accomplish a specific type of task. For example, ColdFusion Builder contains two
perspectives. You use the ColdFusion Builder Development perspective to develop applications and the ColdFusion
Debugging perspective to debug them.
For more information about perspectives, see “About ColdFusion Builder perspectives” on page 14.
Editor An editor allows you to edit various types of files. The editors available to you vary according to the number
and types of Eclipse plug-ins installed. ColdFusion Builder contains editors for writing CFML, HTML, JavaScript, and
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) code. For more information about code editing in ColdFusion Builder, see
Builder editors” on page 30 and “Code Editing in ColdFusion Builder” on page 32.
Views A view typically supports an editor. For example, when you edit CFML, the Outline view and Snippet view are
also displayed in the ColdFusion Builder Development perspective. These views support the development of
ColdFusion applications and are therefore displayed when a CFML file is opened for editing.
Some views support the core functionality of the workbench itself. For example, the File Explorer view allows you to
manage files and folders within the workbench. The RDS Dataview and RDS Fileview display data sources, files, and
directories on both remote and local servers.
The term view is synonymous with the term panel as it is used in Adobe Dreamweaver® and other Adobe development
tools.
For more information about the views in the ColdFusion Builder Development perspective, see “ColdFusion Builder
Development perspective” on page 15.
For more information about the views in the ColdFusion Debugging perspective, see “ColdFusion Debugging
perspective” on page 24.
“ColdFusion
Workspace Not to be confused with workbench, a workspace is a defined area of the file system. The workspace
contains the resources (files and folders) that make up your application projects. A workspace can contain multiple
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projects. You can work with only one workspace at a time; however, you can select a different workspace each time
you start ColdFusion Builder. For more information, see
Resource The general term resource applies to the files and folders in the projects in a workspace. For more
“Managing Projects” on page 55.
information, see“Add ColdFusion pages, interfaces, and components” on page 56 and “Add other files” on page 58.
Project All the resources that make up your applications are contained within projects. You cannot build an
application in ColdFusion Builder without first creating a project. For more information, see
“Managing Projects” on
page 55.
Workbench menus, toolbars, and keyboard shortcuts
You access workbench commands through the menu bar, right-click context menus, toolbars, and keyboard shortcuts.
Workbench menus
The ColdFusion Builder workbench contains the following main menus:
File menu
The File menu lets you create, save, close, print, import, and export workbench resources and exit the workbench.
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Menu command Description
New Creates a resource. Before you create a ColdFusion component, interface, or page, ensure
Open File Open a file for editing. You can also open files that are not in the workspace.
Close Closes the active editor. You are prompted to save changes before the file closes.
Close All Closes all open editors. You are prompted to save changes before the files close.
Save Saves the content of the active editor
Save As Lets you save the contents of the active editor in a different filename and location
Save All Saves the contents of all open editors.
Revert Replaces the contents of the active editor with the previously saved contents.
Move Moves the currently selected resources to a different project
Rename Lets you change the name of the selected resource
Refresh Refreshes the resource with the contents in the file system
Convert Line Delimiters To Lets you convert line delimiters to the operating system applicable to your development or
that you have created a project to store these resources.
deployment platform:
• Windows (default)
• Unix
• MacOS 9
Print Prints the contents of the active editor
Switch Workspace Opens the Workspace Launcher that lets you switch to a different workspace. When you
switch to a different workspace, the workbench is restarted.
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Menu command Description
Restart Restarts ColdFusion Builder
Import Lets you import resources to the workbench using the Import wizard
Export Lets you export resources from the workbench using the Export wizard
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Properties Displays the properties dialog box for the selected resource. The Properties For dialog box
Recent File List A list of the most recently accessed files in the workbench. You can open these files from the
Exit Closes the open resources and exits the workbench
provides information about the path to the resource and the date of the last modification on
the resource. It also provides information if the project's resources have inherited their
encoding and line delimiters or if they are set to a particular value.
