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<div align="right"><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif" size="2">Copyright
&copy; 2004-2006 Ed Burnette.</font>
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				face="Arial,Helvetica"><font color="#ffffff">Eclipse Article</font></font></b></td>
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<h1 title="RCP Tutorial"><img src="../images/Idea.jpg" align="middle"
	width="120" height="86" alt=""></h1>
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<h1 align="center">Rich Client Tutorial Part 3</h1>
<p class="summary">The Rich Client Platform (RCP) lets you reuse common
functionality from the Eclipse IDE in your own applications. Parts 1 and
2 of this tutorial introduced you to the platform with a very simple
example that did nothing but open a blank window. Part 3 discusses a
more complicated example with menus, views, and other features. This
part has been updated for Eclipse 3.1.2</p>
<p><b>By Ed Burnette, SAS</b><br>
<font size="-1">July 28, 2004<br>
<font size="-1"><b>Updated for 3.1.2:</b> February 6, 2006</font></font></p>
<hr width="100%">

<h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>The previous two parts examined a simple application that
demonstrated the basic concepts of the Rich Client Platform (RCP). We
used one of the plug-in project templates provided by the Eclipse SDK
called "Hello RCP". Now it's time to delve a little deeper into a more
complex application. We could add one thing at a time to the simple
application, but in practice that's not the best way to do it.</p>
<p>When you're writing these apps yourself, the quickest way is to find
a template or other application that is close to the one you want to
build and copy that. That's exactly what we'll do here, using a
different template called "RCP Mail". By the end of this tutorial you
should have the information you need to understand how this sample works
so you can adapt it for your own application.</p>
<h2>RCP Mail template</h2>
<p>The RCP Mail template is not a functioning mail application but
instead is a sample standalone RCP example provided with the Eclipse SDK
that demonstrates how to:</p>
<ul>
	<li>add top-level menus and toolbars with actions</li>
	<li>add keybindings to actions</li>
	<li>create views that can't be closed and multiple instances of the
	same view</li>
	<li>create perspectives with placeholders for new views</li>
	<li>use the default About dialog</li>
	<li>create a product definition</li>
</ul>
<p>As in part 1, to create the example, select <b>File &gt; New &gt;
Project</b>, then expand <b>Plug-in Development</b> and double-click <b>Plug-in
Project</b> to bring up the Plug-in Project wizard. On the subsequent
pages, enter a Project name such as <b>org.eclipse.ui.tutorials.rcp.part3</b>,
indicate you want a Java project, select the version of Eclipse you're
targetting (at least 3.1), and enable the option to Create an OSGi
bundle manifest. Then click <b>Next &gt;</b>.</p>
<p>For the option "Would you like to create a rich client application?".
Select <b>Yes</b>. Leave all the other options at their default values.
Click <b>Next &gt;</b> to continue.</p>

<p>Enable the option to Create a plug-in using one of the templates,
then select the RCP Mail Template. Click <b>Finish</b> to accept all the
defaults and generate the project (see Figure 1).</p>

<p><img src="../images/note.gif" alt="Note: " width="62" height="13">
All the source code for this part can be found in the <a
	href="part3.zip">accompanying zip file</a>.</p>

<p><img src="images/part3project_cs.png" alt=""></p>
<p><b>Figure 1. The example generated by the RCP Mail Template can serve
as a skeleton for your own RCP application.</b></p>

<p>Test the application by clicking on "Launch an Eclipse application"
from the Plug-in Manifest Editor. If it works you should see the
application shown in Figure 2.</p>
<p><img src="images/rcpmail_s.png" alt=""></p>
<p><b>Figure 2. The RCP Mail Template can serve as a skeleton for your
own RCP application. </b></p>

<h2>Views</h2>
<p>RCP Mail has two views, one on the left that shows all your waiting
mail messages, and one on the right that examines a particular mail
message. These views are defined in plugin.xml using the <code>org.eclipse.ui.views</code>
extension point. Listing 1 shows the definition of the Message view.</p>

