Setting up the Run File Command

To be able to run a selected file in a free-form project in the IDE, you need to create an Ant target for the command and then map that target in the project's project.xml file.

If you are using a post-5.0 version of NetBeans IDE, try to run the Run File command before writing a target. The IDE might offer to generate the target for you, which could save you some time.

Creating the run-selected-file Target

Following is a sample target for running selected files:

<target name="run-selected-file"     depends="compile-selected-files-in-src"     description="Run Single File">     <fail unless="selected-file">Must set             property 'selected-file'</fail>     <java classname="${selected-file}">         <classpath ref/>     </java> </target>

In this example, the selected-file property picks up the file that you have selected in the IDE. The value of selected-file is passed from the project.xml file when you choose the Run File command.

This example also assumes that you have a working compile-selected-files-in-src target (like the example in Setting up the Compile File Command earlier in this chapter), although it is also possible to have the target depend on a different compile target you have set in your script.

The example uses the refid attribute to reference a run classpath that must be defined elsewhere in the script, with run.classpath specified as the id attribute of a path element. For example, run.classpath could be defined as in the following snippet:

<path >     <pathelement path="${javac.classpath}">     <pathelement path="${build.classes.dir}"> </path>

The paths for javac.classpath and build.classes.dir would need to be defined in their own path elements. If the path element needs to reference a physical location, the location attribute could be used to specify a directory relative to the Ant project's base directory. For example:

<path >     <pathelement location="classes"> </path>

Mapping the run-selected-file Target to the IDE Command

1. In the Files window, expand the project's folder, expand the nbproject folder, and then open the project.xml file.

2. Within the <ide-actions> element, add a mapping for the Run File command. The mapping might look something like the following example:

 <action name="run.single">      <target>run-selected-file</target>      <context>          <property>selected-file</property>          <folder>${src.dir}</folder>          <pattern>\.java$</pattern>          <format>java-name</format>          <arity>              <one-file-only/>          </arity>      </context>  </action>

See Table 16-6 for a description of the parts of the <action> element in the project.xml file. See Handling Properties in the project.xml File earlier in this chapter for information on calling properties from the project.xml file.