path: root/doc/qtcreator/src/editors/creator-locator.qdoc

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/*!
    \contentspage index.html
    \previouspage creator-editor-finding.html
    \page creator-editor-locator.html
    \nextpage creator-editor-refactoring.html

    \title Searching with the Locator

    You can find the locator in the bottom left of the \QC window.

    \image qtcreator-locator.png "List of locator filters"

    To activate the locator:

    \list

        \li Press \key {Ctrl+K} (\key {Cmd+K} on \macos).

        \li Select \uicontrol Tools > \uicontrol Locate.

        \li Select \uicontrol Edit > \uicontrol {Go to Line}.

        \li Click the line and column indicator on the
            \l{Using the Editor Toolbar}{editor toolbar}.

    \endlist

    To open a QML file called \e HelloWorld.qml in the currently open project
    using the locator:

    \list 1

        \li Activate the locator by pressing \key {Ctrl+K}.

        \li Start typing the filename.

            \image qtcreator-locator-open.png "List of files found in the locator"

        \li Move to the filename in the list and press \key Enter.

            The file opens in the editor.

        \li To move to a line in the file, enter the line number in the locator.

    \endlist

    To move directly to a particular line and column in the document when you
    open the document, append them to the file name in the locator, separated by
    plus signs (+) or colons (:). For example, to open \e HelloWorld.qml to line
    41 and column 2, enter: \c {HelloWorld.qml:41:2}.

    If the path to a file is very long, it might not fit into the locator
    window. To view the full path, press \key Alt when the filename is selected
    or use the handle next to the locator window to increase the window width.

    It is also possible to enter only a part of a search string. As you type,
    the locator shows the occurrences of that string regardless of where in the
    name of an component it appears. Some locator filters, such as colon and
    \c m, support \e fuzzy matching, which means that you can enter the
    uppercase letters to locate a symbol when using camel case or the letters
    after the underscore when using snake case.

    To narrow down the search results, you can use the following wildcard
    characters:

    \list

        \li To match any number of any or no characters, enter \c{*}.

        \li To match a single instance of any character, enter \c{?}.

    \endlist

    \section1 Using Locator Filters

    The locator enables you to browse not only files, but any items defined by
    \b{locator filters}. The filters that are available depend on the file type:

    \list

        \li Locating any open document (\c {o})

        \li Locating files anywhere on your file system (\c {f})

        \li Locating files belonging to your project (\c {p}), such as source,
            header, resource, and \c {.ui} files, or to any project (\c {a})

        \if defined(qtcreator)
        \li Locating bookmarks (\c {b}).
            For more information, see \l{Using Bookmarks}.

        \li Locating class (\c {c}), enum, and function (\c {m}) definitions in
            your project or anywhere referenced from your project (\c {:})
        \endif

        \li Locating QML methods (\c {m})

        \li Locating symbols in the current document (\c {.})

        \li Locating a specific line and column in the document displayed in
            your editor (\c {l <line_number>:<column_number>})

        \li Opening help topics, including Qt documentation (\c {?})

        \li Performing web searches (\c {r})

        \if defined(qtcreator)
        \li Running text editing macros that you record and save (\c {rm}). For
            more information, see \l{Using Text Editing Macros}
        \endif

        \li Executing JavaScript (\c {=}), especially useful for calculations.
            For more information, see \l{Executing JavaScript}.

        \li Executing shell commands (\c {!})

        \li Executing version control system commands (\c {git}).
            \if defined(qtcreator)
            For more information, see \l{Using Version Control Systems}
            \else
            For more information, see \l{Using Git}
            \endif

        \li Triggering menu items from the main menu (\c {t})

        \li Searching for issues from the \l{https://bugreports.qt.io/}
            {Qt Project Bug Tracker} (\c bug).

