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Preferences


There are several things you need to know about how preferences behave.

First is the file format.  Preferences are stored
in a markup text format.  This means if new preferences are added
in future versions, you will not need to change the format, or run
some utility on your preferences file.

Bookmarks
Document
Documentation
Drag and Drop
DrScript
File Dialog
Find/Replace
General
Line Endings
Plugins
Print
Prompt
Side Panels
Source Browser

Preferences:


Bookmarks:
    This tells DrPython how the Edit Bookmarks Dialog should look.
    Also applies to Documentation Bookmarks.

    Style:
        This sets how the Edit Bookmarks Dialog appears (foreground
        and background color, font, size, underline/bold/italics).

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Document:
    This is "DrFrame.txtDocument". It is the text control that has
    the text of the currently open file.
   
    Line Number Margin Width:
        Sets the margin width in pixels for linenumbers.

    Autoindent:
        Chooses the auto indentation method:
             None:
                 Leave Well Enough Alone!
             Normal:
                Adds the number of tabs up to the first non-whitespace
                character in the previous line on every new line.
             Context Sensitive:
                Same as Normal, but adds an extra indent after ':',
                and dedents after the following statements:
                return, break, pass, continue, raise.

    AutoReload:
       Automatically check (OnActivation of DrPython)
       if any open files have been modified by an outside source.
       It then prompts the user to reload the file.  If not, the modification
       time for the document (in program) is reset.

    Update Indentation:
          Updates indentation type whenever the document is modified.
          Displays the type in the status bar. (->Type)

    Use File's Indentation:
          If on, use the indentation type of the loaded file.
          (Only runs on Open).
          In other words:  If the default indentation type is tabs
          but you load a file that uses spaces, drpython will
          use spaces for indentation for that document, while
          still using tabs as the default for other documents.

    Use Tabs:
       If checked, uses tabs '\t' when you hit the tab key, and for
       for autoindent.  If not, uses the number of spaces specified
       in tabwidth.

    Word Wrap:
        Does not show the horizontal scroolbar, and "wraps" lines
        that are rather long around so they appear as more than one
        line.

    Whitespace is Visible on Startup:
        When DrPython starts up, automatically toggles whitespace is visible.

    Folding:
        Allows the document to "Fold".  This lets you hide or show
        lines of a "block" (eg a class, function or an "if" statement).

    Use Indentation Guides:
        This optionally draws vertical lines, visually connecting
        levels of indentation.

    Long Line Indicator Column:
         Set a column to indicate you have gone past a particular position.
         (79, for example).
         Using a negative number tells DrPython to highlight the text past
         the specified position, instead of drawing a column.
         0 Tells DrPython not to draw anything.

    Scroll Extra Page:
        This tells drpython to set the vertical scroll range to one page
        more than the length of the current document.

    Highlight Current Line:
        Highlights the current line using the Background from the Caret Style.

    Comment String:
        This is the string used to comment out selected regions of code.  By default
        it is '#'.

    Comment Mode:
        Sets where drpython places the comment string.  If Start of Line,
        then at the start of every line in the selected region.  If
        Start of Word, then at the start of the first word of every line in the
        selected region.

   Default Syntax Highlighting:
        Highlight text not recognized via extension THIS WAY.

    Only Use Default Syntax Highlighting:
        Only use the syntax highlighting specified above, no matter
        what extension a file has.

    Style:
        This sets how different kinds of text appear (foreground and
        background color, font, size, underline/bold/italics).

        You can choose to Not use styles at all, use them, or use
        only "Normal" and "Caret Foreground".

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Documentation:
    This sets the behavior of the built in help, and external documentation.

    Browser:
       The preferred browser for viewing the documentation

    Python Docs:
        The Official Python Documentation.  Sets the location.  

    WxWindows Docs:
        The WxWindows Documentation.  Sets the location.

    Regular Expression Howto:
        A guide to regular expressions for python programmers.

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Drag and Drop:
   
This sets the behaviour of drag and drop in drpython.

    Drag and Drop Mode:
      This can be set to one of three values:
          Drag: Files Only, Drop: Files and Text
             Turns off Text Drag, but allows you to drag
             text from outside of the program.
          Drag: Files and Text, Drop: Files and Text
             Turns on Text Drag and Drop
          Drag and Drop Files Only:
             Completely Turns off Text Drag and Drop.

