Macromedia ColdFusion Builder - 3.0 Instruction Manual

Adobe ColdFusion Documentation

September 2014

1. Using ColdFusion Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1.1 About ColdFusion Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

1.2 What’s New in ColdFusion Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

1.3 ColdFusion Builder Workbench Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

1.4 Code Editing in ColdFusion Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

1.5 Managing Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

1.6 Managing Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

1.7 Debugging Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

1.8 ColdFusion Builder Extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

1.9 Using Extensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

1.10 Debugging Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

1.11 Debugging Mobile Applications in ColdFusion Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

1.12 Bundled ColdFusion Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

1.13 Building mobile applications using ColdFusion Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Adobe ColdFusion Documentation

Using 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.

About ColdFusion Builder What’s New in ColdFusion Builder ColdFusion Builder Workbench Basics Code Editing in ColdFusion Builder Managing Servers Managing Projects Debugging Applications ColdFusion Builder Extensions Using Extensions Debugging Perspective Debugging Mobile Applications in ColdFusion Builder Bundled ColdFusion Server Building mobile applications using ColdFusion Builder

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About ColdFusion Builder

ColdFusion Builder configurations Activating ColdFusion Builder

ColdFusion Builder Express Edition Managing ColdFusion Builder licenses

Updating ColdFusion Builder Installing third-party Eclipse plug-ins Getting started experience

Display the Getting Started screen Hide the Getting Started screen Additional resources

ColdFusion Builder Help System

Eclipse Help System

Display CFML Reference Help Set Help Preferences Use dynamic Help

Getting started with ColdFusion Builder

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

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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™ 3.6.2 ColdFusion Builder plug-ins within Eclipse IDEInstalls 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 3.6.2 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 3.6.2 or higher installed, select the plug-in configuration.

If you do not have Eclipse 3.6.2 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

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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.

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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 .www.adobe.com/go/activation

If you do not enter the product serial number when you start ColdFusion Builder, you can use the trial version of the full-featured ColdFusion Builder 2.0 for 60 days. After the trial expires, you need to purchase a license to continue using all the features. If not, ColdFusion Builder switches to a feature-limited Express Edition.

ColdFusion Builder Express Edition

The Express Edition lets you use ColdFusion Builder with the basic features such as editor, code assist, and syntax highlighting.But the following key features are not available in the Express Edition:

Code assist for extensions Code insight Extension callback Connection to remote server Quick fix Debugging remote projects Refactoring ColdFusion search Code formatting FTP support Log viewer Local file browser Code hyperlinks Hover help Mobile development, inspection, debugging, and packaging

You can convert the Express Edition to a full-featured version by purchasing the license and specifying the product serial number.

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. 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.

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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.

In Adobe ColdFusion Builder, select Help > Adobe ColdFusion Builder Updates. If any new updates are available, ColdFusion Builder downloads and installs the updates. For the updates to take effect, restart ColdFusion Builder (standalone configuration) or restart Eclipse (plug-in configuration).

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Installing third-party Eclipse plug-ins

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.

Note

To ensure that the plug-in installs correctly, add the Helios Update Site URL http://download.eclip

(or an equivalent Eclipse update site URL).se.org/releases/helios

In Adobe ColdFusion Builder, select Help > Install New Software. Click Add. Enter the name and URL of the plug-in to install. For example, to install Subclipse version 1.0, enter the following URL: http://subclipse.tigris.org/update_1.6.x Select the plug-ins to Install. Click Next and follow the instructions in the Install wizard. Click Finish.

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Getting started experience

ColdFusion Builder presents a dynamic getting started experience. Any time you start ColdFusion Builder, the Getting Started screen invites access to:

Getting started tutorials Workflows Movie tutorials Notifications such as What is new in a release and details of ColdFusion and ColdFusion Builder releases and hot fixes Tips and tricks Useful resources Most used options such as Recently Open Files, Links to Open Project Wizard, Add server, Recommended extensions, and Install Extensions

You can choose to hide the Getting Started screen, and then later display it again.

