The Design Explorer view: the entry point in the application design
In this view, you can see and modify the design of your applications. You can work on the instances that constitute these applications.


- The first level of each tree is constituted of a location. A location can be compared to a
database. If the location is opened, its name is preceded by the
icon. If the location is closed, its name is preceded by the
icon.
- If the location is opened, you can expand it and see the entity level. To open a location,
right-click it and select Open. The number of the instances present in the
location is displayed next to the location (total number) and also next to each entity. Note: If you select projects or packages as the top-level elements, they constitute an extra level, higher than the entity level. If you are maintaining a Pacbase application, the notion of packages is irrelevant. When you import a file that is produced by the Pacbase extraction and migration procedures, the package is set to blank.
- The third level is constituted of the instances, if any. Instances can be loaded into the view
in various ways.
For explanations, see Loading the local workspace.
The Rational® Programming Patterns icons of the Design Explorer view are listed in the link that is included at the end of the page.



Creating locations or instances
- Create a location ( )
- Create instances ( for example)
Viewing and modifying the design build path of the location
This path is the hierarchy of the projects that is explored in an upward direction to resolve the dynamic links and references between the instances that are contained in the various projects of the current location.
To view and modify this path, right-click an opened location and select Properties. For information, see The design build path.
Importing and exporting, copying, and pasting instances
- Import and export a set of instances that are grouped in a file
- Copy and paste instances, or delete instances
Duplicating Programs, Screens, or Servers
In the Pacbase facet, if you right-click a Program, Screen, or Server instance and select Duplicate, you duplicate the design and the generated files of this instance. For information, see Duplicating a Program, a Screen, or a Server.
Sharing selected elements
You can populate the Design Explorer view with the content of a Rational Team Concert™ server. To limit the number of the loaded artifacts, you can load only the artifacts that are required by one or more artifacts that you select.
However, the folder structure that is loaded in this way does not have a "shared" status. If you create or generate instances in projects that are loaded in this way, you must share them explicitly here.
To do so, select the instances or the COBOL files to be shared, right-click, and select
. The newly created files are ready to be uploaded to the Rational Team Concert server.For explanations, see Loading the local workspace.
Rebuilding your workspace
- Rebuild your workspace to make sure that it is consistent. All the files and projects of your workspace are analyzed. The local metadata that manages the decorations (error on input fields or on unresolved call links, desynchronization warning for example) or the impact analyses (search or references for example) is computed again and updated. If the workspace contains generated files, you must then select Rebuild the mapping between the designs and the generated files.
- Rebuild the mapping between the designs and the generated files. This choice rebuilds the indexes of the generated files and of the Macros.
Opening, renaming, moving, comparing an instance
- Open it. The instance is then displayed in its dedicated PDP editor.
- Open it with various
editors.
- The first editor is the design editor that is dedicated to the entity. It is the default editor.
- Other editors are also available by default. You can also add editors from your preferences. You access the preferences from the Window menu, .
- Refactor the instance. You can select one
of the following choices:
- Rename the instance. The new name is automatically propagated to all the design where the instance is used. Renaming an instance in this way avoids consistency errors. For information, see Renaming an instance.
- Move one or more selected instances to another existing project while keeping all their links (references, keywords, and instance calls for example). For information, see Moving an instance.
- The design of instances, or the source code of Macros. For information, see Comparing designs or Macro source codes.
- The content of two local COBOL files. For information, see Comparing the COBOL code of Programs, Screens, or Servers.
Starting a search
- Instances. To do so, click
in the toolbar or select the Search menu, and then open the Design search tab. If you are connected to a Rational Team Concert server, you can also run a search on this server by selecting the corresponding choices.
- The instance references. To do so, right-click
the instance (whatever the entity) and select this choice. You can
search for its super references (the instances
in which it is called), or its subreferences (the
instances it calls). Selecting one of these choices makes you switch
to the References view, where the search results
are displayed.
You can also search for the subreferences of a generated file (.cbl file of a Program for example). The instances that are involved in the file generation will be automatically displayed in the References view.
- In the Pacbase facet, the Program, Screen, or Server instances that call a Macro. To do so, right-click a Macro and select . All the instances that call the Macro in the local project are then displayed in the Macro cross-references view. The list of the parameters and their values are also displayed in a read/write mode.
- In the Pacbase facet, the usages of a Data Element in the code that is entered manually in the PROCEDURE DIVISION of generated Programs, Screens, or Servers (.cbl extension). To do so, right-click a Data Element and select Usage search.
For information, see Starting a search.
Possible generation types
- The COBOL code of a Program, Screen, or Server. To do so, right-click an instance. Then, select
The preference Structure checking before generation management, which is available from , checks that the nesting of subfunctions in the COBOL code is correct before the generation. By default, it blocks the generation if structure errors are detected.
The generation produces a .cbl file under the instance in the Design Explorer view. Right-click it and select to access the COBOL editor and views. You can then work on the code and the design of the instance.
Note: You are warned of any desynchronization between the generated code and the design when you expand the link that leads to the generated file. If a desynchronization is detected when the link is expanded, the icon of the generated file changes () and a special character is displayed. The default special character is > but you can change it by selecting . You can regenerate all the desynchronized files in the Generation Manager view.
and the entity type. In this context, a Server can also be a Communication Monitor or
a Folder. - The OCX proxy of a Business Component if you are connected to the Rational Team Concert server. To do so, right-click a Business Component-type Server and select Proxy generation. This proxy is a set of classes that can be used to process, in an OCX environment, the services of a Logical View and its associated Business Component. This generation produces a .txt file under the Business Component in the Design Explorer view.
- The Java™ proxy of a Folder or Folder View. To do so, right-click a Folder or a Folder View and select Proxy generation. This proxy contains a set of classes that are used to manage the Folder or Folder view in a graphic application. This generation produces a .txt file under the Folder or Folder View in the Design Explorer view. You must then integrate this file into the graphic development tool of the Client.
- A Database Block. To do so, right-click a Database Block and select .txt file under the instance in the Design Explorer view. . This generation produces a
- The error messages that are associated with a Data Structure or some of its Segments (for a Program), or with a Dialog (standard, client, or server) or some of its Screens or Servers. To do so, right-click an Error Message instance and select .txt file that you must integrate into the error message file of your applications . The generation produces a
- The COBOL descriptions of Data Structures in a file (Copybook). To do so, right-click a Copybook and select .cpy file under the instance in the Design Explorer view. You can integrate its content into programs by using the COPY statement. . This generation produces a
- A Pactables Table. To do so, right-click a Table-type Segment that is related to a Table-type Data Structure and select .txt file under the instance in the Design Explorer view. You must then transfer this file to the Pactables execution environment and run the GRTD procedure with this file as input. . This generation produces a
You can also generate a Volume, which groups instance descriptions to be published. To do so, right-click a Volume and select XML or HTML file in a directory you specify.
. This generation produces an- A selected COBOL Program or COBOL Copybook. To do so, right-click an instance and select .cbl file for a COBOL Program or a .cpy file for a COBOL Copybook, under the instance in the Design Explorer view. . This generation produces a
- A selected Source Code. To do so, right-click an instance and select . This generation produces a file whose extension is indicated in the called Skeleton.