File menu by clicking the filename. You can control the number of files that must appear in
this list using the Preferences dialog box.
Navigate menu
The Navigate menu lets you locate and navigate through resources in your workbench.
Menu command Description
Go Into Lets you navigate within hierarchies of resources such that the selected resource is at the
Go To Lets you jump to a specific resource or display the hierarchy that appeared before the
Open Declaration Opens declaration for selected code element.
root. That is, when you select a folder within a project and select Go Into, only the selected
folder (and artifacts within the folder) appear in the Navigation view.
This command is useful in navigating through large-sized projects with complex
hierarchies.
current display.
For example, select the Go Into command for a resource, and then select Go To > Back. The
Back command displays the same hierarchy from which you activated the Go Into
command.
Quick Outline Displays a quick view of the Outline view. A hierarchical view of the code structure of the
Open Resource Lets you select a resource in the workspace and open it in an editor using the Open
Show In Lets you find and select the currently selected resource in another view. If an editor is active,
Next Lets you navigate to the next item in a list or table in the active view
Previous Lets you navigate to the previous item in a list or table in the active view
Last Edit Location Lets you jump to the last edit position in the active editor
Go To Line Lets you jump to a specific line in the active editor
Back Lets you move editor focus to a previously opened file.
Forward Lets you return editor focus from the previous file.
page appears in a pop-up menu.
Resource dialog box
these commands are used to select the resource that is currently being edited in another
view.
Project menu
The Project menu lets you manage projects in the workbench.
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Menu command Description
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Open Project Opens the currently selected project. The selected project must be closed for this command
Close Project Closes the currently open project]
Properties Displays the project properties dialog box
to be available.
Window menu
The Window menu lets you display, hide, and manage the various views, perspectives, and actions in the workbench.
Menu command Description
New Window Opens a new workbench window with the same perspective as the currently open
New Editor Opens an editor that is of the same type as the currently active editor
Open Perspective Opens a new perspective in the workbench
Show View Lets you select the views to display in the workbench
Customize Perspective Lets you customize the currently selected perspective
Save Perspective As Lets you save the currently selected perspective, creating your own customized perspective.
Reset Perspective Lets you reset a customized perspective
Close Perspective Closes the currently open perspective
Close All Perspectives Closes all the open perspectives in the workbench
perspective
Navigation Contains shortcuts to navigate between the views, perspectives, and editors in the
Preferences Lets you set you preferences for using the workbench. There are a number of preferences
workbench
to configure the appearance of the workbench andtheviews and editors contained in the
workbench.
Toolbars
Workbench toolbar
The workbench toolbar contains buttons for important and frequently used commands. These commands are also
available from various ColdFusion Builder menus.
Workbench toolbar
The following buttons appear in the workbench toolbar (shown left to right):
Button/command Description
New Displays a pop-up menu that displays all the types of projects and documents you can
Save Saves the document that is open in the editor and currently selected
Print Prints the document that is open in the editor and currently selected
create.
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Button/command Description
New ColdFusion Project Opens the wizard to create a ColdFusion project.
Open CFC Lists all the CFCs that are available for projects displayed in the Navigator view.
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Debug Uses the project’s currently open file to begin a debugging session. You can also select other
Run Runs the project’s currently open file. You can also select other application files in the
External Tools Selects a custom launch configuration
Search Searches for text strings and filename patterns for files in the project
Next Annotation Allows you to select and move forward to code annotations
Previous Annotation Allows you to select and move backward to code annotations
Last Edit Location Takes you to the code element that you last edited in the currently open file.
Back To Lets you move editor focus to a previously opened file.
Forward To Lets you return editor focus from the previous file.
application files in the project from the attached pop-up menu.
project from the attached pop-up menu.