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Display the Getting Started screen

Select Help > Getting Started with ColdFusion Builder

Hide the Getting Started screen

Do either of the following:

Select the Don't Show Again option on the Getting Started screen Uncheck the option Show welcome page on startup in the Preferences dialog box (Window > Preferences > ColdFusion > Startup)

Additional resources

ColdFusion Builder Start Page ColdFusion Builder engineering team member Sandeep Paliwal elaborates

on the getting started experience.

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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.

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.

The help content for the dialogs and wizards will be shown in a built-in browser just like how the help content for the CFML tags are rendered.

To open and view the Eclipse Help system, select Help > Help Contents.

Display CFML Reference Help

The is integrated into ColdFusion Builder, letting you quickly review the reference Help for a CFMLCFML Reference tag or function.

To open the Help topic for a CFML tag or function, do the following: 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. 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.

Click the Help page link. The Help page for the selected tag or function is displayed.

Set Help Preferences

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You can set Help preferences to control how Help is displayed in the Eclipse Help system.

In ColdFusion Builder, select Window > Preferences. In the Preferences dialog box, you see a tree-view structure on the left side. Select Help. Set the following options, as required.

Open help search Determines whether to display the help search in the Dynamic Help view window or in a browser. By default, in the Dynamic Help is selected. 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 the editor area. Open help contents Lets you display help in a web browser of your choice. By default, the embedded browser of the IDE displays Help. Select In an external browser 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. 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.

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 CFM

.L Editor keyboard shortcuts

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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:

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

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 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 Deploy remote projects over FTP connection: ColdFusion Builder lets you manage both local and remote

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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 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 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 .TheColdFusion Builder editors editors provide many features, including code colorization, code assist, and Outline view, which help you navigate through your code. 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 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 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 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 .You can also query data on a local or remote data servers using theRDS FileView and RDS DataView RDS Query Viewer. For more information, see .The Services Browser view lets youRDS Query viewer 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 .The Snippets view and OutlineServices Browser view view let you reuse and streamline your code. For more information, see and .ForSnippets view Outline view more information about all the development views, see .ColdFusion Builder Development perspective 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 .You can addColdFusion Debugging perspective 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 .The Problems view,Debugging Applications 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 provides the ColdFusionColdFusion Builder Extensions 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 The following extensions come packaged with ColdFusion Builder.

Adobe CFC Generator ActionScript Class Generator For more information on installing and using these extensions, see .Using Extensions

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What’s New in ColdFusion Builder

New in ColdFusion Builder 3

ColdFusion Builder has gone through a lot of changes and enhancements and this section highlights those changes:

ColdFusion Debugging Perspective

The ColdFusion Debugging perspective ( invoked through Run > Debug Configuration > Perspectives) contains tools to debug your ColdFusion applications as well as client-side applications. There are different views that let you add breakpoints to your code, step into functions, step over functions, or examine and evaluate expressions in your code. The editor works with the debugging tools to locate and highlight lines of code that need correction.

Debugging Perspective

Debugging mobile applications

See Debugging Mobile Applications

Bundled ColdFusion Server

See Bundled ColdFusion Server

Mobile Templates

ColdFusion Builder allows you to create a mobile application based on a pre-defined template. The template is basically a CFML file that can use third-party web frameworks like Bootstrap or jQuery Mobile. See Mobile

.Templates

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ColdFusion Builder Workbench Basics

About the workbench Workbench menus and toolbars

Workbench menus

File menu Navigate menu Project menu Window menu

Toolbars

Workbench toolbar CFML Editor toolbar

About ColdFusion Builder perspectives

Open and switch perspectives Set a default perspective

ColdFusion Builder Development perspective

Outline view RDS FileView and RDS DataView

Configure a remote server for RDS FileView Configure a remote server for RDS DataView RDS Query viewer

Navigator view File view Servers view Source view and Default Browser view Console view TailView view Services Browser view

Browse ColdFusion components Manage web services

Extensions view Snippets view

Create a code snippet Insert a code snippet Using trigger text to insert snippets Specify the path to store snippets System-defined snippet variables User-defined snippet variables

ColdFusion Debugging perspective

Variables view Debug Output Buffer view Breakpoints view Expressions view Outline view Debug View Edit view Servers view Console view Problems view

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TailView view

Add views to the workbench ColdFusion Builder editors Customizing a perspective

Create a customized perspective Delete a customized perspective Reset a customized perspective

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.