Dispatching Macros
In the Pacbase facet, the dispatch Macro choice is accessed by right-clicking anywhere in a location.
You must use it to migrate Pacbase data if the file that is produced by the Macro migration batch procedure contains the source of more than one Macro.
When you activate this function, the Macro sources are dispatched among the corresponding Macros of the projects in your local workspace.
Using the migration help
In the Pacbase facet, the migration help choice is available from the Program, Screen, or Server instance level.
You must run the migration help function to migrate the code that is generated in Pacbase.
Locking an instance
The Lock choice is accessed by right-clicking a generated COBOL instance (.cbl file), and selecting . This choice is available only if the instance is on the connected server.
The toolbar
- Collapse All (
icon). This command collapses all the tree nodes in the Design Explorer view
- Refresh (
icon). This command refreshes the workspace after updates.
- Link with Editor (
icon). This command links the active editor to its corresponding design instance or COBOL file in the tree of the Design Explorer view. If this option is selected, changing the active editor updates the selection in the tree to the design instance or to the COBOL file that is currently edited. Changing the selection in the tree also automatically selects the corresponding design or COBOL editor, if it is active.
- Change the sort and display of instances in the Design Explorer view.
Click the triangle icon (View menu) and select one of the following options:
- Top-level elements to indicate which element type is to constitute the top of the hierarchy in each location tree. The element types can be folders (default value that represents the entity types), projects, or packages (irrelevant for the maintenance of a Pacbase application).
- Sort to specify a sort criterion. The criterion can be the name (default value), project, package, or level. The level refers to the level of the projects in the design build path. If you select this criterion, the display order will reflect the position of the projects in the hierarchy. The instances of the highest-level project will be displayed first and the display will follow the hierarchy down to the lowest level.
- Display to display additional information for each instance line in the tree. To remove some of the selected information from the line, select it again in the menu.
- Filters to reduce the amount of data that is displayed in the view. This choice opens the Design Filters wizard where you can specify your parameters.