Feature Showcases
Komodo projects are containers for files, folders, templates, macros, run commands, snippets and links specific to a particular software project or website. There are two types of Komodo projects:
By default, new Komodo projects are "live". This can be changed with the Live Import preference.
Komodo projects are XML files stored on disk with a ".kpf" extension. If you manually edit the project file, make a backup copy first; invalid project files will not load.
Components can be dragged and dropped between projects and the Toolbox. Context menus are available for the various components and a Project drop-down menu. New items can be added via the Add item drop-down menu in the project tab's toolbar.
The Project sidebar is displayed in the left pane of the Komodo workspace. It is displayed or hidden via:
To create a Project, use one of the following methods:
When creating a new project, you are prompted to select a directory where the project file is stored. The project filename becomes the project name displayed in the Projects Sidebar (without the ".kpf" extension). "Live" projects will automatically import the files and sub-directories in this directory.
The Live Import option in Project Properties and Settings (set globally in Komodo under Edit|Preferences|Directory Import) makes the project behave as a Live Folder. A project created with Live Import enabled is a live project.
Existing projects are opened by any of the following methods:
Recently opened projects can be accessed from the Komodo Start Page, or from the File|Recent Projects menu. (The number of recently opened projects is determined by the Most Recently Used preference.)
The project name and associated files are displayed on the Projects tab. By default, opening a project only opens the project file, not the components associated with the project. The Opening and Closing Projects preferences can change this behavior to automatically open recent project files (and close them when the project is closed).
Multiple projects can be open at the same time. Components in any open project can be used. However, only one project at a time is "active". The active project is displayed in bold text. When the Add Component button in the Projects sidebar is invoked, the component is added to the active project, regardless of the project that is currently highlighted.
Knowing which project is currently active is important because file preferences can be stored in projects. Komodo chooses a location for saved preferences based on the following criteria:
To set the active project, right-click the desired project name and select Make Active Project, or select Project|Make Active Project from the drop-down menu.
Projects are organization containers for "components". Components are items like files, folders, snippets, macros, etc. For information about individual components, refer to the relevant section of the documentation for the specific component.
Filesystem-based components consists of items that exist as entities on the disk: files and templates. Komodo-specific components exist only in Komodo, and are not stored as external disk entities. Komodo-specific components include open shortcuts, folders, snippets, run commands, URL shortcuts, macros and custom menus and toolbars.
Within projects, filesytem-based components are merely references; they cannot be moved or deleted from within Komodo; moving them between projects and the Toolbox, or deleting them from projects or the Toolbox, has no effect on their actual disk-based location or their contents. On the other hand, Komodo-specific components (such as macros and snippets) do not exist outside of Komodo; therefore, they can be moved and copied (for example, from the Toolbox to the Projects sidebar) and deleted independently of the filesystem.
For example, when a snippet (a Komodo-specific component) is copied from the Projects sidebar to the Toolbox, a new copy of the snippet is created; the original version still exists in the original location. Subsequent modifications of the snippet in the Toolbox do not change the version of the snippet stored in a project. On the other hand, when the contents of a file (a filesystem-based component) are changed, the changes apply regardless of the location from which the file is invoked.
To add a component to a project:
Some components have special component-specific mechanisms for being added to projects. For example, snippets can be created and added to a project in one step by selecting a block of text in the Editor Pane and dragging it onto a project. URL shortcuts are created by dragging and dropping a URL from a browser address bar or from the Editor Pane onto a project. Refer to the specific component sections for more information about these options.
To remove a component from a project, click the desired component and press 'Delete', or right-click the component and select Delete from the context menu.
Komodo-specific components (such as run commands, macros, etc) are permanently deleted. Filesystem-based components (such as files and dialog projects) are not; only the reference to the component within the project is removed.
Use the button on the top right of the Projects Sidebar to select the fields that are displayed in the Projects sidebar. Click the column headings to organize the items according to the contents of any column.
Column contents depend on the type of component. For example, the Status and Depot Rev display options only have contents if the component is part of a source code control repository.