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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.

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. 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 ColdFusion Builder editors and .Code Editing in ColdFusion Builder

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 is synonymous with the term as it is used in Adobe Dreamweaver® and other Adobeview panel development tools.

For more information about the views in the ColdFusion Builder Development perspective, see ColdFusion Builder Development perspective.

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For more information about the views in the ColdFusion Debugging perspective, see ColdFusion Debugging perspective.

Workspace Not to be confused with , a is a defined area of the file system. The workspaceworkbench workspace contains the resources (files and folders) that make up your application projects. A workspace can contain multiple 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 .Managing Projects

Resource The general term applies to the files and folders in the projects in a workspace. For moreresource information, see Add ColdFusion pages, interfaces, and components and Add other files.

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

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Workbench menus and toolbars

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.

Menu command Description

New Creates a resource. Before you create a ColdFusion

component, interface, or page, ensure that you have created a project to store these resources.

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.

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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 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.

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

Properties Displays the properties dialog box for the selected

resource. The Properties For dialog box 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.

Recent File List A list of the most recently accessed files in the

workbench. You can open these files from the File menu by clicking the filename. You can control the number of files that must appear in this list using the Preferences dialog box.

Exit Closes the open resources and exits the workbench

Navigate menu

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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 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.

Go To Lets you jump to a specific resource or display the

hierarchy that appeared before the 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.

Open Declaration Opens declaration for selected code element.

Quick Outline Displays a quick view of the Outline view. A hierarchical

view of the code structure of the page appears in a pop-up menu.

Open Resource Lets you select a resource in the workspace and open

it in an editor using the Open Resource dialog box

Show In Lets you find and select the currently selected resource

in another view. If an editor is active, these commands are used to select the resource that is currently being edited in another view.

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.

Project menu

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The Project menu lets you manage projects in the workbench.

Menu command Description

Open Project Opens the currently selected project. The selected

project must be closed for this command to be available.

Close Project Closes the currently open project]

Properties Displays the project properties dialog box

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 perspective

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

Navigation Contains shortcuts to navigate between the views,

perspectives, and editors in the workbench

Preferences Lets you set you preferences for using the workbench.

There are a number of preferences to configure the appearance of the workbench and the views and editors contained in the workbench.

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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 create.

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

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.

Debug Uses the project’s currently open file to begin a

debugging session. You can also select other application files in the project from the attached pop-up menu.

Run Runs the project’s currently open file. You can also

select other application files in the project from the attached pop-up menu.

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

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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.

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 Editor Opens the Tag Editor. For more information about

using the Tag Editor, see .Tag Editor

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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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.

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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.

By default, perspectives open in the same window. To open a perspective in a new window, do the following:

Select Window > Preferences In the tree view structure, select General > Perspectives. 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

Select Window > Preferences. In the tree view structure, select General > Perspectives. Under Available Perspectives, select the perspective that you want to set as the default, and click Make Default. 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.

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. 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:

Click RDS FileView in the upper-right corner of the ColdFusion Builder perspective. Right-click in RDS FileView and select RDS Configuration. Click New. Specify remote server information such as the host name, port number, user name, and password. Select Prompt For Password. Click Test Connection to check that the RDS configuration is correct. Then, click OK. Select the remote server from RDS FileView. Specify the password for the remote server to view its files and directories.