CFML Editor toolbar
The CFML Editor contains buttons that are user interface shortcuts to frequently used commands. These commands
are also available from various ColdFusion Builder menus. Some buttons in the toolbar are shortcuts to frequently used
code elements, and are context sensitive to the code that you enter in the CFML Editor.
CFML editor toolbar
Button/command Description
Open Tag wizard Opens the Tag wizard.
For more information about using the Tag wizard, see “Tag wizard” on page 44.
Insert cfabort Inserts the cfabort tag.
This command is context sensitive to the script code.
Insert cfdump Inserts the cfdump tag. This command is context sensitive to the script code.
Wrap in cfoutput Wraps the selected code within the cfoutput tag.
This command is context sensitive to the script code that you enter in the CFML Editor.
Insert cfset Inserts the cfset tag.
Insert cfscript Block Inserts a cfscript code block.
Wrap in cftry/cfcatch Wraps the selected code within the cftry or cfcatch tag, depending on the code.
This command is context sensitive to the script code.
Wrap in ## Wraps the selected code within "#" marks.
Wrap/Unwrap in cfcomment Comments or uncomments the selected code.
Wrap/Unwrap in /* */ Wraps or unwraps the selected code within ""/* */"" marks
Wrap in Single Quotes Wraps the selected code within single quotation marks.
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Button/command Description
Wrap in Double Quotes Wraps the selected within double quotation marks.
To Uppercase Changes the text in the selected code to uppercase.
To Lowercase Changes the text in the selected code to lowercase.
Keyboard shortcuts
Most of the functions that are available from the ColdFusion Builder menu are also available as keyboard shortcuts.
To display the list of all available keyboard shortcuts:
❖ Select Help > Key Assist
Modify keyboard shortcuts
You can modify the existing keyboard shortcuts as follows:
1 In ColdFusion Builder, select Window > Preferences.
2 In the Preferences dialog box, you see a tree-view structure on the left side.
3 In the tree-view structure, select General > Keys.
4 Select the command and the associated key Binding that you want to modify. For example, the command Activate
Editor is associated with the key binding F12.
5 Press the key binding combination that you want to set. For example, to enter Ctrl+Shift+F, press and hold the keys
Ctrl and Shift and then press F. A plus sign (+) between the keys indicates that you must press the keys in
succession.
6 Use the When drop-down list to change the default key binding context. The key binding context determines when
you want the keyboard shortcut to be active.
7 To add a second key binding to the same keyboard shortcut, select the command and click Copy Command. You
can then set a second key binding combination.
8 To restore the default key binding associated to a command, select the command that you modified and click
Restore Command.
9 To delete a key binding associated to a command, select the command and click Unbind Command.
10 Click Apply or OK.
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About ColdFusion Builder perspectives
A perspective is a group of editors and views that support the completion of a task. ColdFusion Builder contains two
perspectives: the ColdFusion Builder Development perspective and the ColdFusion Builder Debugging perspective.
Open and switch perspectives
When you open a file that is associated with a particular perspective, ColdFusion Builder automatically opens that
perspective. That is, perspectives change automatically to support the task at hand. For example, when you create a
ColdFusion project, the workbench displays the Development perspective. Similarly, when you start a debugging
session, ColdFusion Builder switches to the Debugging perspective.
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By default, perspectives open in the same window. To open a perspective in a new window, do the following:
1 Select Window > Preferences
2 In the tree view structure, select General > Perspectives.
3 Under Open a New Perspective, select In The Same Window.
You can manually switch perspectives by doing one of the following:
• Select Window > Open Perspective > Other from the main menu.
• Use the perspective bar in the main workbench toolbar.
Eclipse provides many predefined perspectives. So, if you use the plug-in configuration of ColdFusion Builder, you
sometimes have additional perspectives.
You can access the other Eclipse perspectives by doing one of the following:
• Select Window > Open Perspective > Other from the main menu.
• Click in the perspective bar in the main workbench toolbar and select Other.