<p><b>Listing 1. Message view defined in plugin.xml</b></p>
<pre>
   &lt;extension
         point="org.eclipse.ui.views"&gt;
      &lt;view
            name="Message"
            allowMultiple="true"
            icon="icons/sample2.gif"
            class="org.eclipse.ui.tutorials.rcp.part3.View"
            id="org.eclipse.ui.tutorials.rcp.part3.view"&gt;
      &lt;/view&gt;
   &lt;/extension&gt;
</pre>
<p>The sample2.gif file is a 16x16 icon in GIF format used for the
view's title bar. The <code>id</code> attribute is just a unique string
that identifies the view. The <code>class</code> attribute specifies the
fully qualified name of your View class (see below). The <code>allowMultiple</code>
option lets you have more than one view of a particular type active at
once. By default, Eclipse would only let you have one.</p>
<p>The View class extends the abstract class <code>org.eclipse.ui.part.ViewPart</code>.
A partial listing is shown in Listing 2. Only the <code>createPartControl()</code>
and <code>setFocus()</code> methods need to be implemented.</p>

<p><b>Listing 2. View.java</b></p>
<tt class="java"><font class="java10"> &#xA0;&#xA0;</font><font
	class="java4">public class </font><font class="java10">View </font><font
	class="java4">extends </font><font class="java10">ViewPart </font><font
	class="java8">{<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;<br />
<img src="../images/tag_1.gif" height="13" width="24" align="center"
	alt="#1"> </font><font class="java4">public static final </font><font
	class="java10">String ID = </font><font class="java5">&#34;org.eclipse.ui.tutorials.rcp.part3.view&#34;</font><font
	class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; <br />
<img src="../images/tag_2.gif" height="13" width="24" align="center"
	alt="#2"> </font><font class="java4">public </font><font class="java9">void
</font><font class="java10">createPartControl</font><font class="java8">(</font><font
	class="java10">Composite parent</font><font class="java8">) {<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java10">Composite top
= </font><font class="java4">new </font><font class="java10">Composite</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">parent, SWT.NONE</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; ...etc...<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java8">}<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java4">public </font><font
	class="java9">void </font><font class="java10">setFocus</font><font
	class="java8">() {<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; }<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;}</font></tt>

<p>Notes:</p>
<table border="0">
	<tr>
		<td valign="baseline"><img src="../images/tag_1.gif" height="13"
			width="24" alt="#1"></td>
		<td>Defining constants that start with <code>ID_</code> is a pattern
		you'll see used over and over again in the Eclipse source code. Here
		we use it to duplicate the same id used in the plug-in manifest. This
		will be used later when we need a reference to the view.</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td valign="baseline"><img src="../images/tag_2.gif" height="13"
			width="24" alt="#2"></td>
		<td>The most important part of this class is the <code>createPartControl</code>
		method. This is where you will create your JFace or SWT controls that
		make up the view. View programming is beyond the scope of this
		tutorial but the reference section has some resources you can use to
		learn more.</td>
	</tr>
</table>

<p>You may be wondering, how does Eclipse know to put the Mailbox view
on the left and the Messages view on the right? That's where the
Perspective comes in.</p>

<h2>Perspectives</h2>

<p>Views (and editors) can only appear in the context of a <i>perspective</i>.
The perspective is defined in plugin.xml with the <code>org.eclipse.ui.perspectives</code>
extension. The initial layout for it (i.e., what parts it starts up
with) is set up in code. Listing 3 shows the layout for the perspective
in the RCP Mail application.</p>

