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Preferences

There are several things you need to know about how preferences behave.

First is the file format. Preferences are stored in a markup text format. This means if new preferences are added in future versions, you will not need to change the format, or run some utility on your preferences file.

Import/Export Import/Export

Bookmarks
Document
Documentation
Drag and Drop
DrScript
File Dialog
File Types
Find/Replace
General
Plugins
Print
Prompt
Side Panels
Source Browser

Preferences

Import/Export

At the bottom of the General Panel, there is an innocuous little button titled "Setup Preferences". This launches a dialog that allows you to import/export:

This is to facilitate setting up a specific environment. (Eg you can distribute SillyDefaults.zip, which includes the preferences, plugins, and drscripts you want all recipients to have installed.)

(You can also use the functions defined in drZip.py to automate this process with a simple python script).

WARNING: Importing Will Overwrite!

DrPython will overwrite any duplicates on import. This means:

After importing, you must restart DrPython to see the changes.

When Exporting, DrPython will store drscripts in the preferences directory (in the zip file). The directory structure will mirror the menu. This means that when you then import drscripts, they will be physically located in your preferences directory, under 'drscripts'.

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Bookmarks

This tells DrPython how the Edit Bookmarks Dialog should look. Also applies to Documentation Bookmarks.

Style
This sets how the Edit Bookmarks Dialog appears (foreground and background color, font, size, underline/bold/italics).

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Document

This is "DrFrame.txtDocument". It is the text control that has the text of the currently open file.

Line Number Margin Width
Sets the margin width in pixels for linenumbers.
Autoindent
Chooses the auto indentation method:
None:
Leave Well Enough Alone!
Normal:
Adds the number of tabs up to the first non-whitespace character in the previous line on every new line.
Context Sensitive:
Same as Normal, but adds an extra indent after ':', and dedents after the following statements: return, break, pass, continue, raise.
AutoReload
Automatically check (OnActivation of DrPython) if any open files have been modified by an outside source. It then prompts the user to reload the file. If not, the modification time for the document (in program) is reset.
Update Indentation
Updates indentation type whenever the document is modified. Displays the type in the status bar. (->Type)
Use File's Indentation
If on, use the indentation type of the loaded file. (Only runs on Open). In other words: if the default indentation type is tabs but you load a file that uses spaces, DrPython will use spaces for indentation for that document, while still using tabs as the default for other documents.
Use Tabs
If checked, uses tabs '\t' when you hit the tab key, and for autoindent. If not, uses the number of spaces specified in tabwidth.
Word Wrap
Does not show the horizontal scroolbar, and "wraps" lines that are rather long around so they appear as more than one line.
Whitespace is Visible on Startup
When DrPython starts up, automatically toggles whitespace is visible.
Use Indentation Guides
This optionally draws vertical lines, visually connecting levels of indentation.
Long Line Indicator Column
Set a column to indicate you have gone past a particular position (79, for example). Using a negative number tells DrPython to highlight the text past the specified position, instead of drawing a column. 0 tells DrPython not to draw anything.
Scroll Extra Page
This tells DrPython to set the vertical scroll range to one page more than the length of the current document.
Highlight Current Line
Highlights the current line using the Background from the Caret Style.
Comment Mode
Sets where DrPython places the comment string. If Start of Line, then at the start of every line in the selected region. If Start of Word, then at the start of the first word of every line in the selected region.
Default Syntax Highlighting
Highlight text not recognized via extension THIS WAY.
Only Use Default Syntax Highlighting
Only use the syntax highlighting specified above, no matter what extension a file has.
Style
This sets how different kinds of text appear (foreground and background color, font, size, underline/bold/italics). You can choose to Not use styles at all, use them, or use only "Normal" and "Caret Foreground"

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Documentation

This sets the behavior of the built in help, and external documentation.

Browser
The preferred browser for viewing the documentation.
Python Docs
The Official Python Documentation. Sets the location.
WxWindows Docs
The WxWindows Documentation. Sets the location.
Regular Expression Howto
A guide to regular expressions for Python programmers.

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Drag and Drop

This sets the behaviour of drag and drop in DrPython.

Drag and Drop Mode
This can be set to one of three values:
Drag: Files Only, Drop: Files and Text
Turns off Text Drag, but allows you to drag text from outside of the program.
Drag: Files and Text, Drop: Files and Text
Turns on Text Drag and Drop
Drag and Drop Files Only
Completely Turns off Text Drag and Drop.
Drag and Drop Text Mode
Sets the whether Dragging and Dropping Text within DrPython is by default a cut or a copy operation. The secondary behaviour can be executed when the control key is down.

