Bean Information SmartGuide

Use the SmartGuide - Bean Information window to define bean information for a new feature. This information determines how the feature is viewed and accessed in visual composition.

Fields

Display name
The display name represents the feature in the VisualAge user interface. This field is optional. If you do not specify a display name, the feature name is used.
Short description
The short description is used in the VisualAge user interface. This field is optional. If you do not provide a description, the feature name is used.
Property editor
This optional field is available only for property features. A property editor provides customized definition of a property value. If you want to provide a custom dialog to modify a property, specify a property editor class to support the dialog. To select an existing property editor, select the Browse button.

For example, you might want to provide a property editor for an alignment property that has an integer value. This property can be edited with the registered integer property editor. However, a user can more easily understand descriptive choices, such as Left, Center, and Right. You can create a property editor class that presents these descriptive choices to the user and maps them to integer values for the property.

Bean Information Options
expert
Expert features do not appear in the Visual Composition Editor by default. However, you can request that expert features be shown. Select expert if you want the feature to be available in visual composition, but not by default. This option is not initially selected.
hidden
Hidden features do not appear in the Visual Composition Editor. Select hidden if you do not want the feature to be available in visual composition. This option is not initially selected.
preferred
Preferred features do not appear in the bean connection menu by default. Select preferred if you want the feature to be available in the bean connection menu. This option is not initially selected.