Set a default perspective
1 Select Window > Preferences.
2 In the tree view structure, select General > Perspectives.
3 Under Available Perspectives, select the perspective that you want to set as the default, and click Make Default.
4 Click OK.
The default perspective has the word "default" in parentheses after the perspective name.
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ColdFusion Builder Development perspective
You use the ColdFusion Builder Development perspective to create, edit, configure, and run ColdFusion applications
in ColdFusion Builder. In addition, you can configure and manage local or remote ColdFusion servers.
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16
A
D
E
F
B
C
H
G I
J
K
L M
N
ColdFusion perspective
A. Outline view B. RDS Dataview C. RDS Fileview D. Perspective Bar E. Navigator view F. File view G. Source view H. Servers view
I. Default Browser view J. Console view K. TailView view L. Services Browser M. Extensions view N. Snippets view
The ColdFusion Builder Development perspective includes these views:
Outline view
The Outline view displays a hierarchy of elements in the file that is currently open in the editor. For example, it displays
the functions in a CFC file and the tags in an HTML file.
You use Outline view to inspect and navigate the structure of your CFML, HTML, JavaScript, and CSS pages. If a page
contains multiple code elements, you can use the Outline view to see a hierarchical view of the code structure of the page.
You can sort the elements in Outline view alphabetically or in the order of their definition in the page. You can choose
to view all the code elements or view only specific code elements.
• The Outline view displays the structure of your CFML code. For example, each item in the Outline view can
represent a CFML tag.
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Outline view
17
• Double-click an element in Outline view to directly go to that element in the editor, instead of scrolling through the
entire code. When you select an item in Outline view, that item is highlighted in the editor, which makes it easier
to navigate your code.
• Use the filter to search for a tag or element in the Outline view. Enter the name of the tag or element to search for
in the Filter field. The matching strings are displayed in the Outline view.
To specify the CFML tags to be displayed in an Outline view, select ColdFusion > Editor profiles > Editor > Outline.
Then select, add, or remove tags, as required.
RDS FileView and RDS DataView
To use Remote Data Services (RDS), enable RDS while installing the ColdFusion server. ColdFusion Builder provides
views to access files and data sources on a remote server.
The RDS FileView displays the files and directories on both remote and local servers. The RDS DataView displays the
data sources configured in a remote server.
When you add a ColdFusion server instance in ColdFusion Builder, it automatically becomes available in RDS
FileView and RDS DataView.
Configure a remote server for RDS FileView
If you want to configure a remote server manually and then access its files and directories using RDS FileView, do the
following:
1 Click RDS FileView in the upper-right corner of the ColdFusion Builder perspective.
2 Right-click in RDS FileView and select RDS Configuration.
3 Click New.
4 Specify remote server information such as the host name, port number, user name, and password.
5 Select Prompt For Password.
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6 Click Test Connection to check that the RDS configuration is correct. Then, click OK.
7 Select the remote server from RDS FileView.
8 Specify the password for the remote server to view its files and directories.
Configure a remote server for RDS DataView
To configure a remote sever and access data sources from the remote server using RDS DataView:
1 Click RDS DataView.
2 Right-click in RDS DataView and select RDS Configuration.
3 Click New.
4 Specify the server information such as host name, port number, remote server user name, and password.
5 Select Prompt for Password.
6 Click Test Connection to check that the RDS configuration is correct. Then, click OK.
7 Expand the new server in RDS DataView to view data sources.
RDS Query viewer
The RDS Query viewer lets you create and run queries on a selected data source.
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The RDS Query Viewer is available in the RDS DataView toolbar. To create and execute a query using the RDS Query
viewer, do the following:
1 Click in RDS DataView to open RDS Query Viewer area.
2 Type the query in the blank area.
You can also build a query by dragging tables and columns from the RDS DataView view into the RDS Query
Viewer.
