Using Prism for C/AL
This page describes what works the same way across Prism for C/AL: the theme, context menus, the filter syntax of its search boxes, keyboard shortcuts, copying code, panels and dialogs.
Dark and light theme
Prism for C/AL follows the Windows app theme, dark or light. It has no theme setting of its own: to change it, change the app mode in the Windows color settings.
When Windows switches theme while Prism runs, Prism asks Restart Prism now?
| Answer | Effect |
|---|---|
| Restart | Restarts Prism in the new theme. Open object stores close; reopen them from Recent on the Home page. |
| Not now | Keeps you working. Prism switches at once, but some colors stay in the old theme until it next starts. |
Context menus and tooltips
Where the pointer turns into a hand, you can select the item, and it often has a context menu too. Right-click for these context menus:
| # | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Object | The object you right-clicked. |
| 2 | Context menu | The commands for that object, listed in the first row below. |
| Right-click | Commands |
|---|---|
| An object in the object index, or the object's heading in the object view | Find Usages, Find System Function Usages…, Explore Table Relations and Show TransferFields Mapping From… (tables only), Copy to Clipboard, Copy Prism Path to Clipboard, and, when available, Design Object and Clear codeline selections. |
| A declaration in the object view, such as a field, procedure or trigger | Find Usages and Copy Prism Path to Clipboard. Selecting the declaration's name also runs Find Usages. |
| The heading of a block of code | Copy code to new window and Copy code to clipboard. |
| Selected code lines | The commands in Copy code lines. |
| A node in the outline | Copy Prism Path to Clipboard. |
| A store in Recent on the Home page | Open store location, Remove recent item and Remove all recent items. |
In code, a name with a hand pointer goes to its declaration when you select it. Most controls also have a tooltip: hold the pointer over one to read what it does, an object's details, or the syntax of a search box.
Filter syntax
The search boxes of the object index, the outline, the Dependencies tab and the Object Errors window share one syntax. It matches ids and names, ignoring case:
| # | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Search box | The filter 18..20|*Customer. |
| 2 | Matches | The objects with ids 18 to 20, and those whose names end in Customer. |
| Filter | Matches |
|---|---|
18 | The id 18. |
18..20 | The ids 18 to 20, both included. |
50000.., ..99 | Ids from 50000 up, and ids up to 99. |
cust | Names that contain cust anywhere. |
sales*post, t?x | Names with wildcards: * stands for any run of characters, ? for one character. |
sales line | Names that contain the words in this order with a space between them, such as Sales Line Discount. |
18..20|22|*Customer | Any of the alternatives separated by |. |
Universal Search has a query syntax of its own, with filter tokens such
as k:field and is:publisher.
Keyboard shortcuts
Menus show a command's shortcut after its name.
| # | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Search Everywhere… | A command with its shortcut, Ctrl+T. |
| 2 | Code lines… | A command with its shortcut, Ctrl+Shift+F. |
Main window
| Key | Action | Menu command |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl+1 to Ctrl+9 | Open the first to ninth recent object store. | File › Recent |
| Ctrl+M | Show the Mirrors page. | File › Mirrors… |
| Ctrl+P | Show the Settings page. | File › Settings… |
| Ctrl+L | Open the log, including earlier sessions. | Help › Log › Open Log |
| Ctrl+Shift+L | Open the log of this session only. | Help › Log › Open Session Log |
| Ctrl+Alt+L | Show the log folder in File Explorer. | None |
| Alt+F4 | Exit Prism for C/AL, closing every open object store. | File › Exit |
Workspace window
| Key | Action | Menu command |
|---|---|---|
| Ctrl+T | Open Universal Search. | Search › Search Everywhere… |
| Ctrl+Shift+S | Open Universal Search on members, such as fields and procedures (k:member). | None |
| Ctrl+Shift+O | Open Universal Search on the members of the open object (@). | None |
| Ctrl+Shift+P | Open Universal Search on menu commands (>). | None |
| Ctrl+F | Search the code lines of the open object. | Search › Code lines (Current Object)… |
| Ctrl+Shift+F | Search the code lines of all objects. | Search › Code lines… |
| Ctrl+Shift+E | Let the object index fill the window, with columns, or return it to its panel. | None |
| Ctrl+G | Go to a position in the open object. | View › Go to position… |
| Ctrl+Shift+G | Go to a Prism Path. | View › Go to Prism Path… |
| Alt+Left, or the mouse back button | Go back in the navigation history. | None |
| Alt+Right, or the mouse forward button | Go forward in the navigation history. | None |