<p><b>Listing 3. Perspective.java</b></p>
<tt class="java"><font class="java4"> &#xA0;&#xA0;</font><font
	class="java4">public class </font><font class="java10">Perspective </font><font
	class="java4">implements </font><font class="java10">IPerspectiveFactory
</font><font class="java8">{<br />
<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java4">public </font><font
	class="java9">void </font><font class="java10">createInitialLayout</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">IPageLayout layout</font><font
	class="java8">) {<br />
<img src="../images/tag_1.gif" height="13" width="24" align="center"
	alt="#1">&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java10">String editorArea =
layout.getEditorArea</font><font class="java8">()</font><font
	class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; layout.setEditorAreaVisible</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java4">false</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; <br />
<img src="../images/tag_2.gif" height="13" width="24" align="center"
	alt="#2">&#xA0;&#xA0; layout.addStandaloneView</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">NavigationView.ID, false,
IPageLayout.LEFT, </font><font class="java7">0.25f</font><font
	class="java10">, editorArea</font><font class="java8">)</font><font
	class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; <br />
<img src="../images/tag_3.gif" height="13" width="24" align="center"
	alt="#3">&#xA0;&#xA0; IFolderLayout folder = layout.createFolder</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java5">&#34;messages&#34;</font><font
	class="java10">, IPageLayout.TOP, </font><font class="java7">0.5f</font><font
	class="java10">, editorArea</font><font class="java8">)</font><font
	class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; folder.addPlaceholder</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">View.ID + </font><font
	class="java5">&#34;:*&#34;</font><font class="java8">)</font><font
	class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; folder.addView</font><font class="java8">(</font><font
	class="java10">View.ID</font><font class="java8">)</font><font
	class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; <br />
<img src="../images/tag_4.gif" height="13" width="24" align="center"
	alt="#4">&#xA0;&#xA0; layout.getViewLayout</font><font class="java8">(</font><font
	class="java10">NavigationView.ID</font><font class="java8">)</font><font
	class="java10">.setCloseable</font><font class="java8">(</font><font
	class="java4">false</font><font class="java8">)</font><font
	class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java8">}<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;}</font></tt>

<p>Notes:</p>
<table border="0">
	<tr>
		<td valign="baseline"><img src="../images/tag_1.gif" height="13"
			width="24" alt="#1"></td>
		<td>Since this example doesn't use editors you turn off the editor
		area here so you won't have a big blank space in the middle of your
		Workbench Window. If you have editors, leave this out.</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td valign="baseline"><img src="../images/tag_2.gif" height="13"
			width="24" alt="#2"></td>
		<td>This line adds the Navigation view to the perspective so it will
		be visible by default. It's a <i>standalone</i> view meaning it can't
		be docked or stacked with other views, and it doesn't have a title
		bar. The positioning parameters say to place this view to the left of
		the editor area and let it take 1/4 of the horizontal space of the
		Workbench Window. This might be a little strange since we don't have
		an editor area but it's lurking around somewhere even if it's
		invisible.</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td valign="baseline"><img src="../images/tag_3.gif" height="13"
			width="24" alt="#3"></td>
		<td>Remember when the Messages view was created earlier, it used the <code>allowMultiple="true"</code>
		option? This means you can't give a position for "the" Messages view
		because there can be more than one. So first, you create a place for
		them all to be stacked on top of each other (a <i>folder</i>). Then
		you call <code>addPlaceholder()</code> to associate that folder with
		the pattern that will match the ids of all Message views. Finally, you
		call <code>addView()</code> to add one Message view for demonstration
		purposes. In a real application you would probably remember which
		messages were previously open and re-open those here when you restart
		the program.</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td valign="baseline"><img src="../images/tag_4.gif" height="13"
			width="24" alt="#4"></td>
		<td>Just for good measure, we make the Navigation view unclosable. We
		always want our list of mailboxes to be visible. This is covered in
		more detail below.</td>
	</tr>
</table>
<p><img src="../images/tip.gif" alt="Tip: " width="62" height="13"> To
remember the user's layout and window sizes for the next time they start
your application, add <code>configurer.setSaveAndRestore(true);</code>
to the <code>initialize()</code> method of <code>WorkbenchAdvisor</code>.</p>

<h3>Unclosable and unmoveable views</h3>
<p>By default, views will be moveable, resizeable, and closable. Often
you don't want that flexibility. For example, if you're writing an order
entry application for unsophisticated users, you don't want to have to
answer help desk questions about what to do if somebody accidentally
closes the form view. For this reason the Eclipse platform supports the
notion of <i>fixed</i> perspectives and <i>unclosable/unmoveable</i>
views.</p>

<p>The RCP Mail example set the Navigation view to be unclosable by
using the <code>setCloseable()</code> method. A better way might be to
use a fixed perspective. A fixed perspective makes all of the views it
contains unclosable, plus it prevents any of them from being moved or
resized. To make a perspective fixed, you could call the <code>setFixed(true)</code>
method on the layout inside <code>createInitialLayout()</code>, or
simply add the <code>fixed="true"</code> attribute to its definition in
plugin.xml.</p>

<p>By using a fixed perspective and turning off the shortcut bar, you
can lock the user into one perspective and hide the concept of
perspectives from them altogether.</p>

