Using Hyperlinks in DVT - Part II - Show Usages, Open Variable Type, Jump to Method Implementation

Overview

The second part of this series explores more actions and navigation options which available as hyperlinks in different contexts. For example, inspecting all usages of a signal or jumping to the implementation of an extern function are just one click away.

Details

Introduction

Placing the mouse cursor over an identifier while holding down the Ctrl key displays a list of hyperlink options. We've seen in Part I what Open Declaration does. Let us now focus on some of the others.

Show Usages

Choosing Show Usages will populate the Search View with all the places where the item is used. Unlike plain text grep, this is an accurate operation; there are no name collisions. For example, you can find all function calls, or you can find all the places where a specific signal is used. You can use the Up and Down arrow buttons to navigate in the list of search hits.

Jumping to Declarations and Implementations

When the identifier is a class field or module instance, a second hyperlink option is a quick way to jump directly to the declaration of its type. In the case of a function, you can jump directly to its return type declaration. Also, you can jump directly to its implementation from its extern declaration.

Other hyperlinks are available depending on the item's type and context, all to make navigating your code intuitive and fast.