Reading in ABAP Source Code Editors

Navigating with the Keyboard

You can use the keyboard to navigate, for example, through source code elements of an opened development object.

Context

The following shortcuts help you to navigate efficiently in source code:

Procedure

To navigate to a method when the cursor is placed on a method call, choose F3.
To navigate back to the method call, choose Alt Left.

Note In general, Alt Left / Right allows you to navigate through the navigation stack.
To navigate from the beginning statement (like a method, if, or loop) to the corresponding end statement (endmethod, endif, or endloop), use F3.
To navigate through annotations, choose the Next Annotation (Ctrl .) and Previous Annotation (Ctrl ,) commands.
Note
An annotation can be, for example:
- A syntax error
- The beginning and end statement of a block (like method / endmethod or loop / endloop)
- The occurrence of ABAP variables
There are many different annotation types. You can find them on the General Editors Text Editors Annotations Preferences page. For each annotation you can select whether it should be included in the Next / Previous Annotation navigation.
Recommendation SAP recommends using these shortcuts, especially for the ABAP annotations (like block highlighting, occurrences, and coverage).
To navigate to the last edited location, choose Ctrl Q.

Using the Ruler

Each source editor in Eclipse has a ruler column next to the source code. It displays information about the corresponding line. Currently, it is not possible to focus the ruler.

Context

The ruler displays the following information:

Line number
Possible breakpoint
Bookmark
Task
Indicator for syntax errors or warnings
Indicator for ABAP enhancements

The following methods can be used to access and change the ruler content:

Procedure

To find out the current line number, choose Ctrl L.
The Go To Line dialog is opened and shows the current line number in the focused input field.
To open the ruler tooltip, add a customer-specific shortcut, such as Alt Ctrl F10, to the Show Ruler Annotation command in the preferences.
Use this shortcut to get information about breakpoints, bookmarks, or tasks on a line number where the focus is currently located at.
Alternatively, you can open and navigate to the Bookmarks, Breakpoints, or Tasks views.
There you will find a list of these options for navigating to the related code line.
Use Ctrl F10 to open the ruler context menu from the editor.
The context menu provides menu items for adding breakpoints, bookmarks, and tasks.

Using the ABAP Element Info View

The element info displays, for example, the type of a variable or the parameters of a method.

Procedure

To open the ABAP Element Info view, position the cursor on an identifier and choose F2.

Results

This will open and focus a popup showing the information available for this element. The screen reader starts reading the information. The information is shown as HTML.

Note When the cursor is located inside a method, you can retrieve the element info for this method through Alt F2. A popup is then opened and focused, in this case showing the parameters of the method again.

Reading Text from Error and Information Status Messages

A screen reader can read status messages for errors and other information that is displayed in dialogs.

Context

To make such information accessible for the screen reader, you need to display it in a dialog. To do this, proceed as follows:

Procedure

Open the Preferences page, choose Windows Preferences from the menu bar.
In the ABAP Development page, navigate to the Notifications area.
Choose one or both of the following checkboxes:
- Show error status messages also in a dialog
- Show information status messages also in a dialog
Confirm with OK.

Results

If there is a specific occurrence where a status or an error message needs to be displayed, its content is opened in a dialog. From here, the screen has access to the text on the user interface and can read it.

Navigating and Researching with the Outline

The outline displays the structure of the currently selected or edited object – for example, all its attributes, methods, and other members of a class.

Context

The outline can be shown directly in the editor or in the Outline view. In this view, you can:

Use filters
Sort options from the toolbar
Link and delink with the navigation tools in the editor.

Procedure

To access the outline in the editor, choose Ctrl O.
The outline is shown in a popup and the focus is directly set on the filter field.
To switch to the Result tree, choose the Tab key.
The result is linked to the editor selection. The outline focuses on the member at the cursor position.
To display inherited members also, choose Ctrl O again.
To navigate to a member, focus it in the list and choose Enter.

Using Syntax Highlighting

If you are not sure whether the word at the current cursor position is a keyword, identifier, comment or literal, you can use the shortcut of your screen reader for reading colors.

Context

The Eclipse color settings might not be accessible through the screen reader.

The default color settings for ABAP source code are:

Color	Type
Blue	Keyword
Black	Identifier
Limegreen	Literal
Dodger blue	Number literal
Grey	Comment
Red	Error in syntax highlighting
Alice blue	Background of current line
Grey 83	Background of the ABAP occurrence marker

Procedure

To read out the color, use the shortcut of your screen reader for reading colors. For example, use Insert 5 for JAWS.

Results

The screen reader reads the name of the foreground color and the background color.

Displaying and Changing Properties of an Object

You can find and edit the properties of an object (for example, description, author, created at, package, and so on) in the Properties view.

Context

The Properties view is always linked to the editor that is currently open. When you open the Properties view, the focus is in the General tab on the Package field.

Procedure

To access the tab control and switch to the Specific tab, use the Shift Tab shortcut.

Comparing Source-Based Development Objects

You can compare a development object, for example, between two ABAP systems or with older versions of the object. This enables you to investigate differences between both versions.

Context

You have the following options for comparing development objects:

Use the Compare with context menu in the editor.
Here you can select the comparison target (such as an ABAP project, revision history, or local history).

A new editor that shows the two sources next to each other is then opened.
To navigate to the next or previous difference, choose the Ctrl . and Ctrl , shortcuts.
The cursor will be positioned on the line where the difference is located.
To switch to the second source at the corresponding position, choose Ctrl Tab.
To return to the first source, choose Ctrl Shift Tab.
To read the current line number, choose Ctrl L.
You can edit directly in the compare editor. Just type into the editor or use the copy actions in the compare editor toolbar.

Note No shortcuts are defined for these copy actions by default, but you can define your own in the Preferences.