        \if defined(qtcreator)
        \li Running external tools (\c x)
        \li Using CMake to build the project for the current run configuration
            (\c {cm}). For more information, see \l {Setting up CMake}.
        \li Opening the CMakeLists.txt file for the current run configuration in
            the editor (\c {cmo}). This is the same build target as when you
            select \uicontrol Build > \uicontrol {Build for Run Configuration}.
        \endif

    \endlist

    To use a specific locator filter, type the assigned prefix followed by
    \key Space. The prefix is usually a single character. Then type the search
    string (typically, a filename or class name) or the command to execute.

    You can also double-click a locator filter in the filter list to use it. You
    can use the up and down arrow keys or the \key Ctrl+P and \key Ctrl+N
    keyboard shortcuts to move up and down the list, and then press \key Enter
    to use the selected filter.

    \if defined(qtcreator)
    For example, to locate symbols matching QDataStream:

    \list 1

        \li Activate the locator.

        \li Enter a colon (:) followed by a space and the upper case letters in
            the symbol name (QDataStream):

            \code
            : qds
            \endcode

            The locator lists the results.

            \image qtcreator-locator-example.png "List of files matching the locator filter"

    \endlist

    Filters locating files also accept paths, such as \c {tools/*main.cpp}.
    Filters locating class and function definitions also accept namespaces,
    such as \c {Utils::*View}.
    \endif

    For example, to create a new file and open it in the editor, type \c f
    followed by \key Space, followed by path and file name, and then press
    \key Enter.

    You can use the filter that triggers menu commands to open sessions. Enter
    \c {t yoursess} or \c {t sess yoursess} to trigger \uicontrol File >
    \uicontrol Sessions > \e yoursessionname.

    By default, the following filters are enabled and you do not need to use
    their prefixes explicitly:

    \list

        \li Going to a line and column in the current file (\c {l}).

        \li Going to an open file (\c {o}).

        \li Going to a file in any open project (\c {a}).

    \endlist

    If locator does not find some files, you can add them to the \c DISTFILES
    variable in the \c .pro file to include them into the distribution tarball
    of your project and thus make them known to \QC as well.

    \section1 Configuring Locator Filters

    If the default filters do not match your use case, you can check whether you
    can change them. For all filters, you can change the filter prefix and
    restrict the search to items that match the filter.

    To configure a locator filter:

    \list 1

        \li In the locator, click \inlineimage magnifier.png
            (\uicontrol Options) and select \uicontrol Configure to open the
            \uicontrol Locator options.

        \li Select a filter, and then select \uicontrol Edit.

        \li Specify the prefix string.

        \li To implicitly include the filter even when not typing a prefix as a
            part of the search string, select \uicontrol {Include by default}.

        \li Specify other available options. For more information, see
            \l{Adding Web Search Engines}.

    \endlist

    \section2 Adding Web Search Engines

    You can use the \uicontrol {Web Search (r)} locator filter to perform
    web searches. URLs and search commands for Bing, Google, Yahoo! Search,
    cplusplus.com, and Wikipedia are configured by default.

    To find out the format of the search command to use for your favorite
    web search engine, perform a search in your browser and copy the resulting
    URL to the locator filter configuration. Replace the search term with the
    variable \c {%1}.

    To add URLs and search commands to the list:

    \list 1

        \li Select \uicontrol Tools > \uicontrol Options >
            \uicontrol Environment > \uicontrol Locator >
            \uicontrol {Web Search (prefix: r)} > \uicontrol Edit.

        \li Select \uicontrol Add to add a new entry to the list.

            \image qtcreator-add-online-doc.png "List of URLs in Filter Configuration dialog"

        \li Double-click the new entry to specify a URL and a search command.
            For example, \c {http://www.google.com/search?q=%1}.

        \li Click \uicontrol OK.

    \endlist

    \section1 Creating Locator Filters

    You can create custom locator filters for finding in a directory structure
    or on the web.

    To quickly access files not directly mentioned in your project, you can
    create your own directory filters. That way you can locate files in a
    directory structure you have defined.

    To create custom locator filters:

    \list 1

        \li In the locator, select \uicontrol Options >
            \uicontrol Configure to open the \uicontrol Locator options.

