Quarterly Highlights: OutSystems IDE Q1 2018
OutSystems really is the gift that keeps on giving. We closed out 2017 with a series of amazing features in our IDE, including a styles editor, and also left you with a hint of amazing things yet to come.
In the meantime, those amazing things saw the light of day, and so I’d like to share a summary of the best things delivered in the first three months of 2018.
Extract to Action
Reusing complex logic that you created in a different place eases the refactoring process and gives you re-architecture superpowers. That’s why it’s now possible to extract logic into a reusable action by right-clicking, selecting the flow elements, and simply choosing Extract to Action.
When you do that, a new action is created with the necessary parameters, wrapping up the selected logic.
The OutSystems Community had suggested the idea for extract-to-action, and we took advantage of their feedback to also simplify generated actions and remove unnecessary input parameters for Site Properties, Session Variables, and some record elements.
Bulk-Change the Properties of Several Objects
Changing properties for selected widgets is a necessary capability, and we have included flows, screens, tree objects… you name it. To ensure you save time, you now have the power to change multiple properties in bulk.
All you have to do is select multiple objects, look at their differences and common values, and change any property you like.
Imagine you have three screens, and one of those has limited access permissions (Role Anonymous); you’ll be able to see and change this in the Properties Pane. Yes, you can change screen roles.
Changing elements and actions to public with just one click is now possible.
Automatic Text Merge
This feature comes to the rescue of any developer who knows the pains of parallel work (yes, you’re not alone). You know when you and another developer edit the same JavaScript and madness happens? That’s exactly what has been solved, so now when that happens, there will be an automatic merge of non-conflicting text elements.
Open Multiple Files Simultaneously
Opening multiple eSpaces with just one click was the idea. Being able to multitask in multiple files was the result.
In the Open from Environment window, you can select multiple files at the same time with a multiple file selector. This is great if you usually work with related modules; you can search for modules with similar names and select as many as you want. You can also sort by changed date, and select the latest modules you worked with. Other sorting options are module, application, and by.
By the way, you can also open multiple files from a drive — no need for similar names. The multiple file selector will work there as well!
Revamped Shortcut Keys
Our shortcuts weren’t quite cutting it, so now there are new ones. A new entry in the Help menu opens the shortcuts documentation page. And, shortcut keys are now fully integrated into the IDE.
All you have to do is open the help menu or press Ctrl+Shift+K to access the full list.
Thanks to all the community members who actively contributed to this!
Convert to Local Variables
Cut-and-paste days are long gone. Now you can quickly convert variables into local variables (for example, as inputs). It’s as easy as it gets. Simply right-click the variable you want to convert, and you’re done.
Accelerate Expressions with Null Type
In the Expression field, you have a list of several possible input/local/output variables, right? And when you Assign values, you can see all possible entries: NullDate, NullBinary, NullIdentifier, NullTextIdentifier, and NullObject.
Now, in the Properties Pane, if the expressions allow null values, its valid null type is automatically suggested.
Another great idea turned into reality!
Download Applications in the IDE
Need to quickly upload OutSystems Forge components? Download the Application Pack (.oap) in the Application Detail screen without going to Service Center.
Empowered by Community
The OutSystems Community is one of the biggest sources of ideas for new and cool things we can add to our product. A recently revamped Ideas page encourages even more collaboration and inspiration in an easy-to-use format that follows an idea from its submission to the outcome.
Also, don’t wait a whole quarter to get new information on what’s happening in our product. Instead, keep an eye on our What’s New page, your trusted source for the latest releases.
