The Corda® Builder™ interface provides the following panes and bars to aid you in dashboard construction. Each pane is detachable to facilitate organizing your desktop as needed.
The Project Canvas provides a view of the current Corda Builder project. It displays all associated objects and the placement of each. The Project Canvas defines the area included in the final Corda image.
Note: If you have enabled Fit in bounds, any components that lay outside of the Project Canvas are repositioned inside of the project canvas when the final image is generated.
The Object List provides a view of all objects used in the current project. Use Object List to browse to and select objects in the project.
Note: The Object List view includes a small arrow button in the title bar that allows you to minimize the pane to just the title bar, or restore it to full size.
The Object Properties pane provides a list of all properties that can be configured for the object type currently selected in the Object List. Use Object Properties to modify the property values associated with the XML objects in the project.
An object's properties are organized in a way that reflects the underlying XML structure. Properties indicate XML tags within the object, and each property in a given group represents an attribute of the associated XML tag. Because XML is a hierarchical language, properties can be nested to represent multiple levels in the XML structure.
Within Object Properties, property hierarchy can be expanded or compressed as needed to make it easier to view the relevant XML settings, and work with a particular set of properties within the XML hierarchy.
Modify a value in Object Properties by typing directly in the value field, or, if a specific set of values is supported, a drop-down button appears at the right end of the value field. Click the drop-down button to select from a list of supported values for that property.
Some properties provide an ellipsis button 
that opens
a separate dialog for entering property values, particularly if the value
is longer than the default value field in Object
Properties.
Properties and attributes can also includes two types of checkboxes: one that enables attribute overrides (for overriding a previously set attribute values); and one that enables a given property or attribute.
Located directly below Object Properties,
a description field gives a brief description of the currently selected
XML object. Get more information about an XML object by clicking the help
button 
located both to the right of the object name and
in the description field. This opens a description of the XML object from
the Corda 7 Object Reference.
Note: The Object Properties view includes a small arrow button in the title bar that allows you to minimize the pane to just the title bar, or restore it to full size.
The Shape Tools pane provides a rich set of tools that lets you create and manipulate Shape objects of various types. For more information, see Using Shape Tools, Creating Shapes and Manipulating Shapes.
Note: The Shape Tools view includes a small arrow button in the title bar that allows you to minimize the pane to just the title bar or restore it to full size.
The Alignment Tools pane provides tools for aligning one or more objects in relation to another object, and moving objects within the project layers. This allows you to effectively position objects within the Project Canvas, rather than using less accurate manual positioning. For more information about Alignment options, see Aligning Objects.
Note: The Align view includes a small arrow button in the title bar that allows you to minimize the pane to just the title bar or restore it to full size.
The following tables describe the Corda Builder menu items:
The File menu contains options for managing project files.
|
Menu Item |
Functionality |
|
New |
Creates a new project from a blank canvas. Automatically closes the current document. |
|
Open |
Opens an existing project. Automatically closes the current document. |
|
Insert File |
Inserts the components of an existing project into the currently opened project. |
|
Close |
Closes the current project. |
|
Recent Projects |
Lists the latest (user specified) number of projects accessed in Corda Builder. Selecting one of these projects closes the currently opened project. |
|
Save |
Saves the current project. |
|
Save As |
Saves the current project under a different name. |
|
Save as Gallery Item |
Saves the selected object as an item in the Corda 7 Gallery. For more information, see The Corda 7 Gallery. |
|
Save Canvas as Gallery Item |
Saves the current Project Canvas configuration as an item in the Corda 7 Gallery. For more information, see The Corda 7 Gallery. |
|
Publish |
Publishes the project as a static Web page or image. |
|
Published Projects |
Opens the directory in which the projects are published. |
|
Highwire™ |
Allows you to convert a Web document to PDF format. |
|
Preview |
Opens the user's default browser and shows how the project appears as a dynamically generated image in the Web browser. |
|
Font Converter |
Opens the Corda 7 Font Converter. For more information about the Font Converter, see Corda Fonts. |
|
Exit |
Exits the program. |
The Edit menu provides options related to modifying the current project.
|
Menu Item |
Functionality |
|
Undo |
Undoes the last command. |
|
Redo |
Redoes the last undo command. |
|
Cut |
Cuts the selected object and adds it to the clipboard. |
|
Copy |
Copies the selected object and adds it to the clipboard. |
|
Paste |
Pastes the last saved item to the clipboard. |
|
Delete Object |
Deletes the selected object. |
|
Next Object |
Selects the next object. |
|
Previous Object |
Selects the previous object. |
|
Edit PCScript |
Opens the PCScript Editor. For more information, see PCScript Editor. |
|
Edit Sample Code |
Opens the Sample Code Editor, which demonstrates how to deploy the Image Template file in a variety of Web application environments, and how to connect the Image Template file to dynamic data. For more information, see Publishing Dynamic Image Template Files with the Sample Code Editor. |
|
Preferences |
Opens the User Preferences dialog. User preferences include default configuration, the location for Image Template files, and the location for saved projects. |
The Insert menu provides options for adding objects to the current project.
|
Menu Item |
Functionality |
|
From File |
Adds an Image Template file object to the project. |
|
From Gallery |
Adds a Gallery object to the project. |
|
New Graph |
Adds a graph to the project using the Graph Selection tool. |
|
Map |
Adds a map to the project. |
|
Image |
Adds an image to the project. |
|
Dynamic Image |
Adds a dynamic image to the project. |
|
Legend |
Adds a legend object for the selected graph or map. Supports only one legend per graph or map. |
|
Scale Marker |
Adds a scale marker object for the selected graph. Supports multiple scale markers per graph. |
The Properties menu changes based on the item selected.