3 Select the server and data source from the drop-down list.
4 Click Execute Query. The results of the query are displayed in the RDS Query Viewer area.
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RDS query viewer
Right-click a table in the RDS DataView view and select Show Table Contents. You can view all the records of the
selected table in the RDS Query Viewer.
Navigator view
The Navigator view displays ColdFusion projects and other projects, and allows navigation through the project’s files
and folders.
File view
The File view displays files and directories on the local computer where ColdFusion Builder is installed and allows you
to create new files.
If you edit a file outside ColdFusion Builder, you can automatically refresh the file in ColdFusion Builder. To do so,
select Window > Preferences > General > Workspace, and select Refresh Automatically.
The File view also lets you add FTP sites and browse files on the FTP server. ColdFusion projects can be associated
with FTP connections so that you can easily upload, download, and synchronize files. For more information, see
“Deploy projects over FTP and Secure FTP connections” on page 61.
Servers view
Displays the details of ColdFusion servers including server name, status, description, server type, server host, and port.
You can use the Server view to perform these tasks:
• Add and delete a ColdFusion server
• Start and stop a server
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• Launch Server Monitor
• Launch ColdFusion Server Administrator
• Open server log
For more information, see “Managing Servers” on page 46.
Source view and Default Browser view
The Source view displays the source code for files. The Default Browser View displays the output in an HTML or
CFML page.
Console view
The Console view displays the status of the ColdFusion server and any messages from the ColdFusion server.
TailView view
The TailView view displays the Server log and Workspace log, and lets you easily navigate through the logs. To
automatically display the logs, RDS must be configured and enabled.
After selecting a server, you can open logs from the shortcut in the button bar of the Server Manager. Select the log to
open it in the TailView view. By default, the TailView view opens the Exception log. When you are in Server view, you
can open the Exception log by right-clicking and selecting Open Log.
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To manually open the logs, right-click in the TailView view and select Add. Browse to and select a log file on your
computer’s file system.
TailView view
The Tailview view toolbar contains the following buttons (left to right) that let you manage multiple logs in different
tabs.
TailView toolbar
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Button/command Description
Move Left Moves the Server log or Workspace log to the left
Move Right Moves the Server log or Workspace log to the right
Adds Log Opens a log file on your computer’s file system
Starts Watching Log File Starts watching on a log file
Stops Watching Log File Stop watching on a log file
Reloads The Log File Reloads a log file
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Clears Log File In Display Removes the log file displayed in the TailView view, without deleting it from the computer’s
Erases Log File On Disk Remove a log file from the computer’s file system
Deletes Log Tab Removes a log file from the computer’s file system
Deletes All Log Tabs Removes all the log tabs from the TailView view
Scroll Lock Prevents the Console view from scrolling.
Color Settings Sets color preferences for displaying the log file in the TailView view
file system
Services Browser view
The Services Browser view lists the servers added in the Server Manager and lets you browse through ColdFusion
components (CFCs), web services and their methods.
Browse ColdFusion components
The Services Browser view lists the following components:
• Components that the ColdFusion component browser lists. The ColdFusion component browser is located at
cf_root/wwwroot/CFIDE/componentutils/componentdoc.cfm
• Components that are located in any directories specified in the ColdFusion Administrator Mappings page
• Components that are located in any directories specified in the ColdFusion Administrator Custom Tag paths page
The Services Browser view toolbar contains the following buttons (left to right) that let you filter methods in CFCs
based on the access type - remote, public, package, and private.
Services browser toolbar
Button/command Description
Show System CFCs A toggle button that shows or hides system CFCs. System CFCs are stored within the server
Show Remote A toggle button that shows or hides methods with the access type - remote
Show Public A toggle button that shows or hides methods with the access type - public
Show Package A toggle button that shows or hides methods with the access type - package
Show Private A toggle button that shows or hides methods with the access type - private
web root.
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Manage web services
The Services Browser view lets you manage a list of web services by adding or deleting WSDL URLs from a list.
• To view the list of web services, click in the Services Browser view.
