Navigator Window in the MPLAB® X IDE
The Navigator Window provides a compact view of the file that is currently selected, and simplifies navigation between different parts of the file.
By default, the Navigator Window is located in the lower left hand corner of the MPLAB X IDE® workspace below the Projects and Files Windows. To open the Navigator Window, open the Window Menu and select Navigator as shown:
Opening the Navigator Window
The Navigator Window then opens as shown. The next task is to make the Navigator Window display contents that make file navigation simple.
The Navigator Window
Displaying a source file's information in the Navigator Window:
There are 4 ways to go about bringing file information to the navigator window. The first three follow. In all these methods the focus must be given to a file in the window before the Navigator Window is clicked.
Projects Window
Files Window
Favorites Window
Aside from the Projects Window, the Files Window, or the Favorites Window, the Navigator Window contents may also reflect the contents of the Editor Window.
Of all these available sources for the Navigator Window, the most recent selection is the one that controls the Navigator Window contents. As an example, if one file is selected in the Projects Window, and a second file is selected in the Files Window, the Navigator Window contents will reflect the Files Window selection and not the Projects Window selection.
Options available in the Navigator Window:
The most basic option is that double clicking on an element in the Navigator Window goes to that element in the source code.
In addition to double clicking, right clicking on the white space in the Navigator Window opens options to sort, group, expand, and filter the contents of the Navigator Window. The Kind Filters option selects the types of elements displayed in the Navigator Window.
Right clicking on an element in the Navigator Window also adds options to Go to Source, Rename, Find Usages, and Change Function Parameters. The Rename option permits users to refactor item names throughout the project. The Change Function Parameters option opens a dialog to refactor function prototypes, declarations, and usages throughout the project. Find Usages is documented in How to work with Find Usages and the Go to Source option goes to the source file location in the editor for the item selected.