            \image qtcreator-locator-customize.png "Locator options tab"

        \li Select \uicontrol Add > \uicontrol {Files in Directories} to add
            a directory filter or \uicontrol {URL Template} to add a URL
            filter. The settings to specify depend on the filter type.

            \image qtcreator-locator-generic-directory-filter.png "Filter Configuration dialog"

        \li In the \uicontrol Name field, enter a name for your filter.

        \li In the \uicontrol Directories field, select at least one
            directory. The locator searches directories recursively.

        \li In the \uicontrol {File pattern} field, specify file patterns to
            restrict the search to files that match the pattern.
            Use a comma separated list. For example, to search for all
            \c {.qml} and \c {.ui.qml} files, enter \c{*.qml,*.ui.qml}

        \li In the \uicontrol {Exclusion pattern} field, specify file
            patterns to omit files from the search.

        \li In the \uicontrol Prefix field, specify the prefix string.

            To implicitly include the filter even when not typing a prefix
            as a part of the search string, select
            \uicontrol {Include by default}.

        \li Select \uicontrol OK.

    \endlist

    \section1 Configuring Locator Cache

    The locator searches the files matching your file pattern in the directories
    you have selected and caches that information. The cache for all default
    filters is updated as you write your code. By default, \QC updates the
    filters created by you once an hour.

    To update the cached information manually, select \uicontrol Options >
    \uicontrol Refresh in the locator.

    To set a new cache update time:

    \list 1

        \li Select \uicontrol Tools > \uicontrol Options >
            \uicontrol Environment > \uicontrol Locator.

        \li In \uicontrol {Refresh interval}, define new time in minutes.

    \endlist

    \section1 Executing JavaScript

    The locator provides access to a JavaScript interpreter, that can be used to
    perform calculations.

    Beside simple mathematical operations, like ((1 + 2) * 3), the following
    built-in functions exist:

    \table
        \header
            \li  Function
            \li  Purpose
        \row
            \li  abs(x)
            \li  Returns the absolute value of x
        \row
            \li  acos(x)
            \li  Returns the arccosine of x, in radians
        \row
            \li  asin(x)
            \li  Returns the arcsine of x, in radians
        \row
            \li  atan(x)
            \li  Returns the arctangent of x, in radians
        \row
            \li  atan2(x, y)
            \li  Returns the arctangent of the quotient of its arguments
        \row
            \li  bin(x)
            \li  Returns the binary representation of x
        \row
            \li  ceil(x)
            \li  Returns the value of x rounded up to the next integer
        \row
            \li  cos(x)
            \li  Returns the cosine of x (x is in radians)
        \row
            \li  exp(x)
            \li  Returns the value of E to the power of x
        \row
            \li  e()
            \li  Returns Euler's number E (2.71828...)
        \row
            \li  floor(x)
            \li  Returns the value of x rounded down to the next integer
        \row
            \li  hex(x)
            \li  Returns the hexadecimal representation of x
        \row
            \li  log(x)
            \li  Returns the natural logarithm (base E) of x
        \row
            \li  max([value1[, value2[, ...]]])
            \li  Returns the highest value of the given numbers
        \row
            \li  min([value1[, value2[, ...]]])
            \li  Returns the lowest value of the given numbers
        \row
            \li  oct(x)
            \li  Returns the octal representation of x
        \row
            \li  pi()
            \li  Returns PI (3.14159...)
        \row
            \li  pow(x, y)
            \li  Returns the value of x to the power of y
        \row
            \li  random()
            \li  Returns a random number between 0 and 1
        \row
            \li  round(x)
            \li  Returns the value of x rounded to the next integer
        \row
            \li  sin(x)
            \li  Returns the sine of x (x is in radians)
        \row
            \li  sqrt(x)
            \li  Returns the square root of x
        \row
            \li  tan(x)
            \li  Returns the tangent of x (x is in radians)
        \endtable
*/