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IntelliSense Support in Visual FoxPro

Visual FoxPro includes IntelliSense support for native Visual FoxPro language elements such as Visual FoxPro commands and functions, and for classes, instantiated objects and their properties, methods, and events, visual objects, the _VFP and _SCREEN system variables, Microsoft ActiveX controls, and COM servers. You can also add IntelliSense support for registered type libraries, user-defined types, members, and code elements, enumerated values, and custom classes.

The following list describes some of the locations where Visual FoxPro provides IntelliSense support:

  • Windows where you can type code, such as the Command window, program (.prg) file editors, code windows, and the Watch window in the Visual FoxPro Debugger.

    Note

    Limited IntelliSense support is available in the Watch window. For more information, see IntelliSense Table Structure. IntelliSense support in program (.prg) files for elements such as class references, ActiveX controls, and COM servers exists only when these elements are strongly typed. For more information, see How to: Implement Strong Typing for Class, Object, and Variable Code.

  • Containers and controls in Visual FoxPro designers, such as the Form Designer.

The following table summarizes the locations where IntelliSense is available for specific Visual FoxPro elements.

Visual FoxPro element

Visual FoxPro editor

Code window

Command window

_SCREEN

A

A

A

_VFP / Applications

A

A

A

Instantiated objects

 

 

A

Visual objects

S

A

 

Class references

S

S

 

ActiveX controls

S

A

 

COM servers

S

S

 

THIS, THISFORM, THISFORMSET

S

A

 

Table and field names

 

 

A

User-defined

A

A

A

A = all appropriate members      S = only strongly typed members

IntelliSense Runtime Support

Selected IntelliSense features are available at run time in distributed Visual FoxPro 9.0 applications. IntelliSense can be explicitly controlled at run time through FoxCode scripts. See Customizing IntelliSense in Visual FoxPro in Help for additional information on how to add IntelliSense to your runtime application.

The following table lists the IntelliSense features that are available at run time.

Feature

Description

Editor opened with MODIFY COMMAND Command

Syntax coloring is available only in an editor opened with the MODIFY COMMAND command. Syntax coloring is supported even if word wrap is turned off.

List Members

Only available through the oFoxCode object in a FoxCode script.

Quick Info

Only available through the oFoxCode object in a FoxCode script.

_FOXCODE System Variable

Available at run time, but you must set its value to the name of the table file used by your runtime application.

_CODESENSE System Variable

Available at runtime, this system variable contains the name of the application that provides functionality for the IntelliSense Manager. By default, the application is FoxCode.app, which also contains the library for the common FoxCode scripts.

Note

An application is not explicitly required for IntelliSense support at run time.

By default, _CODESENSE contains the empty string at run time. You must set its value to the name of the IntelliSense application used by your runtime application.

_VFP.EditorOptions

The EditorOptions Property is not set at run time. You must explicitly set the property at run time to enable IntelliSense support.

FoxCode Field Type = C (Command)

Supported at run time.

FoxCode Field Type = F (Function)

Supported at run time.

FoxCode Field Type = U (User)

Supported at run time.

FoxCode Field Type = S (Script)

Supported at run time.

The following table lists the IntelliSense features that are not available at run time.

Feature

Description

Keyboard Shortcuts

IntelliSense keyboard shortcuts are not available at run time for Automatic List Members, Quick Info, or List Values functionality.

Menu Commands

The IntelliSense List Members and Quick Info commands in the Edit menu are not available in the Visual FoxPro editors at run time.

List Values

Not supported at run time.

Native Object Support

Not supported at run time.

Variable Typing

Not supported at run time.

Most Recently Used List

Not supported at run time.

FoxCode Field Type = T (Typing)

Not supported at run time.

FoxCode Field Type = O (COM Typing)

Not supported at run time.

FoxCode Field Type = P (Property)

Not supported at run time.

FoxCode Field Type = E (XML)

Not supported at run time.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Activate or Disable IntelliSense

How to: View IntelliSense When Writing Code

Reference

IntelliSense Syntax Completion

IntelliSense Auto Table, Field, and Variable Names

IntelliSense Auto MRU (Most Recently Used) Files

Other Resources

IntelliSense Overview