• To add a web service to the list, click , enter a valid WSDL URL, and click OK.
• To delete a web service, select the web service, and click .
When you are editing a ColdFusion file, you can use the Services Browser view to generate CFML code to run a web
service or to create a web service object. Similarly, when you are editing an ActionScript file, you can use the Services
Browser to generate ActionScript.
To run or create a web service, do the following:
1 Place your pointer where you want to insert the code.
2 View the list of web services.
3 Highlight a web service or a method in a web service, right-click, and select:
• Insert CFObject to insert a web service.
• Insert CreateObject to create a web service.
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Extensions view
You use the Extensions view to perform the following tasks:
• “Install and uninstall extensions” on page 87
• “Import and reload extensions” on page 88
The Extensions view also displays details like the extension name and description of the installed extension.
The Extensions view toolbar contains the following buttons (left to right) that let you manage extensions in the
Extensions view.
Extensions view toolbar
Button/command Description
Install Extension From Archive File Lets you select the Archive file to install and opens the Extension Install wizard to guide you
Import Extension From Folder Lets you select the folder that contains the extension files.
Uninstall Selected Extension Uninstalls the selected extension.
View Details About Selected Extension Displays details about the selected extension.
through the installation.
Snippets view
A code snippet is a piece of text that you can insert and reuse in your files, without having to type the text each time.
You use the ColdFusion Snippet view to create and save code snippets, variables, and plain text. You can add code
snippets to an existing or new document.
The Snippet view toolbar contains the following buttons (left to right) that let you manage code snippets in the
Snippets view.
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Code snippet toolbar
Button/command Description
Refresh Snippet View Refreshes the Snippet view
Insert The Selected Snippet Inserts the selected snippet into the document
Create A New Snippet Creates a code snippet
Edit The Selected Snippet Lets you modify the selected code snippet
Delete The Selected Snippet Deletes the selected code snippet
Create A New Snippet Package Creates a snippet package to which you can add code snippets
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Delete Selected Snippet Package Deletes the selected snippet package only if it is empty. You cannot delete a snippet
package that contains snippets.
Create a code snippet
1 In the Code Snippet area, click .
2 In the New Snippet dialog box, specify the snippet name, and the start and end blocks of code.
3 Click OK to create the code snippet.
Insert a code snippet
1 Move the cursor to the desired insertion point.
2 Select the code snippet from the Code Snippet area.
3 Click in the Code Snippet toolbar.
If you select code in the editor, and then insert a snippet, the snippet is wrapped between the start and end block of the
selected code. If you insert a snippet without selecting code in the editor, the snippet is inserted at the current caret
position. caret is the marker in the CFML editor that indicates where the next character appears.
You can also edit or delete an existing code snippet or an entire code snippet package from the Code Snippet area.
Using trigger text to insert snippets
You can insert snippets in the CFML editor using trigger text. For example, you create a snippet and give it the trigger
text "abc." To insert this snippet in the editor, you type
abc is replaced with the associated snippet.
text
abc and press Ctrl + J (Windows) or Command + J (Mac). The
Specify the path to store snippets
Snippets are stored in a snippet’s directory as an XML file. By default, snippets are stored in the
workspace/.metadata/snippets directory of your project workspace. To specify a different directory, do the following:
1 From the Windows menu, select Preferences.
2 In the tree view structure of the Preferences dialog box, select ColdFusion > Snippets.
3 Specify the path to the directory in which to store snippets.
System-defined snippet variables
Snippet variables are case sensitive. The following system-defined variables are available.
