Description Bob Dytyniak 2004-03-10 16:16:24 EST

Problem/Feature Request:
In the base Navigator view (e.g. as in Resources 
perspective) there is no way for the casual user to add their own filters.


Workaround/Warning:

As an unofficial "workaround", you can edit {WebSphere 
Studio Install 
Dir}\eclipse\plugins\org.eclipse.ui_2.1.1\plugin.xml
   ...
   <extension
         point="org.eclipse.ui.resourceFilters">
      <filter
            selected="false"
            pattern=".*">            
      </filter>
      <filter
            selected="false"
            pattern="EJS*">
      </filter>      
   </extension>
...
to add a filter in the base workbench/eclipse Navigator 
View. In this case I added the "EJS*" filter. It works, but 
is not officially supported. You can use this at you own 
discretion. However any core workbench problems reported 
with any such change present are not be supported. 

At the current time, the only sanctioned way to add a 
filter to the Navigator view, is  to create separate plugin 
and contribute the filters instead of modifying an existing 
product plugin. The UI is a separate plug-in in core 
Eclipse which happens to own this base Navigator view. 
WebSphere Studio Workbench or Eclipse development does not 
support any modification to the base. The UI plug-in is 
part of that base. 

Example:
In WSAD v5.x there is a large set of filters in the base 
Navigator view. The various plug-ins added these through a 
plug-in api()...etc. The good news is that apart from this
sanctioned mechanism to add 
filters to the base Navigator view, adding a filter to the 
plugi-in.xml file of the UI file will ony affect the 
Navigator view. This change does not carry over to say the 
Explorer Package view of the Java perspective or the 
Project Navigator of the J2EE Perspective. Similarly any 
change to filters in a custom Navigator, such as adding a 
filter in the J2EE Project Navigator, will not show up in 
the base Navigator view. There is  a clean and logical 
separation of concerns in the design.

Clearly, writing a plug-in is not an option for many users 
or an activity they may wish to invest time in to just a 
filter(s). Our customers raised the need to be 
able to add filters to the base Navigator for general use 
across all perspectives. This basic add filter capability
is present in base Navigators of other IDE technologies.

I have create this eclipse bugzilla defect/feature request
 to provide a add/remove user filters 
capabilty in the UI Navigator GUI (e.g. an add filter 
button at minimum,and maybe a remove button restricted to 
filters not associated with a plug-in). 

Thanks, Bob D