PowerObject!
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Power-Layouts for PowerBuilder v9/v8/v7 IDEs
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On starting to use the PowerBuilder version 8/9 IDEs,
I initially felt it was a bit more difficult for the
developer to navigate/open/modify/... objects in the
IDE when compared to earlier versions. The IDE was
made 'magically' tameable effective version 7 with
a pane-based interface (actually, Sybase gave us a
flavor of what was going to come in future through
the PowerBuilder 6.5's Debugger). There were times
when I used to go to PowerBuilder 6.5 to quickly do
something rather than open/use PowerBuilder 9 :~)

However, after doing some research on what is a 'more'
powerful interface for power-users (Developers), I've
come up with some power-layouts for various painters
that work well for me. I'm sure they would impress you,
too - in using the PowerBuilder 8/9 IDE most efficiently.

The attached PB9-Layouts.zip has about 12 Registry files
for "PowerBuilder 9" for the painters:

   . Application
   . Database
   . DataWindow
   . Debug
   . Default
   . Function
   . Library
   . Menu
   . SQL
   . UserObject
   . UserObjectNV
   . Window

I'm not aware of the structure of PowerBuilder v8 or v7
layouts and if they are stored in the Registry or PB.ini
file. It is very easy to modify these files to match the
PowerBuilder 8 or 7 installation on your machine. If the
layout entries are stored in the PB.ini file, it is still
easy to modify the ini file to match the values in these
Registry files. To edit these Registry files, simply
Right-Mouse-Click on them and select Edit from the popup
menu. When you are done modifying the file, Save it and
Double-Click on it to update your Registry. You will have
to modify/merge all these layout files.

I've done a DEFAULT installation of PowerBuilder 9 on my
machine on the C: drive. Howerver, if the PowerBuilder
installation/version is different on your machine, you may
like to take a backup of the following nodes from the
Registry Editor:

   MENU Registry -> Export Registry File...

   . HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Sybase\PowerBuilder
   . HKEY_USERS\Software\Sybase\PowerBuilder

before you merge the above files into your Registry!

Further, I notice there are a couple of entries in the
PB.ini file such as:

[PB]
Dock=0 2002 3 1 19 82 0 0 213 162 2001 2 1 0 100 0 0 213 162 2003 3 1 19 18 0 0 213 162
NewDefaults=0 0 2 4 4 2 1 5                                                                                  
...

I guess these are the Frame's docking settings for the
System-Tree, Output, Clip window... while the layouts are
the Painter/sheet-level pane-arrangement settings. You may
have to copy these settings into your INI file to experience
the power. Again, you may like to take a backup of your
PB.ini file before you do this!! The IDE's docking settings
may not be applied unless you close PowerBuilder and launch
it again (further, you may have to modify the PB.ini 'before'
you launch PowerBuilder).

Once you are done merging these (modified) files with your
Registry and modifying the PB.ini file (if required), all
you have to do to utilize the Power-Layouts is to go to the
menu View -> Layout -> and choose the PowerObject! layout
while you are in one of the above 12 painters. Bingo! Hope
you have fun with the new layouts for the PowerBuilder IDE...

I've configured these layouts on a 1024 x 768 resolution.

Let me have your candid comments/suggestions to improve
these power-layouts any further... for more productivity.

---
PowerObject!
[Shekar Reddy]
Owner/Moderator

PS: DO NOT FORGET TO BACKUP YOUR REGISTRY NODES & PB.INI !!!