Chapter 3. Interface

Table of Contents
Menubar
Toolbars
Project management
BlackAdder Configuration
Editing
Python shell
Conclusion

In this chapter we quickly walk through the various components of the BlackAdder IDE. Once you have BlackAdder installed, you can start it by typing ba at the Unix shell prompt, or double-clicking the new icon on your desktop. You'll be greeted by a stylish splash screen, followed by the BlackAdder application window.

Note: Please keep in mind that this chapter was written using the beta version of BlackAdder. As a result, certain aspects of BlackAdder were not yet in their final form. For instance, the toolbar icons are expected to change.

BlackAdder and its ‘About' dialog.

If, on the other hand, you are confronted by a window telling you that the Python interpreter has died, you will probably need to correctly set the path to the Python interpreter executable (either python or python.exe on Windows), as described in the Section called Linux in Chapter 2.

Python has given the ghost.

However, if all is well, you can start exploring your new development environment.

Menubar

The BlackAdder menubar combines functionality for the editing of Python source code and the creation of GUI forms.

The Tools, Layout and Preview menus contain commands for the creation of forms, while Run is used to start and debug Python scripts. File and Edit have commands for both tasks.

You can hide or unhide various important parts of BlackAdder with options from the Window menu. These are the project Explorer, the Property Editor, the Object Hierarchy window, the Traceback viewer and the Python interpreter window.