Element Inspector

For any visual element on a form, you can use the Element Inspector to do the following:

View such information about the element as its control type, data access class, data field, data view, business logic controller, actions (if applicable), and drop-down control values
View the source code of the ASPX page that contains the UI control for the inspected element
View the source code of the data access class that provides data for the inspected element
View the source code of the business logic executed for the inspected element
Start the customization of the inspected element

Note: While you are viewing a form, you can activate the Element Inspector from the Customization Menu. If you need to activate the Element Inspector for a pop-up panel, dialog box, or other UI element for which the Customization menu is unavailable, you can press Control+Alt.

After the Element Inspector is activated, the cursor indicates that you can select a UI element to inspect it. If you click an element, the Element Inspector opens the Element Properties Dialog Box for the element.

Element Properties Dialog Box

The Element Inspector opens the Element Properties dialog box (see the following screenshot) when you have selected a UI element to inspect.


Element	Description
The dialog box contains the following elements.
Control Type	The type of the inspected UI element.
Data Class	The name of the DAC to which the field for the inspected element belongs.
Data Field	The string value of the DataField property of the inspected UI element. (It corresponds to the name of the field in the DAC.)
View Name	The name of the data view that provides data for the inspected UI element.
Business Logic	The name of the BLC bound to the form.
Description	The description of the inspected UI element. When you click More, the system opens a pane that partially overlaps the working area of the screen and contains the complete element's description.
Action Name	The name of the action of the inspected toolbar button or menu command.
The dialog box has the following buttons.
Drop-Down Values	Opens the Drop-Down Values dialog box, which lists all possible values of the control and the corresponding values that are saved to the database. Note: The button is displayed only if you have selected a drop-down control.
Customize	Launches the Customization Project Editor, which opens on the Screen Editorpage for the form that contains the inspected element.
Actions	Opens the Actions menu with the following commands: Customize Business Logic: Creates a graph extension template for the BLC that is bound to the form, adds the template code to the customization project, and opens the Customization Project Editor on the Code Editor page, which loads the BLC extension template so that you can edit it. Customize Data Fields: Opens the Customization Project Editor on the Data Class page so that you can customize the inspected element attributes in the Edit Attributes area. View ASPX Source: Opens the Screen ASPX tab of the Source Code browser with the source code of the current form. View Business Logic Source: Opens the Business Logic tab of the Source Code browser with the source code of the BLC that is bound to the form. View Data Class Source: Opens the Data Access tab of the Source Code browser with the source code of the DAC to which the field for the inspected element belongs.
Cancel	Cancels the inspection of the element and closes the dialog box.

Tip: If you open the Customization Project Editor or the Source Code browser, you can access any source code of the website—not only the source code of the inspected element and the current form, DAC, and BLC.

Drop-Down Values Dialog Box

In the dialog box, you can view all possible values of the selected drop-down control and the corresponding values that are saved to the database. For details on the internal names of drop-down control values, see Configuration of Drop-Down Lists.

You open this dialog box by clicking Drop-Down Values in the Element Properties dialog box. The dialog box contains the following elements.


Element	Description
Value	The internal value of the drop-down control that is saved to the database.
Description	The display name that will be shown in the drop-down box for the selected field.
The dialog box has the following button.
Close	Closes the dialog box.