When this topic displays

This topic displays when you have selected Help for an item
for which there is no direct link to Help in the PowerBuilder Browser.
Help is available only on the System tab page for objects, controls,
and functions. For other items, such as standard datatypes, use
the Help index to find Help.

This topic also displays when Show Hierarchy has been turned
on in the left pane and you select properties, events, and functions
that are not inherited from PowerObject in the right pane. To display
help for a specific object, control, or function, turn Show Hierarchy
off.

This topic also displays if you select a PowerBuilder base
object on the System tab page. The primary purpose of a base object
is to provide generic properties and functions for descendent objects.
You never reference base objects directly in code; in most cases
you use their descendants instead. Some base objects display Help
for an object from which they descend, such as the nonvisualobject
object.

Using the Browser

The Browser displays information about system objects and
objects in your application, such as properties, events, functions,
and global variables, and lets you open the object in a painter,
get context-sensitive Help, and copy, export, or print information.

The Browser is divided into two panes. The left pane lists
objects and controls; the right lists characteristics for the current
object or control. You can adjust the size of the panes by dragging
the pane divider.

Select the System tab to show the PowerBuilder class hierarchy.
Other tabs show PowerBuilder data types, enumerated types, class
information for OLE custom controls and objects, and the properties,
events, and functions associated with objects in your application.

Most Browser features are available from the pop-up menus
for selected objects or controls. The pop-up menu options that display
and that are enabled depend on the type of object and the current
context. You can also double-click on objects and folders to expand
or collapse them.

Pop-up menu options

• Edit

  Open the painter associated with the object.

• Copy

  Copy the object or control name or function signature to the
  clipboard so that you can paste it into the Script view or any other
  editor.

• Paste

  Paste the object or control name or function signature into
  the open Script view or other editor.

• Expand all

  When Show Hierarchy is checked, expands the selected item
  to show its ancestors and descendants

• Regenerate

  Regenerates all descendants of the selected ancestor object

• Show Hierarchy

  Check to display objects in a tree view that shows the inheritance hierarchy.

• Document

  Opens a dialog box from which you can print information about
  an object or export or copy it in RTF format so that you can document
  your objects.

• Help

  Display context-sensitive Help for the current object or control
  or for the selected function on the System tab page.

See also

• To display the Browser

• Browsing
  the class hierarchy