1. Application Framework: What's New

1. Designer Rich Client Platform(RCP)

Designer is a full-fledged RCP application. As an RCP application, the overall performance of Designer is significantly improved. The post-install size on the disk is significantly reduced. Designer RCP indicates an improved performance in several areas, including installation; launching the workspace; importing or exporting multiple projects; creating, deleting, or saving projects; and in several live operations. Designer RCP offers an improved, simpler usability.

2. eDirectory Browser View Runs in Background

You can use the eDirectory browser view of Designer to browse the objects in any eDirectory tree. To browse the tree, expand or collapse the containers to fetch the objects from the remote server.

The time that Designer 3.5 takes for remote operations such as connecting to a remote host or expanding a large container can vary, based on the connectivity and bandwidth, such as VPN, LAN, and the number of objects in a container.

In previous versions, Designer was blocked when a remote operation was in progress in the eDirectory browser.
In Designer 3.5, remote operations of the eDirectory browser are performed in the background. Designer is not blocked and other operations such as saving changes, importing, and deploying, can be performed.
When a remote operation is in progress, a progress bar is displayed at the bottom of the eDirectory browser view, which indicates the status as busy.

FIG 1: A remote operation of an expanding container is in progress in the background from the eDirectory Browser

FIG 2: The remote operation running in the background is complete.

3. Conditional Key Bindings

You can make custom key bindings for text editors in the Designer preferences. Just access preferences from the main menus and drill down to General -> Keys.

4. Easy Restart

Click File > Restart to restart the Designer.

5. Markers View

You can open a new Markers View to see your bookmarks, tasks, and similar items. From this view, you can manage all of your markers.
To select a line, double-click a marker. It opens the file and highlights the line. This view only works for text files, such as XML files.
To show this view, go to the main Window Menu, then select Show View > Other > General > Markers.

6. Errors View Moved

To access the error log, go to the main Window Menu, then select Show View > General > Error Log.

7. Project Converter

Designer 3.5 supports conversion of previous projects to Designer 3.5 projects. The project converter provides a reliable way of conversion by backing up the old projects prior to the conversion to avoid any data loss. You can import the old projects into Designer 3.5 from the filesystem or from the version control system. After Designer 3.5 is launched in an old workspace containing the old projects, you are prompted and guided through the conversion process.