<h2>Menus and Toolbars</h2>
<p>Letting people configure all the menus and toolbars was one of the
first, most basic requirement of the Rich Client Platform. There are two
ways to add menus and toolbars in an RCP application:</p>
<ul>
	<li>Extend the <code>ActionBarAdvisor</code> class in Java code, or</li>
	<li>Use the <code>org.eclipse.ui.actionSets</code> extension in the
	plug-in manifest</li>
</ul>
<p>Extending <code>ActionBarAdvisor</code> is the only way to reference
built-in Workbench actions, so the example uses that technique (see
Listing 4). If you're trying to use the same code in a stand-alone RCP
application and a plug-in for the Eclipse IDE, the best practice is to
use <code>org.eclipse.ui.actionSets</code> as much as possible.</p>

<p><img src="../images/note.gif" alt="Note: " width="62" height="13">
Actions, commands, menus, and toolbars are undergoing some restructuring
in Eclipse 3.2 or 3.3 so this section is likely to change.
See <a href="https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=36968">bug 36968</a>
for more information.</p>

<p><b>Listing 4. ApplicationActionBarAdvisor.java</b></p>

<tt class="java"><font class="java4"> </font><font class="java14">/**<br />
* An action bar advisor is responsible for creating, adding, and
disposing of the<br />
* actions added to a workbench window. Each window will be populated
with<br />
* new actions.<br />
*/<br />
</font><font class="java4">public class </font><font class="java10">ApplicationActionBarAdvisor
</font><font class="java4">extends </font><font class="java10">ActionBarAdvisor
</font><font class="java8">{<br />
<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java3">// Actions - important to
allocate these only in makeActions, and then use them<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; // in the fill methods.&#xA0; This ensures that the
actions aren't recreated<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; // when fillActionBars is called with FILL_PROXY.<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java4">private </font><font
	class="java10">IWorkbenchAction exitAction;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java4">private </font><font
	class="java10">IWorkbenchAction aboutAction;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java4">private </font><font
	class="java10">IWorkbenchAction newWindowAction;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java4">private </font><font
	class="java10">OpenViewAction openViewAction;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java4">private </font><font
	class="java10">Action messagePopupAction;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; <br />
<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java4">public </font><font
	class="java10">ApplicationActionBarAdvisor</font><font class="java8">(</font><font
	class="java10">IActionBarConfigurer configurer</font><font
	class="java8">) {<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java4">super</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">configurer</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java8">}<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; <br />
<img src="../images/tag_1.gif" height="13" width="24" align="center"
	alt="#1"> </font><font class="java4">protected </font><font
	class="java9">void </font><font class="java10">makeActions</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java4">final </font><font
	class="java10">IWorkbenchWindow window</font><font class="java8">) {<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java3">//
Creates the actions and registers them.<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; // Registering is needed to
ensure that key bindings work.<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; // The corresponding commands
keybindings are defined in the plugin.xml file.<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; // Registering also provides
automatic disposal of the actions when<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; // the window is closed.<br />
<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java10">exitAction
= ActionFactory.QUIT.create</font><font class="java8">(</font><font
	class="java10">window</font><font class="java8">)</font><font
	class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; register</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">exitAction</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; <br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; aboutAction =
ActionFactory.ABOUT.create</font><font class="java8">(</font><font
	class="java10">window</font><font class="java8">)</font><font
	class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; register</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">aboutAction</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; <br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; newWindowAction =
ActionFactory.OPEN_NEW_WINDOW.create</font><font class="java8">(</font><font
	class="java10">window</font><font class="java8">)</font><font
	class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; register</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">newWindowAction</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; <br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; openViewAction = </font><font
	class="java4">new </font><font class="java10">OpenViewAction</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">window, </font><font
	class="java5">&#34;Open Another Message View&#34;</font><font
	class="java10">, View.ID</font><font class="java8">)</font><font
	class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; register</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">openViewAction</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; <br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; messagePopupAction = </font><font
	class="java4">new </font><font class="java10">MessagePopupAction</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java5">&#34;Open Message&#34;</font><font
	class="java10">, window</font><font class="java8">)</font><font
	class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; register</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">messagePopupAction</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java8">}<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; <br />
<img src="../images/tag_2.gif" height="13" width="24" align="center"
	alt="#2"> </font><font class="java4">protected </font><font
	class="java9">void </font><font class="java10">fillMenuBar</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">IMenuManager menuBar</font><font
	class="java8">) {<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java10">MenuManager
fileMenu = </font><font class="java4">new </font><font class="java10">MenuManager</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java5">&#34;&amp;File&#34;</font><font
	class="java10">, IWorkbenchActionConstants.M_FILE</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; MenuManager helpMenu = </font><font
	class="java4">new </font><font class="java10">MenuManager</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java5">&#34;&amp;Help&#34;</font><font
	class="java10">, IWorkbenchActionConstants.M_HELP</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; <br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; menuBar.add</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">fileMenu</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java3">//
Add a group marker indicating where action set menus will appear.<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java10">menuBar.add</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java4">new </font><font
	class="java10">GroupMarker</font><font class="java8">(</font><font
	class="java10">IWorkbenchActionConstants.MB_ADDITIONS</font><font
	class="java8">))</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; menuBar.add</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">helpMenu</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; <br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java3">//
File<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java10">fileMenu.add</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">newWindowAction</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; fileMenu.add</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java4">new </font><font
	class="java10">Separator</font><font class="java8">())</font><font
	class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; fileMenu.add</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">messagePopupAction</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; fileMenu.add</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">openViewAction</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; fileMenu.add</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java4">new </font><font
	class="java10">Separator</font><font class="java8">())</font><font
	class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; fileMenu.add</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">exitAction</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; <br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java3">//
Help<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java10">helpMenu.add</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">aboutAction</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java8">}<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; <br />
<img src="../images/tag_3.gif" height="13" width="24" align="center"
	alt="#3"> </font><font class="java4">protected </font><font
	class="java9">void </font><font class="java10">fillCoolBar</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">ICoolBarManager coolBar</font><font
	class="java8">) {<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java10">IToolBarManager
toolbar = </font><font class="java4">new </font><font class="java10">ToolBarManager</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">SWT.FLAT | SWT.RIGHT</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; coolBar.add</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java4">new </font><font
	class="java10">ToolBarContributionItem</font><font class="java8">(</font><font
	class="java10">toolbar, </font><font class="java5">&#34;main&#34;</font><font
	class="java8">))</font><font class="java10">;&#xA0;&#xA0; <br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; toolbar.add</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">openViewAction</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; toolbar.add</font><font
	class="java8">(</font><font class="java10">messagePopupAction</font><font
	class="java8">)</font><font class="java10">;<br />
&#xA0;&#xA0;&#xA0; </font><font class="java8">}<br />
}</font></tt>