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DrScript

This sets the behavior of Adding/Creating a Script.

Default Directory
This tells DrPython what directory to set the Add/New Script Dialog to.
Style
This sets how the Move/Rename Scripts Dialog appears (foreground and background color, font, size, underline/bold/italics).
Load Examples
Loads all example scripts from the DrPython program directory, and places them in a submenu of DrScript. Note that disabling this option will remove any Shortcuts for these Scripts. (If you subsequently update DrScript Shortcuts)

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File Dialog

This sets the behaviour of file dialogs in DrPython.

Use wx.FileDialog
If you want to use the default wxPython File Dialog, check this option. Only the wildcard preference will be used in this case.
Wildcard
This is the string used by wxPython to determine what file types to show. The format is DescriptionA|ExtensionPatternA1;ExtensionPatternA2|DescriptionB|ExtensionPatternB1;ExtensionPatternB2

'|' separates File Types. Here is an example:
Python Files (*.py *.pyw)|*.py;*.pyw|All Files (*)|*

You can use the editor to add entries to the wildcard string.

If all entries are removed, All Files (*)|* is automatically set as the wildcard.

Constant Wildcard
You can set this in the wildcard editor. It is simply a pattern (eg *.py) that is always visible, no matter what file type is selected in the file dialog.
Windows Shortcut Replace Table
This is only needed/used on non-Windows systems.

This contains info for replacing strings found in windows shortcuts (*.lnk) with the correct paths. So for example, if your C: drive is mounted on /mnt/win_c, you could enter "C" for Windows Pattern, and "/mnt/win_c" for Replace String.

The Replace Table uses regular expressions for the Windows Pattern, and two special characters for the Replace String. So the entry:

Windows Pattern: "[A-D]"
Replace String: "/mnt/win/@"

would replace any drive A-D (eg C: with /mnt/win/c) with the lowercase matching string. If the Replace String was /mnt/win_&, it would yield /mnt/win_C.

Any valid regular expression will work for the Windows Pattern.

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File Types

These preferences apply to the document depending on which file type is active.

Extensions
These are the file extensions that are recognized for each file type. Separate with commas (eg 'py,pyw,c,h').
Comment String
This is the string used to comment out selected regions of code.
Use Tabs
If checked, uses tabs \t when you hit the tab key, and for autoindent. If not, uses the number of spaces specified in tabwidth.
Word Wrap
Does not show the horizontal scroolbar, and "wraps" lines that are rather long around so they appear as more than one line.
Folding
Allows the document to "Fold". This lets you hide or show lines of a "block" (eg a class, function or an "if" statement).
Tab Width
This tells DrPython how big to make tabs look (t).For example, 8 will make a single tab look like 8 spaces.
Line Ending Format
The default is UNIX (\n). You can also select Windows (\r\n) or Mac (\r).

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Find/Replace

Most of these are the defaults for the Find/Replace/Switcheroo Dialogs. The last governs the find/replace dialog behaviour.

Regular Expression
Evaluates the search text as a regular expression. Only searches forward.
Match Case
Case-Sensitive Search.
Find Backwards
Search from the end of the target text.
Whole Word
Only match whole words (whitespace on either side).
In Selection
If there is selected text, then only search within the selected text.
From Cursor
Search from the current position in the document, rather than from the start.
Prompt on Replace
Prompt the user on each replace operation, and let the user decide whether or not to replace the target text, or skip it.
Auto Wrap
If on, when the start/end of the document is reached during find, automatically wrap around.
Under Cursor
The Find/Replace Dialog sets the word under the cursor as the findtext if no text is selected.

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General

These apply to the program as a whole.