    Drag and Drop Text Mode:
       Sets whether or not Dragging and Dropping Text
       within drpython is a cut or a copy operation.

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DrScript:
    This sets the behavior of Adding/Creating a Script.

    Default Directory:
       This tells DrPython what directory to set the Add/New Script Dialog to.

    Style:
        This sets how the Move/Rename Scripts Dialog appears (foreground
        and background color, font, size, underline/bold/italics).

    Load Examples:
       Loads all example scripts from the DrPython program directory, and places them
       in a submenu of DrScript.  Note that disabling this option will remove any Shortcuts
       for these Scripts. (If you subsequently update DrScript Shortcuts)

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File Dialog:
   
This sets the behaviour of file dialogs in drpython.

    Use wx.FileDialog:
          If you want to use the default wxPython File Dialog, check this option.
          Only the wildcard preference will be used in this case.

    Wildcard:
          This is the string used by wxPython to determine what file types to
          show.  The format is:
          DescriptionA|ExtensionPatternA1;ExtensionPatternA2|DescriptionB|ExtensionPatternB1;ExtensionPatternB2
          '|' separates File Types.  Here is an example:
          "Python Files (*.py *.pyw)|*.py;*.pyw|All Files (*)|*"

          You can use the editor to add entries to the wildcard string.

          If all entries are removed, "All Files (*)|*" is automatically set as the wildcard.

    Constant Wildcard:
          You can set this in the wildcard editor.  It is simply a pattern (eg "*.py") that
          is always visible, no matter what file type is selected in the file dialog.

    Windows Shortcut Replace Table:
          This is only needed/used on non windows systems.

          This contains info for replacing strings found in windows shortcuts (*.lnk) with
          the correct paths.  So for example, if your C: drive is mounted on /mnt/win_c,
          you could enter "C" for Windows Pattern, and "/mnt/win_c" for Replace String.

          The Replace Table uses regular expressions for the Windows Pattern, and two
          special characters for the Replace String.  So the entry:
          Windows Pattern:  "[A-D]"
          Replace String: "/mnt/win/@"
         
          would replace any drive A-D (eg "C:" with "/mnt/win/c") with the lowercase matching string.
          if the Replace String was "/mnt/win_&", it would yield "/mnt/win_C".

          Any valid regular expression will work for the Windows Pattern.

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Find/Replace:
    Most of these are the defaults for the Find/Replace/Switcheroo Dialogs.
    The last governs the find/replace dialog behaviour.

    Regular Expression:
       Evaluates the search text as a regular expression.
       Only Searches Forward.
   
    Match Case:
       Case-Sensitive Search.

    Find Backwards:
       Search from the end of the target text.

    Whole Word:
       Only match whole words (whitespace on either side).

    In Selection:
       If there is selected text, then only search within the selected text.

    From Cursor:
        Search from the current position in the document, rather than from the start.

    Prompt on Replace:
        Prompt the user on each replace operation, and let the user decide whether
        or not to replace the target text, or skip it.

    Auto Wrap:
        If on, when the start/end of the document is reached during find,
        automatically wrap around.

    Under Cursor:
        The Find/Replace Dialog sets the word under the cursor as the findtext
        if no text is selected.

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General:
    These apply to the program as a whole.

    Remember Window Size:
           Remembers the size of the drpython window.

    Remember Dialog Sizes and Positions:
           Remembers the sizes and positions of all main dialogs.

    Auto Detect Encoding:
           Automatically detects Unicode, and encodes the Opening and Saving
           of documents, saving the Prompt text, and sending prompt text to
           the currently running program.

    Save On Run:
           Automatically saves the current document before running.

    Prompt On Save All:
           Prompt before saving all modified documents.

    Max Number of Recent Files:
           This tells DrPython how many recent files to
           keep track of.  0 is the least you can enter,
           and will cause DrPython to ignore recent files.

    Tab Width:
          This tells DrPython how big to make tabs look ('\t').
          For example, 8 will make a single tab look like 8 spaces.

    Python Arguments:
          This sends the given arguments directly to
          python when you run a file, debug a file, or run the
          python interpreter on its own.  A Common argument
          is "-i" (typed in without any quotes).
          This will tell python to switch to interactive mode
          after the current file has finished running.
          More arguments can be found in the python documentation,
          or by typing "python -h" at the command prompt.

    Encoding:
          This tells DrPython how to encode files by default when saving them,
          as well as the default encoding to use when sending commands through the
          prompt.