<p>Notes:</p>
<table border="0">
	<tr>
		<td valign="baseline"><img src="../images/tag_1.gif" height="13"
			width="24" alt="#1"></td>
		<td><code>makeActions()</code> is called by the Platform to create all
		the <i>actions</i> that will be referenced in the menus and toolbars.
		An action is a simple object that has a user interface component
		(i.e., the way it appears in a menu or toolbar) and a functionality
		component (i.e., what it does). A list of supported Workbench actions
		can be found by looking at the Javadoc for <code>ActionFactory</code>
		and <code>ContributionItemFactory</code>.</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td valign="baseline"><img src="../images/tag_2.gif" height="13"
			width="24" alt="#2"></td>
		<td><code>fillMenuBar()</code> is called to populate the Workbench's
		menu bar with whatever actions you would like to have appear there.
		The RCP Mail example has two top level menus, "File" and "Help". First
		you create a MenuManager for each of the top level menus. Then you add
		the menus to the menu bar, and the actions to the menus. See the
		references section for more information about defining views and
		menus.</td>
	</tr>
	<tr>
		<td valign="baseline"><img src="../images/tag_3.gif" height="13"
			width="24" alt="#3"></td>
		<td><code>fillCoolBar()</code> defines the main coolbar for the
		Workbench. A <i>coolbar</i> is a collection of toolbars, and a <i>toolbar</i>
		is a collection of actions. In this example there is only one toolbar.
		You create a new toolbar manager to hold it, add the toolbar to the
		coolbar, and then add the actions to the toolbar.</td>
	</tr>
</table>