|
Menu Item |
Functionality |
|
Data Editor |
Opens the Data Editor for the selected graph. For more information about the Data Editor, see Enter Data. |
|
Change Graph Type |
Opens the Graph Selection dialog, from which you can change the type of the currently selected graph. This is identical to changing the graphs Type attribute in the Object Properties pane. |
|
Restore Original Map Size |
Restores the selected map or image object to its original dimensions. |
|
Select Layer |
Allows you to select a specific map layer in the selected map object. This is identical to selecting the map layer from the Object List. |
|
Convert Map to Shapes |
Disassembles the selected map into its component shapes. |
|
Copy Area Layer |
Copies the selected map layer to the clipboard. |
|
Add Data Point to Map |
Launches the Add Data Point dialog from which you can add a new data item to the selected Points data layer in the map. |
|
Combine into New Map |
Combines the selected shapes into a new map object. |
|
Convert to Gauge Indicator |
Combines the selected shapes into a gauge indicator shape for a radial gauge. For more information, see Radial Gauges. |
|
Convert to Divider Object |
Converts the selected object into a divider object. For more information, see Dividing A Shape. |
|
Convert to Polygon |
Converts the selected shape object from its current type to a polygon. This lets you manipulate the shape (such as rotating it) that is not possible for some shape types. |
The Alignment menu changes the alignment of the currently selected object within the Project Canvas. For more information on aligning objects, see Common Object Actions.
|
Menu Item |
Functionality |
|
Align Left |
Aligns the object to the left edge of another selected object. |
|
Align Center |
Centers the object within another selected object. |
|
Align Right |
Aligns the object to the right edge of another selected object. |
|
Align Top |
Aligns the object to the top edge of another selected object. |
|
Align Middle |
Aligns the object to the middle of another selected object. |
|
Align Bottom |
Aligns the object to the bottom edge of another selected object. |
|
Same Width |
Sets the object width to that of another selected object. |
|
Same Height |
Sets the object height to that of another selected object. |
|
Overlay |
Overlays the object on top of another selected object. |
|
Move to Front |
Moves the object to the foremost layer in the Corda image. |
|
Move to Back |
Moves the object to the backmost layer in the Corda image. |
|
Move Forward One |
Moves the object forward one layer in the Corda image. |
|
Move Back One |
Moves the object back one layer in the Corda image. |
The View menu toggles the various Corda 7 component views for display.
|
Menu Item |
Functionality |
|
Panes Hidden |
Hides/displays all views other than the Project Canvas view. |
|
Alignment |
Opens/closes the Align tool view. |
|
Object List |
Opens/closes the Object List view. |
|
Object Properties |
Opens/closes the Object Properties view. |
|
Tools |
Opens/closes the Shape Tools view. |
|
Object List |
Lets you select how the objects in the Object List are sorted. Options include alphabetically, or in order of creation (z-order). |
|
Zoom |
Lets you select a pre-defined level of magnification for the Project Canvas. |
|
Increase Zoom |
Zooms in (enlarges) the Project Canvas. |
|
Decrease Zoom |
Zooms out (reduces) the Project Canvas. |
The Help menu provides access to Corda Builder's various help options.
Note: You must have an installed Web browser to use the online help system.
A PDF version of the Corda Builder documentation is provided in <product_root>\Docs.
|
Menu Item |
Functionality |
|
Documentation |
Opens the default browser to the Corda online documentation. |
|
Object Reference |
Opens the default Web browser to the Corda 7 Object Reference Index page. |
|
Visit Corda.com |
Opens the default browser to www.corda.com. |
|
Message from Corda |
Opens a Welcome page containing current Corda communications, if any. |
|
Check for Updates |
Opens the default browser to the Corda Builder Updates page at http://www.corda.com/download/update.html. |
|
Corda Technical Support |
Opens the default browser to the Corda Support Web page (www.corda.com/support). |
|
Purchase Corda Products |
Opens the default browser to the Purchase Corda Products Web page (www.corda.com/buy). |
|
License |
Allows you to enter or view the Corda Builder license key. |
|
About Corda Builder |
Provides version information and copyright details for Corda Technologies, Inc. and Corda Builder. |
The toolbar provides quick access to common Corda Builder features. By default, it appears directly below the Menu Bar, but you can click and drag the Tool Bar to any side of the Builder window.
|
Button |
Functionality |
|
|
New Image Template |
|
|
Open File |
|
|
Save Image Template |
|
|
Preview in browser |
|
|
Launch the Gallery dialog |
|
|
Launch the Gallery dialog into the Graph category |
|
|
Launch the Gallery dialog into the Gauge category |
|
|
Launch the Gallery dialog into the Shape category |
|
|
Add a Map |
|
|
Add an Image |
|
|
Add a Legend |
|
|
Add a Scale Marker |
|
|
Group Objects |
|
|
Delete Object |
|
|
Delete the selected part of graph |
|
|
Undo last action |
|
|
Redo last undo |
|
|
Edit PCScript |
|
|
Edit Sample Code |
|
|
Help |
|
|
Publish |
|
|
Create PDF document with Highwire |
On the bottom-left edge of the Corda Builder UI are two tabs that allow you to select the view of the Corda Builder project. Designers that only need the Design view can remove the other tab from the UI by selecting Edit > Preferences, selecting the Publishing tab, and selecting Reduce UI for Publishing.
Use the Design tab to view the project graphically, and create and edit the project objects. For more information, see Working with Objects.
Use the ITXML tab to view the project as ITXML code. You can also edit the ITXML, if desired. For more information, see ITXML View.
