Menu Reference
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The menu across the top of the Microsoft code name “Quadrant” window allows you to choose commands. Commands in each root menu are organized into related groups by separators. Each root menu relates to a type of activity, such as saving a view or opening and closing workpads.
In “Quadrant”, the root menus are File, Edit, View, Workpad, Data, and Help.
File
The File menu contains many of the commands that you use the most.
New has an expanded submenu that allows you to open a new Microsoft code name “M” file; a new workpad for the current active session; a new session to a database residing in a local or remote SQL server; and a new console for executing T-SQL commands. |
Open File… allows you to open a textual or Microsoft code name “M” file for viewing and editing. |
Delete Session deletes the active database session. Drop Database… enumerates all the databases in a specific SQL server instance, and gives you the option to remove a specific database from the server. If you attempt to drop a database that has a database instance, sessions, and/or edits, they will be deleted. A dialog box will be presented for you to cancel the operation before the drop. |
Save File saves the Microsoft code name “M” file you are currently editing. Save File As allows you to save the existing Microsoft code name “M” file in a different name. Save Changes commits all changes to the database. Revert All Changes discards all changes in the current workpad. Resolve All Conflicts provides options to resolve conflicts in the changelist as proposed, as original or as database. |
Print… allows you to print the workpad. The command is disabled in the current release. |
Exit closes “Quadrant”. When closing, states for all the workpads are persisted. Therefore, the workspace looks the same when “Quadrant” is reopened. |
Edit
The Edit menu contains commands for general editing (cut/copy/delete) experience.
Redo reapplies the operation that was undone. Undo reverses the previous operation. These commands are enabled only in text boxes. |
Cut, Copy, Paste, and Delete allow you to cut, copy, paste, and delete a selected object. These commands are enabled only in text boxes. |
Select all allows you to mark all the actively selected objects. These commands are enabled only in text boxes. |
View
You can use the View menu to examine all database sessions, the change list, or the error workpad, as well as navigate to a specific workpad.
Explorer features a submenu that lists all the Explorer instances corresponding to each open database session. Changes opens a workpad that displays all pending changes for the active database session. Errors features a submenu that allows you to open a workpad that shows all errors across all the open database sessions, or a workpad to view errors for a specific database session. Workpads features a submenu that lists all the workpads in the workspace. Details launches a workpad on the lower-right corner of the screen, displaying properties and relationship of a selected UI element or data object. |
Zoom has the Zoom to Active Workpad and Zoom to All Workpads commands that allow you to zoom to the active workpad, to all workpads (which makes all workpads visible) or to precise levels at 25%, 50%, 100%, 200%, and 400%. Set Preferred Zoom allows you to set a predefined zoom level. |
Refresh updates “Quadrant” with current data for the open session. |
Workpad
The Workpad menu contains commands for manipulating views in the current workpad.
Save View As allows you to save the current view with a unique name. Set as Default View allows you to make the current view the default view for all instances of the current record type. For example, if you change the view of a Person record type into Tree and apply this option, any Person instances will be opened in Tree view in the future by default. |
View Source displays the source code for the active workpad. Configure displays the configuration template of the current view for the currently opened record type. |
Float makes the current workpad on top of everything in the workspace. Show Query Bar toggles the display of the query bar in the workpad. Close closes the current workpad. Close All Workpads closes all the workpads in the workspace. |
Data
The Data menu contains commands for inserting and deleting items in a collection, customizing viewers, and installing addins or files to the “Quadrant” interface.
Viewer-specific commands appear here. These commands are contextual, meaning that they only appear depending on the view of the active workpad. For example, if a collection is displayed in a Table Viewer, View Column As and Column Settings commands are available. For more information about these commands, see the respective Viewer topic in "Quadrant" User Interface Reference, or the next section. If the active workpad is a file or T-SQL console, editing options such as error detection, line numbers, word wrap, and column indicators will be available here. |
Deploy creates a new database or updates an existing database with Microsoft code name “M” code. Install Addin… allows you to browse to an add-in created in Visual Studio and install it in “Quadrant”. Show SQL generates SQL statements based on the currently opened Microsoft code name “M” file. Export Database To M opens a dialog box, which allows you to select a database to generate a Microsoft code name “M” file based on its schemas. Import Assembly allows you to import a DLL. Import UML allows you to import a serialized UML data file. |
Insert Item adds a new record to a table. Delete Item removes the selected record from the table. |
Viewer-specific commands
The Viewer-specific commands allow you to configure properties for the viewer. For a detailed description of each command, see the corresponding viewer topics in "Quadrant" User Interface Reference.
Properties Viewer
The only command for a Properties Viewer is View Item As, which allows you to switch the viewer from scalar values to other value viewers, and complex values to complex viewers such as table or list.
List Viewer
The only command for a List Viewer is View Items As, which allows you to switch the viewers for all the records in the list.
Diagram Viewer
View Shape As allows you to view the current shape in predefined views such as Shape (default), Properties, and Tree.
Tree Viewer
Show Child Counts toggles between showing or hiding the number of child nodes next to the name of each parent node.
Show Empty Group toggles between showing or hiding any relationship that is empty under an entity node.
Sort by Display Name sorts all nodes in ascending order of their names.
Table Viewer
View Column As is enabled only when you select a cell in the table. It allows you to see scalar values in all cells of the specific column using different value viewers available.
Column Settings presents a list of columns (that is, all the property names of a type) that you can choose to be included in the table.
Help
This menu displays various help information for “Quadrant”.
Quadrant Help displays online help topics. |
Quadrant Repository Connection displays the connection string to the “Quadrant” repository. |
About Quadrant displays version information. This command is disabled in the current release. |