The Ultra Format Editor allows users to introduce format definitions in the system to be used by agents in workflows. Definitions are described using the Ultra Format Definition Language (UFDL).
A saved format definition will have its name displayed in the title. Other than selecting Decoder, Encoder, and UDR Type definitions, formats can be imported from APL code, as well as directly from other Ultra definitions:
import ultra.folder_name.module_name; // From APL code import folder_name.module_name; // From UFDL code
To open the editor, click the New Configuration button in the upper left part of the Desktop dialog, and then select Ultra Format from the menu.
Ultra Format Editor
Syntax Highlighting
In the code area, the different parts of the code are color coded according to type, for easier identification, and when right-clicking in the code area, a context sensitive popup menu appears, enabling easy access to the most common actions you might want to perform.
The text is color coded according to the following definitions:
Blue - Functions
Green - Types
Orange - Comments
Purple - Key words
Yellow/Green - Values
Ultra Format Editor Menu
The main menu changes depending on which configuration type that has been opened in the currently active tab. There is a set of standard menu items that are visible for all configurations and these are described in the Desktop User's Guide.
The menu items that are specific for Ultra Format Editor are described in the following sections:
The File Menu
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Select this option to import code from an external file. Note that the file has to reside on the host where the client is running. |
Export...
| Select this option to export your code to an *.ufl file that can be edited in other code editors, or be used by other |
The Edit Menu
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Compiles the current Ultra code, checking for grammatical and syntactical errors. The status of the compilation is displayed in a dialog. Upon failure, the erroneous line is highlighted and a message, including the line number, is displayed. |
| Select this option to undo your last action. |
| Select this option to redo the last action you "undid" with the Undo option. |
| Cuts selections to the clipboard buffer |
| Copies selections to the clipboard buffer |
| Pastes the clipboard contents |
 | Displays a dialog where chosen text may be searched for and, optionally, replaced |
| Repeats the search for the last string entered in the Find dialog |
The View Menu
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
Each time a configuration is saved, a new version is created. Many versions of a configuration may exist but only the last version can be modified and executed. The old versions are kept for log and rollback reasons. Select History to examine old configurations in the panel. The panel will appear at the bottom of the Configuration tab and holds a list of all versions. Arrow buttons are used to step back and forward between the different versions. Rollback to an old version of a configuration is handled by opening and saving the old version. A comment is automatically added, stating that the current version was created from a historic one.
A configuration history | |
| Click to see the listing references to and from the active configuration. The includes the following tabs:
|
Ultra Format Editor Buttons
The toolbar changes depending on which configuration type that is currently open in the active tab. There is a set of standard buttons that are visible for all configurations and these buttons are described in the Desktop User's Guide.
The additional buttons that are specific for Ultra Format Editor tabs are described in the following sections:
| Buttons | Description |
|---|---|
Validate
| Compiles the current Ultra code, checking for grammatical and syntactical errors. The status of the compilation is displayed in a dialog. Upon failure, the erroneous line is highlighted and a message, including the line number, is displayed. |
Undo
| Select this option to undo your last action. |
Redo
| Select this option to redo the last action you "undid" with the Undo option. |
Cut
| Cuts selections to the clipboard buffer |
Copy
| Copies selections to the clipboard buffer |
Paste
| Pastes the clipboard contents |
Find...
| Displays a dialog where chosen text may be searched for and, optionally, replaced |
Find Again
| Repeats the search for the last string entered in the Find dialog |
Zoom Out
| Zoom out the code area by modifying the font size. The default value is 12(pt). Clicking the button between the and buttons will reset the zoom level to the default value. Changing the view scale does not affect the configuration. |
Zoom In
| Zoom in the code area by modifying the font size. The default value is 12(pt). Clicking the button between the and buttons will reset the zoom level to the default value. Changing the view scale does not affect the configuration. |
Configuration Diff Panel
If you want to compare the current version of an Ultra configuration that you are displaying with a previous version of the same configuration, you can use Configuration Diff to compare the two versions side by side.
To hide or display the Configuration Diff panel, click the vertical Diff button to the right of the Ultra Format Editor. The panel can be hidden or visible. By default, it is hidden.
Ultra Format Editor - Configuration Diff panel
You can navigate through the differences by scrolling both panes in parallel using the scroll bar to the right of either pane. If you want to scroll through each pane separately, hover over the pane that you want to scroll through, and use the scroll wheel on your mouse.
If you want to skip through each difference in the panes, you can use the navigation buttons, Previous, Next and Refresh, which are described below.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| History | Click the History drop box to select the version to which you want to compare the version currently displayed. You can also display and view encrypted configurations. If you select an encrypted configuration, you are prompted to enter the relevant password to decrypt the configuration. |
Previous | Click this button to skip to the previous difference in the configurations. The previous difference is highlighted in green. |
Next | Click this button to skip to the next difference in the configurations. The next difference is highlighted in green. |
Refresh | Click this button to display the updated version of the configuration. Configurations are not locked when you display them in Configuration Diff. If another user has modified and saved a configuration that you are viewing in this tool, you can click this button to view the latest updated version. |