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Variable Description
$${DATE} The system date with the year as a four-digit number. For example, 12/01/2009
$${TIME} The system time using a 12-hour clock. For example, 15:15:05 PM
$${DATETIME} The system date and time. For example, 12/01/2009 15:15:05 PM
$${DAYOFWEEK} The full name of the day of the week. For example, Monday
$${CURRENTFILE} The filename of the currently open file. For example, application.cfm
$${CURRENTFOLDER} The fully qualified path of the currently open folder. For example, C:\workspace\myproject
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$${CURRENTPATH} The fully qualified path of the currently open file. For example,
$${CURRENTPRJPATH} The project name of the currently open project. For example, myproject
$${USERNAME} The name of the current user.
$${MONTHNUMBER} The month, from 01 through 12.
$${DAYOFMONTH} The day of the month from 01 through 31.
$${DAYOFWEEKNUMBER} The day of the week as a number, from 1 through 7. Sunday is considered as the start of ther
$${DATETIME24} The date and time using a 24-hour clock. For example, 12/01/2009 15:30:00
$${YEAR} The current year as a four-digit number. For example, 2009
$${YEAR2DIGIT} The current year as a two-didgit number. For example, 09
C:\workspace\myproject\application.cfm
week. So, for example, Monday is 2.
For example, to insert the current date, use the following system-defined variable:
Date: $${DATE}
User-defined snippet variables
User-defined variables prompt you for the variable name and default value. For example, the following user-defined
variable prompts you to enter the author’s name:
Author name: $${Author}
ColdFusion Debugging perspective
The ColdFusion Debugging perspective contains tools to debug your ColdFusion applications. There are different
views that let you add breakpoints to your code, step into or over functions in your code, and examine and evaluate
expressions. The editor works with the debugging tools to locate and highlight lines of code that need correction.
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A
F
G
H
B
C
D
E
K
I
J
ColdFusion Debugging perspective
A. Variables view B. Debug output buffer view C. Breakpoints view D. Expressions view E. Outline view F. Debug view G. Edit view
H. Servers view I. Console view J. Problems view K. TailView view
The ColdFusion Debugging perspective contains the following views:
Variables view
The Variables view toolbar contains the following buttons (left to right) that let you show the current variables,
including the variable scope.
Variables view toolbar
Button/command Description
Show Type Names Displays the type of the variables
Show Logical Structure This command is not supported in ColdFusion Builder
Collapse All Collapses the information in the view to show only variable types
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Debug Output Buffer view
The Debug Output Buffer contains two panes:
Browser Displays what appears in the browser during application execution. Specify the URL of the page that you
want to debug.
Note: When you click the Home button, the URL that you specified as the Home Page URL in the Preferences dialog box
(Window > Preferences > ColdFusion > Debug Settings) appears. For more information on editing the Debugger settings,
“Specify debugger settings in ColdFusion Builder” on page 65.
see
Server Output Buffer Displays the Debugger output in two views - source view and HTML view.
The Server Output Buffer pane displays an output only when the Debugger is suspended at breakpoint. The output
that appears is only up to the suspended breakpoint.
Note: The Server Output Buffer displays the output even for a page that is executed using an external browser.
Breakpoints view
The Breakpoints view toolbar contains the following buttons (left to right) that let you manage breakpoints during a
debugging session.
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Breakpoint view toolbar
Button/command Description
Remove Selected Breakpoints Removes the selected breakpoint
Remove All Breakpoints Removes all breakpoints
Show Breakpoints Supported by Selected
Targets
Go to File for Breakpoint Goes to the file in which the selected breakpoint is set
Skip All Breakpoints Ignores all breakpoints
Expand All Expands all the breakpoint information in the view
Collapse All Collapses all the breakpoint information in the view
Link with Debug View Highlights the selected breakpoint when the application stops execution in the Debug View
Add Java Exception Breakpoint Lets you specify which Java exception to throw when you reach the selected breakpoint
Menu Lets you specify the type of information to display in the Breakpoints view
Displays the breakpoints that you are currently debugging
Expressions view
The Expressions view lets you create expressions using variables and functions; you can inspect, evaluate, and watch
these expressions. The Expressions view also lets you evaluate and watch variables that you selected in the Variables
view.
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