<p><img src="../images/note.gif" alt="Note: " width="62" height="13">
It's always a good idea to create some placeholders (like <code>MB_ADDITIONS</code>)
where additional menu items can be added by plug-ins. There are a number
of standard placeholder names for menus and toolbars that you should use
when trying to make yours work just like the ones in the IDE. By using
these predefined groups, plug-ins that contribute menu and toolbar items
to the Eclipse IDE can also contribute them to your RCP application.
These aren't documented anywhere other than in the Javadoc for <code>IWorkbenchActionConstants</code>,
and even there you won't find any guidance for their intended order. The
best reference is the source code for the Eclipse IDE itself.</p>

<h2>Making it a product</h2>
<p>The RCP Mail template already defines a product using the <code>org.eclipse.core.runtime.products</code>
extension. However it doesn't come with a <code>.products</code> file so
you'll need to make one for full branding and customization. Right click
on the project and select <b>New &gt; Product Configuration</b>. Select
the existing product ID (<code>org.eclipse.ui.tutorials.rcp.part3.product</code>)
and the existing application (<code>org.eclipse.ui.tutorials.rcp.part3.application</code>)
from the dropdown lists. Then provide a Product Name such as <b>RCP
Tutorial 3</b>. Finally, switch to the Configuration tab and add the
plug-ins just like you did in part 1. Save your work and test out
launching the product to make sure it still works that way.</p>

<h2>Branding</h2>
<p>While the application is still running, select <b>Help &gt; About RCP
Tutorial 3</b>. You should get a generic dialog that looks like Figure
3.</p>

<p><img src="images/about1_s.png" alt=""></p>
<p><b>Figure 3. The standard About box looks like this before branding
is applied.</b></p>

<p>Let's spruce that up a little to demonstrate RCP's branding options.
Exit the sample application and switch to the Branding tab of the
Product Configuration editor. Find the section that has options for the
About Dialog. Next to the Image option click on the Browse button and
select <b>product_lg.gif</b> in the plug-in project. This file was put
there by the RCP Mail template, but you could easily supply your own.
Click OK to continue.</p>

<p>Now click in the Text section and type in whatever you want your
About box to say, such as the name of your product, the version number,
instructions for getting support, and any necessary copyright and
licensing information. When you're done, save the configuration, go back
to the Overview tab, click Synchronize, and Launch again. When the
application comes up, bring up the About box and you'll see something
like Figure 4.</p>

<p><img src="images/about2_s.png" alt=""></p>
<p><b>Figure 4. With a branding you can add those little touches that
make the application your own.</b></p>

<p><img src="../images/tip.gif" alt="Tip: " width="62" height="13"> Be
sure to include any "extra" files like images and icons in your
plug-in's Build Configuration (the Build tab in the Plug-in Manifest
editor, or the <code>build.properties</code> file). Otherwise they won't
make it into the plug-in's jar file or be copied during an Export
operation. The template we used already took care of that, but it's easy
to forget in your own applications.</p>

<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>Congratulations! If you made it this far, you are well on your way to
developing your own Rich Client Platform applications. In this part of
the tutorial, we picked apart the RCP Mail template to see how it works.
Now you can use it as a starting point for your own projects instead of
beginning from scratch. Take a look at the references below for more
information and community sites where you can discuss RCP with other
developers who are using it. All the source code for this part can be
found in the <a href="part3.zip">accompanying zip file</a>.</p>


<h2>References</h2>
<p><a href="../Article-RCP-1/tutorial1.html">RCP Tutorial Part 1</a><br>
<a href="../Article-RCP-2/tutorial2.html">RCP Tutorial Part 2</a><br>
<a href="http://www.eclipse.org/rcp" target="_blank">Eclipse Rich Client
Platform</a><br>
<a href="../viewArticle/ViewArticle2.html">Creating an Eclipse View</a><br>
<a href="../Online%20Help/help1.htm">Contributing a Little Help</a><br>
</p>


<p>To discuss or report problems in this article see <a
	href="https://bugs.eclipse.org/bugs/show_bug.cgi?id=104171">bug 104171</a>.</p>

<p><small>IBM is trademark of International Business Machines
Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.</small></p>
<p><small>Java and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States,
other countries, or both.</small></p>
<p><small>Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation
in the United States, other countries, or both.</small></p>
<p><small>Other company, product, and service names may be trademarks or
service marks of others.</small></p>

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