The following columns can be displayed:
If an asterisk is displayed beside the project name, the project has changed since it was opened or last saved. This happens not only when components are added, edited or removed in the Project Pane, but also when debugging options are changed for files in the project. To save a project:
The mechanisms described above can also be used to save a project to a new project file by selecting Save Project As... rather than Save. Filesystem-based components (such as files and dialog boxes) are relative references rather than actual entities; in the new project, the reference to the location of the component is preserved. Komodo-specific components (such as macros and run commands) are copied to the new project; there are independent versions of the component in the original project and in the new project.
The Refresh Status option checks read/write disk status for the project file and for filesystem-based components (such as files and dialog projects) within the project. If the project contains files of a language for which "code intelligence" is supported and enabled (as configured in the Code Intelligence Preferences), Refresh Status also updates the code intelligence database with the contents of those files.
If the project or its components are stored in a source code control system, Refresh Status also checks the repository status of the file. Komodo determines whether a file is contained in an SCC repository by the following methods:
Entire projects (including all the components contained in a project) can be exported to a "package" file for distribution to other Komodo users or for the sake of archiving. Packages are compressed archive files that contain the project from which the Export Package option was invoked. The Export Package option differs from the Export as Project File option (provided for project components) in that Export Package creates a self-contained archive file that contains copies of all the filesystem-based components (such as files and dialogs). Export as Project File, on the other hand, only contains Komodo-specific components (such as snippets and run commands).
To export a project and its contents to an archive, select Project|project_name|Export Package from the drop-down menu, or right-click the project and select Export Package.
The Package Export Wizard prompts for a Package
Name and a Export Location. The
Package Name is the file in which the package is
stored; it will have the extension ".kpz", and can be opened by
any archiving utility that supports libz
(for
example WinZip).
Exported packages can only be imported into "container" objects in Komodo, such as projects, the Toolbox, and folders within projects and the Toolbox.
To import the contents of a package into a project, right-click the project to which you want to import the package, and click Import Package. The Package Import Wizard prompts for the name of the package and the location on disk where the files will be extracted. Click Next and then click Finish to complete the import.
For information about importing packages to the Toolbox or a folder, see Toolbox - Import Package and Folders - Import Package for more information.
This option creates files within a project based on the directory structure and file contents of a local or network filesystem. File references within the project are created for imported files; folders are created for directories (depending on the configuration of the import options). To import a filesystem into a project:
Configure the following import options:
Source code control refers to projects and/or components stored in a source code control depot (such as a CVS or Perforce repository). There are two aspects to source code control within projects: source code control on the project file itself, and source code control on components contained in projects.
When Komodo integration with a source code control system is configured, icons in the Project Manager display the SCC status of the project file and components contained in the project. See file status icons in the source code control documentation for more information about these icons.
Source code control functions (such as adding files to an SCC repository, or opening files contained in a repository for editing) can be performed both on the project file, and on the components contained in the project. To access SCC commands for a project file:
To access SCC commands for the components contained in a project:
See Source Code Control Commands for a description of each of the commands.
If a project has been altered but has not been saved, use the Revert Project option to undo the changes. To access the Revert Project option:
Closing a project removes it from the Projects sidebar. To close a project:
If the project has changed since it was last saved, you are prompted to save it. If files contained in the project are open in the editor, you are asked if you wish to close them.
When a project is deleted, the project file is deleted from disk; Komodo-specific components (such as run commands and macros) stored in the project are also deleted. Filesystem-based components (such as files and dialog projects) are not deleted. To delete a project, delete the project file from the filesystem.
The Project Properties and Settings dialog box contains information about the project file, such as its size, its location on disk, its directory import settings, its source code control status, and project-specific language settings.
To access the Project Properties dialog box, right-click the desired project name and select Properties, or click the desired project and select Project|project_name|Properties from the drop-down menu.
The following categories are available:
Project templates are useful if you find yourself repeatedly creating the same types of projects. See the Project Templates documentation for information on using Komodo's sample project templates, and saving your own.