The Code Bubbles How-To Page

When on the main bubble area

When on a bubble's border

When inside a bubble

When on a bubble group outline

When on a singleton bubble group outline

When on a link between bubbles

When in the overview bar

When in the top bar

When in the top bar


When on the main bubble area:

To scroll the bubble area

To scroll the bubble area, drag with the right mouse button. Alternatively, you can use the arrow keys while pressing the Control (Command on the Mac) key.

To resize a bubble

To resize a bubble, press the left mouse button on the proper border and then drag to make the bubble the desired size.

To move a bubble

To move a bubble, press the right mouse button and move the bubble to its desired location.

To search over project code

To search over project code, click with the right mouse button or use the control-O (command-O on the mac) key or the F10 key. Using the right click will bring up the default menu; the others will not.

To search over documentation

To search over documentation, control click with the right mouse button or use the F12 key.

To search over both code and documentation

To search over both code and documentation, shift click with the right mouse button or use the F11 key. This also brings up the default menu. This can be made the default by selecting the appropriate option.

To put up the simple tool bar

To put up the simple tool bar, use F1. The tool bar will appear in the upper left or upper right of the display (depending on where the package explorer is located).

To show the current area in context

To show the current area in context use F9. Hitting F9 again will go back to a normal display.

To change the focus bubble

To change the focus bubble, either move the mouse to it or use the arrow keys while pressing ALT to move to the nearest bubble in the specified direction.

To augment the programmer's log

To augment the programmer's log either by adding a note, image, or screen dump to the current task, or to change the current task, hit F2.


When on a bubble's border:

To resize this bubble

To resize this bubble, press the left mouse button on the proper border and then drag to make the bubble the desired size.

To move this bubble

To move this bubble, press the right mouse button and move the bubble to its desired location.

To remove this bubble

To remove this bubble, click with the middle mouse button on the bubble or its border. Note that a remove bubble will replace this bubble and will slowly fade to nothingness. You can click on this remove bubble to restore the original bubble.


When inside a bubble:

To resize this bubble

To resize this bubble, press the left mouse button on the proper border and then drag to make the bubble the desired size.

To move this bubble

To move this bubble, press the right mouse button and move the bubble to its desired location.

To remove this bubble

To remove this bubble, click with the middle mouse button on the bubble or its border. Alternatively, you can use ESC or control-W (command-W on the Mac).

To make this bubble the current focus

To make this bubble the current focus, move the mouse inside it and/or left click on the appropriate field that should hold the focus.

To get a context menu for this bubble

To get a context menu for this bubble, right click inside the bubble. Note the actual context menu might depend on where in the bubble you click since it can represent the local context.

To fix this bubble's location on the display

To fix this bubble's location on the display, right click and choose Make Fixed if the option exists. Not all bubbles can be fixed in this way. To undo this setting, right click and choose Make Floating

To link this bubble to another

To link this bubble to another, press the control key and then drag a line from the starting bubble to the ending bubble using the right mouse button. This will unlink the bubbles if they are already linked.


When on a bubble group outline:

To move all bubble in this group

To move all bubble in this group, press down in the group border drag with the right mouse button and drag to its desired location.

To remove all bubbles in this group

To remove all bubbles in this group, double click with the middle mouse button on the group area. The remove bubble that remains will restore all bubbles in the group.

To title this group

To title this group, left click on the title area at the top of the group and type in (or edit) the group name.

To merge a bubble into a group

To merge a bubble into a group just move that bubble (using right-drag) until it joins the group.

To merge two groups

To merge two groups, place the groups near each other and then move a single bubble so that it spans the groups and makes them one.

To resize a bubble

To resize a bubble, press the left mouse button on the proper border and then drag to make the bubble the desired size.


When on a singleton bubble group outline:

To move this bubble

To move this bubble, press down in the group border drag with the right mouse button and drag to its desired location. Note that this will not merge the bubble with another group as would moving the bubble directly.

To remove this bubble

To remove this bubble, double click with the middle mouse button on the group area. The remove bubble that remains will restore this bubble.

To merge this bubble into a group

To merge this bubble into a group move that bubble (using right-drag inside the bubble, not on the bubble halo, until it joins the group.

To resize this bubble

To resize this bubble, press the left mouse button on the proper border and then drag to make the bubble the desired size.


When on a link between bubbles:

To remove this link

To remove this link, either control-drag a line from the start bubble to the end bubble or click with the right mouse button to get a context menu and choose

To changke the link style

To changke the link style, right click on the link and choose the Style option you want.

To collapse a linke

To collapse a linke, right click on the link and choose the Collapse option. This will bring the target bubble close to the source bubble.


When in the overview bar:

To move the viewport

To move the viewport, press the right mouse button in the current viewport in the overview bar and drag it to its new location.

To change the viewport

To change the viewport, click with the left mouse button at the desired viewport location. You can also press down to move the location and then drag it to its target.

To move a group of bubbles

To move a group of bubbles, press down on the bubble group with the right mouse button and drag the group to the target location. This will also work for single bubbles that are not part of a group. It will not move bubbles out of a group.


When in the top bar:

To create a working set

To create a working set, click with the left mouse button in the area above the current view, where "Create Task..." is displayed. Alternatively, use the right mouse button to bring up a context menu by clicking where there is no working set and choose "Create Working Set".

To clear the display

To clear the display, use the right mouse button to get a context menu and then choose either "Clear Bubbles" to remove all bubbles visible in the current viewport or "Clear All Bubbles" to remove all the bubbles in the workspace.

To load a saved working set

To load a saved working set, use the right mouse button to get a context menu. Then either choose "Load Working Set" to load the working set from a file or choose a working set from the task shelf, which is the selection to the right of the menu.

To print the current display

To print the current display, use the right mouse button to get a context menu and choose the "Print" option. Alternatively, you can choose "Export as PDF" to produce a image file for later use.


When in the top bar:

To change the name of a working set

To change the name of a working set, click on the current name with the left mouse button and then use keyboard editing to enter a new name.

To change the size of a working set

To change the size of a working set, press down with the left mouse button near the side to change and drag the edge to the desired size.

To remove the working set

To remove the working set, use the right mouse button to get a context menu and then choose one of the following: "Remove Working Set" will remove the working set but leave all the bubbles in place; "Clear and Remove Working Set" will remove the working set and all the bubbles it contains; "Close and Save to Task Shelf" will save the current working set to the task shelf where it can be quickly reloaded later, close the working set and clear its bubbles.

To save the working set

To save the working set, use the right mouse button to get a context menu and chen choose one of the following: "Save Working Set" to save the working set to a file; "Save Working Set To Task Shelf" to save the working set to the task shelf where it can be quickly reloaed later; or "Close and Save to Task Shelf" which will save the current working set to the task shelf and will clear its bubbles and remove it.

To export the working set

To export the working set, use the right mouse button to get a context menu and then choose one of the following: "EMail Working Set" to send the working set in a loadable from in an e-mail message to a colleague; "Export as PDF" to create a saved image of the working set; "EMail as PDF" to send an image of the working set; or "Save Working Set" to save the current working set to a file.

To clear the display

clear the display, use the right mouse button to get a context menu and then choose either "Clear Bubbles in Working Set" to remove all bubbles in the current working set or "Clear All Bubbles" to remove all the bubbles in the workspace.

To load a saved working set

To load a saved working set, use the right mouse button to get a context menu. Then either choose "Load Working Set" to load the working set from a file or choose a working set from the task shelf, which is the selection to the right of the menu.

To print the current display

To print the current display, use the right mouse button to get a context menu and choose the "Print" option. Alternatively, you can choose "Export as PDF" to produce a image file for later use.