| Ctrl+Space | Return to the current place in the navigation history. | None |
| Ctrl+P | Show the main window. | File › Control Panel… |
| Ctrl+L | Open the log, including earlier sessions. | Help › Log › Open Log |
| Ctrl+Shift+L | Open the log of this session only. | Help › Log › Open Session Log |
| Ctrl+Alt+L | Show the log folder in File Explorer. | None |
| Alt+F4 | Close the object store. | File › Close |
Panels, searches and dialogs
| Where | Key | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Object index, outline | Right, Left | Expand or collapse the selected node, or step into its first child or out to its parent. |
| Object index filling the window | Enter | Open the selected object and return the index to its panel. |
| Object index filling the window | Esc | Return the index to its panel. |
| Universal Search | Up, Down, Page Up, Page Down | Move through the results. |
| Universal Search | Enter | Open the selected result. |
| Universal Search | Ctrl+Enter | Pin the search into a window of its own. |
| Universal Search | Tab, Shift+Tab | Complete a filter or list the selected result's actions; go back to the results. |
| Universal Search | Esc | Close the search. In a pinned window, clear the text. |
| Universal Search | Ctrl+T | Clear the search. |
| Universal Search | Ctrl+Shift+G | Start a Prism Path (prism:). |
| Universal Search | Ctrl+Shift+F | Search the code lines of all objects for the text typed. |
| Code lines | Ctrl+1, Ctrl+2, Ctrl+3 | Search All objects, the Filtered objects, or This object. |
| Find usages | Ctrl+O | Show or hide the filter panel. |
| Feedback window | Ctrl+Enter | Send the feedback. |
| Dialogs | Enter, Esc | Select the highlighted button; close the dialog. |
With the setting Escape closes window, on by default, Esc also closes windows you work in, such as search results and table relations. Closing an object store asks first while the setting Confirm closing object store is on. See Settings page.
Copy code lines
Copy code lines to share them, add notes, or find the same lines in C/SIDE.
- In the object view, select the selection marker to the left of the first code line. The line is selected.
- Select the marker of the last line. The lines between them are selected too.
- Right-click the selection and select one of the commands below.
| # | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Selection marker | Selects the line (steps 1 and 2). |
| 2 | Selected lines | The lines from the first to the last marker. |
| 3 | Context menu | The commands for the selection (step 3). |
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
| Copy Code to New Window | Opens the lines in a code fragment window, where you can add notes and copy the lot. |
| Copy Code to Clipboard | Copies the lines, with information on where they come from. |
| Copy Code to Clipboard without Context | Copies only the code. A single line copied this way is useful for finding the same line in C/SIDE. |
| Open Code with Default Text Editor | Writes the lines to a temporary text file and opens it in the program Windows uses for text files. |
| Clear Selection | Deselects the lines. |
To deselect one line, select its marker again. To copy a whole procedure or trigger, right-click the heading above its code and select Copy code to new window or Copy code to clipboard. To copy a whole object, right-click it and select Copy to Clipboard.
Panels
On the Objects page, drag the dividers between the object index, the object view and the outline to resize them. Double-click a divider to toggle the width of the panel next to it.
View › Show shows or hides parts of the workspace window. Prism remembers your choice.
| # | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | View | In the accent color, because a part of the window is hidden. |
| 2 | Show | The parts of the window; a check mark shows each one that is visible. |
| Item | Shows or hides |
|---|---|
| Toolbar | The toolbar of the Objects page, with Back, Forward and Errors. |
| Objects | The object index. |
| Outline | The outline. |
| Status Bar | The status bar, with the object store's location. |
| Object Numbers | The ids of the objects in the object index. |
While the toolbar, object index, outline or status bar is hidden, the View menu is shown in the accent color, so you can find them again.
Dialogs
Questions and messages, such as closing an object store, unsaved mirror changes and the theme prompt, appear as dialogs inside the window that asks. The window dims, and the dialog shows its answers as buttons, the suggested one in the accent color. Enter selects the suggested answer; Esc closes the dialog without one.
An unexpected error opens an Error window, with the details and a way to report it through Help › Feedback…. Messages at startup and from the command line use Windows message boxes.