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Configure a remote server for RDS DataView

To configure a remote sever and access data sources from the remote server using RDS DataView:

Click RDS DataView. Right-click in RDS DataView and select RDS Configuration. Click New. Specify the server information such as host name, port number, remote server user name, and password. Select Prompt for Password. Click Test Connection to check that the RDS configuration is correct. Then, click OK. 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. 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:

Click in RDS DataView to open RDS Query Viewer area. 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. Select the server and data source from the drop-down list. Click Execute Query. The results of the query are displayed in the RDS Query Viewer area.

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

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

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.

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.

The Tailview view toolbar contains the following buttons (left to right) that let you manage multiple logs in different tabs.

TailView toolbar

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

Clears Log File In Display Removes the log file displayed in the TailView view,

without deleting it from the computer’s file system

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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

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

/wwwroot/CFIDE/componentutils/componentdoc.cfmcf_root 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 web root.

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

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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:

Place your pointer where you want to insert the code. View the list of web services. 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.

Extensions view

You use the Extensions view to perform the following tasks:

Install and uninstall extensions Import and reload extensions

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 through the installation.

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.

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

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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.

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

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

In the Code Snippet area, click . In the New Snippet dialog box, specify the snippet name, and the start and end blocks of code. Click OK to create the code snippet.

Insert a code snippet

Move the cursor to the desired insertion point. Select the code snippet from the Code Snippet area.

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. is the marker in the CFML editor that indicates where the next character appears.You can alsocaret 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 and press Ctrl + J (Windows) or Command + Jabc (Mac). The text is replaced with the associated snippet.abc

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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/.metada

directory of your project workspace. To specify a different directory, do the following:ta/snippets

From the Windows menu, select Preferences. In the tree view structure of the Preferences dialog box, select ColdFusion > Snippets. 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.

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,

03:15:05 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

$${CURRENTPATH} The fully qualified path of the currently open file. For

example, C:\workspace\myproject\application.cfm

$${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 week. So, for example, Monday is 2.

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$${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,

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}

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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.

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

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Collapse All Collapses the information in the view to show only

variable types

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, see Specify debugger settings in ColdFusion

.Builder

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.

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 Displays the breakpoints that you are currently

debugging

Go to File for Breakpoint Goes to the file in which the selected breakpoint is set

Skip All Breakpoints Ignores all breakpoints

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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

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.

The Expression view toolbar contains the following buttons (left to right) that let you create, evaluate, and watch expressions.

Expressions view toolbar

Button/command Description

Show Type Names Displays the type of the variables

Show Logical Structure Displays the logical structure in the view

Collapse All Collapses all expressions in the view

Create a New Watch Expression Adds a watch expression

Remove Selected Expressions Removes the selected variable or watch expression

Remove All Expressions Removes all variables and watch expressions in the

Expressions view

Outline view

The Outline view displays the current source file’s content in outline form. For more information, see .Outline view

Debug View

The Debug view keeps the results of each debug session. The Debug view shows the stack trace when the page execution is suspended at breakpoint or when stepping into or over code.

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The Debug toolbar contains the following buttons (left to right):

Debug toolbar

Button/command Description

Resume Resumes a debugging session

Suspend Pauses a debugging session

Terminate Stops a debugging session

Disconnect Disconnects the debugger from the selected debug

target when debugging remotely

Remove All Terminated Launches Clears all terminated debug targets from the display

Step Into Executes code line by line, including included code,

UDFs, and CFCs

Step Over Executes code line by line, excluding included code,

UDFs, and CFCs

Step Return Returns to the original page from which you entered the

included code, UDF, or CFC

Drop to Frame This command is not supported in ColdFusion Builder.

Use Step Filters/Step Debug Ensures that all step functions apply step filters

Edit view

The Edit view displays the stacked source tabs, one tab for each source file that you have open.

Servers view

The Servers View lets you start, stop, and manage servers in ColdFusion Builder. You can also launch the ColdFusion Server Monitor and ColdFusion Server Administrator from the Servers View.

Servers view toolbar The Servers view toolbar contains the following buttons (left to right) that let you manage servers.

Button/command Description

Add Server Adds a server

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