Remember Window Size
Remembers the size of the DrPython window.
Remember Dialog Sizes and Positions
Remembers the sizes and positions of all main dialogs.
Auto Detect Encoding
Automatically detects Unicode, and encodes the Opening and Saving of documents, saving the Prompt text, and sending prompt text to the currently running program.
Save On Run
Automatically saves the current document before running.
Check Syntax On Save
Runs Check Syntax on a file after it has been saved. Unlike running this from the menu, it does not provide any feedback if no errors are found.
Check Syntax: Only On Extensions
Restricts checking syntax on save to the exact extensions listed. The format is extensions only (no period), separated by spaces (eg): py pyw python will only run check syntax on save (if it is enabled) on files with the extensions py, pyw, or python.
Prompt On Save All
Prompt before saving all modified documents.
Max Number of Recent Files
This tells DrPython how many recent files to keep track of. 0 is the least you can enter, and will cause DrPython to ignore recent files.
View Line Endings With Whitespace
View end of line characters when whitespace is visible.
Check Line Ending Format on Open
This tells DrPython to check to see if your default line ending is used as the line ending when you open a file.
Check Indentation Type on Open
This tells DrPython to check to see if your default indentation type is being used in the opened file.
Python Arguments
This sends the given arguments directly to Python when you run a file, debug a file, or run the Python interpreter on its own. A common argument is -i. This will tell Python to switch to interactive mode after the current file has finished running. More arguments can be found in the Python documentation, or by typing python -h at the command prompt.
Auto-Detect UTF-8 Encoding
Automatically detect if a file has utf-8 (unicode) encoding.
Icon Size
This tells DrPython how big the toolbar needs to be. Selecting 0 will (on restart) tell DrPython to not load the ToolBar at all.
Icon File
If left blank, or if an invalid file name is given, DrPython will load the default files. Otherwise, DrPython will read the .dis file, and will load the bitmaps detailed within.
More on .dis files
Default Directory
This tells DrPython where to look for files initially. Once a file has been opened, DrPython sets the current directory to the file's directory.
Enable Feedback
This allows pop up windows to tell you if operations were successful. (For example, successfully updated preferences).
Always Prompt On Exit
This tells DrPython to always ask if the user wants to exit, even if there is no current file, or the current file has been saved.
Backup File On Save
Whenever you save a file, before DrPython writes to the file, it will make a renamed copy (the filename with .bak attached) in the same folder.

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Plugins

These are the preferences for configuring plugins.

Default Directory
The default directory for installing plugins and plugin indexes.

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Print

These are the preferences for printing.

Document Line Numbers
This tells DrPython whether or not to print line numbers when printing the current file.
Prompt Line Numbers
This tells DrPython whether or not to print line numbers when printing the text of the prompt.
Tab Width
This tells DrPython how big to make tabs look (\t) when printing. For example, 5 will make a single tab look like 5 spaces.

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Prompt

This is DrFrame.txtPrompt. It is the text control that has the input and output of the currently running program.

Line Number Margin Width
Sets the margin width in pixels for linenumbers.
Visible By Default
If True, tells DrPython to show the prompt by default for each document.
Use Tabs
If checked, uses tabs \t when you hit the tab key. If not, uses the number of spaces specified in tabwidth.
Tab Width
This tells DrPython how big to make tabs look (\t). For example, 8 will make a single tab look like 8 spaces.
Line Ending Format
The default is UNIX (\n). You can also select Windows (\r\n) or Mac (\r).
Word Wrap
Does not show the horizontal scrollbar, and "wraps" lines that are rather long around so they appear as more than one line.
Whitespace is Visible on Startup
When DrPython starts up, automatically toggles whitespace is visible.
Scroll Extra Page
This tells DrPython to set the vertical scroll range to one page more than the length of the prompt.
Vertical Size
Sets the percentage size of the prompt vs the document when the prompt is visible. 25% for the prompt means 75% for the document.
Style:
This sets how different kinds of text appear (foreground and background color, font, size, underline/bold/italics).

You can choose to not use styles at all, use them, or use only "Normal" and "Caret Foreground".

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Side Panels

This sets the defaults for the side panels.

Left Panel Size
The default size (percentage of the total window) for the left panel.
Right Panel Size
The default size (percentage of the total window) for the right panel.
Top Panel Size
The default size (percentage of the total window) for the top panel.
Bottom Panel Size
The default size (percentage of the total window) for the bottom panel.

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Source Browser

This tells DrPython how the source browser looks and acts.

Position
Have the Source Browser appear in a panel to the left, right, top, or bottom of the current document.
Visible By Default
If True, tells DrPython to show the source browser by default for each document.
Close On Activate
When you activate an item (select it with a double click, or with the keyboard), this tells DrPython whether or not to close the Source Browser window.
Sorted(Alphabetical)
This tells DrPython whether or not to sort classes/functions/import statements alphabetically, or leave them in the order they appear in the program.
Style
This sets how the source browser appears (foreground and background color, font, size, underline/bold/italics).
Auto Refresh on Save
Automatically refreshes the source browser on save.

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