In my opinion, XOJO is an extraordinary tool in every way. However, it would be very useful to have the ability to organize groups of methods, properties, and other elements into folders. In some of my projects, I create a large number of properties and methods, which makes searching somewhat problematic due to their sheer volume. By creating folders and using distinct colors, I think the application could become much more organized and easier to consult, both for personal development and collaborative work. This is just an idea on how resources created within XOJO could be better organized. Many other software applications have these features, and it would be great to see them in XOJO as well. I imagine that XOJO has other more important development and update goals, but for us XOJO users, this folder function could really help us keep our complex projects more organized.
Great idea! If you file a feature request Iâd be happy to give it a thumbs up.
Thank you, Patrick, for responding to me. I will proceed with the request for this idea regarding the folders. Thanks again 
So i have a suggestion⊠you can use non alphanumeric characters to name things. For instance, a method could be named:
~myMethod
You can also use emoji:
đmyMethod
Colors are going to be tricky since the IDE currently uses color to indicate scope.
I would love to see how AutoComplete deals with that, and how the user will type that emoji to trigger it.
While I donât disagree that the IDE is frustrating to navigate, I wonder if your data design might also be problematic?
For example, in databases, one often sees something like this:
var EmailAddress1 as string
var EmailAddress2 as string
var EmailAddress3 as string
var EmailAddress4 as string
var EmailAddress5 as string
...
When the more âproperâ solution would be to have a related table like this:
var EmailAddresses() as string
Can you show us an actual screenshot of your real-world app where you find the IDE limiting?
Using containers alleviates a large part of the need for more organisation. But I have some larger classes where better organisation would really help. For instance I have a singleton which handles my settings. The class has a huge number of methods (over 100):
@Greg_O : using emojis for method names is the funniest idea.
This problem only multiplies when you have a class that implements multiple class interfaces. I would love to see interface implementation methods grouped under the name of the interface:
Class MorpeumVersilator
⌠Interface FooBar
FBSprongifyPoinger
FBDespringifyPlibbet
⌠Interface Blorp
BlorpInitialize
BlorpFlooppsterly
BlorpSlapdown
This would also neatly surface a list of what interfaces the class implements. I suppose this would raise questions if a single method happened to participate in implementing multiple interfaces.
When you have the same method signature on multiple interfaces, an additional option appears in the inspector that lets you specify which interface it comes from.
Alas, starting classes and methods with emojis doesnât work.
Make class with emoji, press return and the emoji is gone:
But emojis in method names work fine:
But type a wrong character may crash the IDE. I do not checked 2024r4.1. (I think)
I have submitted a request for this feature to XOJO. Here is the link for anyone who wants to see it: https://tracker.xojo.com/xojoinc/xojo/-/issues/78176
As Emile says, use emoji in Methods or properties name would scary me. I see problem I have in my code with character like Ă© and Ëe .
The idea to group methods and properties in folders is good.
Isnât the feature request the same as this one? https://tracker.xojo.com/xojoinc/xojo/-/issues/6312
I requested this feature 4 or 5 years ago. Today, Iâm giving it another shotâwho knows, maybe theyâll finally implement it!
Colors wouldnât be all that helpful to me personally, but what Iâd love would be to be able to add folders to some existing Navigator âfoldersâ where itâs not currently possible, e.g. Controls, Methods, Constants, Properties, etc. Yes, you can group them alphabetically with prefixes, but folders would help a lot with clutter.
Slightly OT, better commenting of constants would be great too (currently you can add // comment to the constant itself if you have to, but itâs ugly and hard to read).
For the past year or so, always using the latest IDE version (on macOS), Iâve been using accented characters in parameter or local variable names; where those names may conflict with a Xojo type or the objectâs property names, e.g., sizĂ«, rĂ«ct, wĂŻdth, heĂŻght, tĂ«xt, etcâŠ
I know the IDE knows the difference when it comes to compiling, but it makes the code more readable for me.
Iâve also gotten into the habit of prefixing private Methods with a Ω. I saw this in one of @Greg_Oâs projects and I like how it sorts them to the bottom of the list of Methods, e.g., ΩDataSet(), ΩDataGet(), ΩDataRemove(), etc.
I also use a naming convention where the topic or category goes first and the verb last, so related methods are always grouped together in the list of Methods or Properties.
Lately, as a workaround for âshadowingâ an existing property in a subclass, Iâve been appending a âą to computed property names that I add, e.g., Tagâą, Enabledâą, Visibleâą, Textâą.
So far, no complaints from Xojo during building, debugging or runtime and autocomplete works fine with them.
I used them often (even made the exercice to use french variable/method names in a not-so-little project), so you definitively can use them as well.
I filed a feature request for the folder part of this idea, three years ago. It should be implemented, because complex user interfaces with lots of elements get really messy to navigate in the IDE. You can add support for it here: https://tracker.xojo.com/xojoinc/xojo/-/issues/65737