    Custom Encoding:
          Here you can type in the text of the encoding you wish to use.  For example,
          "utf-16".  Type in "<None>" to have DrPython ignore encoding (Default).
          Be Sure to Set "Encoding" to "Custom" to use this option.

    Auto-Detect UTF-8 Encoding:
          Automatically detect if a file has utf-8 (unicode) encoding.

    Icon Size:
       This tells DrPython how big the toolbar needs to be.
         Selecting 0 will (on restart) tell DrPython to
         not load the ToolBar at all.

    Icon File:
       If left blank, or if an invalid file name is given, DrPython
       will load the default files.  Otherwise DrPython will read
       the .dis file, and will load the bitmaps detailed within.
       More on Dis Files
      
    Default Directory:
         This tells DrPython where to look for files initially. 
         Once a file has been opened, DrPython sets the
         current directory to the file's directory.

    Enable Feedback:
          This allows pop up windows to tell you if operations were
          successful (For example, successfully updated preferences).

    Always Prompt On Exit:
          This tells DrPython to always ask if the user wants to exit, even if there is
          no current file, or the current file has been saved.

    Backup File On Save:
          Whenever you save a file, before DrPython writes to the file,
          it will make a renamed copy (the filename with ".bak" attached)
          in the same folder.

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Line Endings:
    This is the line ending used when saving files.

    Check Line Ending Format on Open:
       This tells DrPython to check to see if your default line ending is used as
       the line ending when you open a file.

    Line Ending Format:
       The Default is Unix ('\n').  You can also select Windows ('\r\n') or Mac ('\r').

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Plugins:
    These are the preferences for configuring plugins.

    Default Directory:
       The default directory for installing plugins and plugin indexes.

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Print:
    These are the preferences for printing.

    Document Line Numbers:
       This tells DrPython whether or not to print line numbers when printing
       the current file.

    Prompt Line Numbers:
       This tells DrPython whether or not to print line numbers when printing
       the text of the prompt.

    Tab Width:
        This tells DrPython how big to make tabs look ('\t') when printing.
        For example, 5 will make a single tab look like 5 spaces.

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Prompt:
    This is "DrFrame.txtPrompt". It is the text control that has
    the input and output of the currently running program.
   
    Line Number Margin Width:
        Sets the margin width in pixels for linenumbers.

    Visible By Default:
        If True, tells DrPython to show the prompt by default for each document.

    Use Tabs:
       If checked, uses tabs '\t' when you hit the tab key.
       If not, uses the number of spaces specified in tabwidth.

    Word Wrap:
       Does not show the horizontal scroolbar, and "wraps" lines
       that are rather long around so they appear as more than one
       line.

    Whitespace is Visible on Startup:
        When DrPython starts up, automatically toggles whitespace is visible.

    Scroll Extra Page:
        This tells drpython to set the vertical scroll range to one page
        more than the length of the prompt.

    Vertical Size:
        Sets the percentage size of the prompt vs the document when
        the prompt is visible.  25% for the prompt means 75% for the document.

    Style:
        This sets how different kinds of text appear (foreground and
        background color, font, size, underline/bold/italics).

        You can choose to Not use styles at all, use them, or use
        only "Normal" and "Caret Foreground".

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Side Panels:
    This sets the defaults for the side panels.

    Left Panel Size:
       The default size (percentage of the total window) for the left panel.

    Right Panel Size:
       The default size (percentage of the total window) for the right panel.

    Top Panel Size:
       The default size (percentage of the total window) for the top panel.

    Bottom Panel Size:
       The default size (percentage of the total window) for the bottom panel.

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Source Browser:
    This tells DrPython how the source browser looks and acts.

    Position:
         Have the Source Browser appear in a panel to
         the left, right, top, or bottom of the current document.

    Visible By Default:
        If True, tells DrPython to show the source browser by default for each document.

    Close On Activate:
       When you activate an item (select it with a double click, or with the keyboard),
       this tells DrPython whether or not to close the Source Browser window.

    Sorted(Alphabetical):
       This tells DrPython whether or not to sort classes/functions/import statements alphabetically,
       or leave them in the order they appear in the program.

    Style:
        This sets how the source browser appears (foreground and
        background color, font, size, underline/bold/italics).

    Auto Refresh on Save:
         Automatically refreshes the source browser on save.

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