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PxPlus IDE | Integrated Development Environment

The PxPlus IDE (Integrated Development Environment) is a project-based development environment that combines all the features of PxPlus and presents them in a modern interface. It is designed to provide application developers with convenient accessibility to all the development, installation and setup tools available in the PxPlus Development Suite.

The PxPlus IDE can be accessed from a Windows platform and from a Web browser. When PxPlus is installed, two new shortcuts are created:

| PxPlus IDE PxPlus Web IDE | Launches PxPlus IDE on a Windows platform. See IDE Main Launcher (Windows). Launches PxPlus IDE from a Web browser. See IDE Main Launcher (Web).

The PxPlus IDE Main Launcher includes the following:

- Menu, History and Project buttons for selecting what tasks to display in the list
- IDE toolbar customization
- HTML folder tab customization
- Integrated Help display
- Enhanced or Standard view

## Working with Projects

Projects provide a method for organizing and managing the various tasks and settings used in the development of business applications. Each project requires a working directory and a settings file. The settings file is used to save project settings and the data that defines the project contents. Projects can be defined with an optional title bar color to help identify individual projects. The Projects menu on the IDE menu bar provides options for creating and maintaining projects.

See Benefits of Using Projects.

Projects can also be used when working in the NOMADS Session Manager, which is invoked by entering nom from the PxPlus Command line. See How to Use Projects from the NOMADS Session Manager.

(Support for using projects from the NOMADS Session Manager was added in PxPlus 2025.)

Each project has its own settings file. The same settings file can be shared with multiple projects. The Default project uses the standard nomads.ini file, which can be shared with other projects. Project settings files are saved in a location outside of PxPlus to enable them to be usable from release to release. Projects are used by the PxPlus IDE and are also accessible from the *IT - Integrated Toolkit.

Various tasks and settings within PxPlus can be saved by project. To add tasks to projects, see Project Maintenance and Adding Tasks to Projects from Other Locations.

The tasks that can be saved by project include:

- NOMADS Library Objects (i.e. Windows, Dialogues, Popup Menus, Queries)
- Programs
- Report Writer Reports
- Data Files
- Data Dictionary entries
- File Maintenance HTML Pages

The settings that can be saved by project include:

- IDE Main Launcher settings (i.e. IDE Ribbon Toolbar, HTML Folders, History and Project items, Enhanced/Standard view)
- NOMADS Library Object Selection settings
- NOMADS Panel Designer settings
- IT - Integrated Toolkit settings
- Ed+ Program Editor settings
- HTML Editor settings
- Report Designer settings
- Port Number used for each of the following:
  • EZWeb Server
  • Webster+ Installation
- Database information for each of the following:
  • Bulk Database Export Utility
  • Database Import Utility

Ed+ and HTML Editor settings on the Web are stored in the browser and not by project.

Tasks are launched in the proper working environment based on the working directory for the project. If present, the Start_up program in the working directory will be run prior to launching each task.

Tasks can be project-related or non-project and are driven by the Task and Menu tables. Designating a task as project related is controlled by the Project Related? check box option on the Task Definition dialog. All project-related tasks must be associated with a project.

(The ability to save tasks and settings by project was added in PxPlus 2023.)
(The ability to save Bulk Database Export and Database Import information by project was added in PxPlus 2023 Update 1.)

## Benefits of Using Projects

Using projects provides several key benefits:

Centralized Organization of Development Tasks and Settings
Projects provide a structured way to group all relevant components (such as Data Dictionary/Data Classes, NOMADS library objects, programs, reports, and data files) into a single, cohesive unit. This simplifies the management of complex applications by keeping related items together.

Persistent and Shareable Configuration
Each project uses a settings file to save the project's configurations (i.e. IDE settings, project settings, etc.). These files are stored outside of PxPlus, allowing settings to persist across software releases and be shared among multiple projects.

Improved Development Workflow and Environment Control
Projects define a working directory and can include a Start_up program, ensuring that each task launches in the correct environment. This provides consistency in run-time behavior.

Visual Identification and Task Segregation
Projects can have a custom title bar color to make it easier to identify and distinguish between different projects.