Docs Help

Terms, Icons, and Labels

Many classes have shortcut names used when creating (instantiating) a class with a configuration object. The shortcut name is referred to as an alias (or xtype if the class extends Ext.Component). The alias/xtype is listed next to the class name of applicable classes for quick reference.

Access Levels

Framework classes or their members may be specified as private or protected. Else, the class / member is public. Public, protected, and private are access descriptors used to convey how and when the class or class member should be used.

Member Types

Member Syntax

Below is an example class member that we can disect to show the syntax of a class member (the lookupComponent method as viewed from the Ext.button.Button class in this case).

lookupComponent ( item ) : Ext.Component
protected

Called when a raw config object is added to this container either during initialization of the items config, or when new items are added), or {@link #insert inserted.

This method converts the passed object into an instanced child component.

This may be overridden in subclasses when special processing needs to be applied to child creation.

Parameters

item :  Object

The config object being added.

Returns
Ext.Component

The component to be added.

Let's look at each part of the member row:

Member Flags

The API documentation uses a number of flags to further commnicate the class member's function and intent. The label may be represented by a text label, an abbreviation, or an icon.

Class Icons

- Indicates a framework class

- A singleton framework class. *See the singleton flag for more information

- A component-type framework class (any class within the Ext JS framework that extends Ext.Component)

- Indicates that the class, member, or guide is new in the currently viewed version

Member Icons

- Indicates a class member of type config

- Indicates a class member of type property

- Indicates a class member of type method

- Indicates a class member of type event

- Indicates a class member of type theme variable

- Indicates a class member of type theme mixin

- Indicates that the class, member, or guide is new in the currently viewed version

Class Member Quick-Nav Menu

Just below the class name on an API doc page is a row of buttons corresponding to the types of members owned by the current class. Each button shows a count of members by type (this count is updated as filters are applied). Clicking the button will navigate you to that member section. Hovering over the member-type button will reveal a popup menu of all members of that type for quick navigation.

Getter and Setter Methods

Getting and setter methods that correlate to a class config option will show up in the methods section as well as in the configs section of both the API doc and the member-type menus just beneath the config they work with. The getter and setter method documentation will be found in the config row for easy reference.

History Bar

Your page history is kept in localstorage and displayed (using the available real estate) just below the top title bar. By default, the only search results shown are the pages matching the product / version you're currently viewing. You can expand what is displayed by clicking on the button on the right-hand side of the history bar and choosing the "All" radio option. This will show all recent pages in the history bar for all products / versions.

Within the history config menu you will also see a listing of your recent page visits. The results are filtered by the "Current Product / Version" and "All" radio options. Clicking on the button will clear the history bar as well as the history kept in local storage.

If "All" is selected in the history config menu the checkbox option for "Show product details in the history bar" will be enabled. When checked, the product/version for each historic page will show alongside the page name in the history bar. Hovering the cursor over the page names in the history bar will also show the product/version as a tooltip.

Search and Filters

Both API docs and guides can be searched for using the search field at the top of the page.

On API doc pages there is also a filter input field that filters the member rows using the filter string. In addition to filtering by string you can filter the class members by access level, inheritance, and read only. This is done using the checkboxes at the top of the page.

The checkbox at the bottom of the API class navigation tree filters the class list to include or exclude private classes.

Clicking on an empty search field will show your last 10 searches for quick navigation.

API Doc Class Metadata

Each API doc page (with the exception of Javascript primitives pages) has a menu view of metadata relating to that class. This metadata view will have one or more of the following:

Expanding and Collapsing Examples and Class Members

Runnable examples (Fiddles) are expanded on a page by default. You can collapse and expand example code blocks individually using the arrow on the top-left of the code block. You can also toggle the collapse state of all examples using the toggle button on the top-right of the page. The toggle-all state will be remembered between page loads.

Class members are collapsed on a page by default. You can expand and collapse members using the arrow icon on the left of the member row or globally using the expand / collapse all toggle button top-right.

Desktop -vs- Mobile View

Viewing the docs on narrower screens or browsers will result in a view optimized for a smaller form factor. The primary differences between the desktop and "mobile" view are:

Viewing the Class Source

The class source can be viewed by clicking on the class name at the top of an API doc page. The source for class members can be viewed by clicking on the "view source" link on the right-hand side of the member row.

Architect 3


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Installation and Setup

This guide provides instructions for getting Sencha Architect installed and running on your system. It also discusses other software that is required before you can complete and publish your first project.

This guide also aims to provide you with a clear path to avoid common app build problems related to the installation of Sencha Architect. It’s important to understand the various dependencies to ensure a clean installation.

Get Started in 2 Easy Steps

  • Download Sencha Architect. There’s a free 30-day trial, and it requires a Sencha forum username.
  • If you don't already have an account, you may register for free via the forum or from within Architect itself.

Required Dependencies

Before running the installer, let’s take a look at the dependencies. Sencha Architect requires the following items and are provided by the installer:

* These items are provided by Sencha Architect. However, they can be pointed elsewhere if so desired. We will discuss this further on in this guide.

Java, Ruby, Ant, and Sencha Cmd must be available via the command line. The installer will add them to the PATH system variable when installing these tools.

That said, these variables occasionally get lost or fail to get added at all. When that happens, these tools are not available on the command line and are thus inaccessible to Sencha Architect. So, it’s very important that these paths are set properly.

Setting a System Variable

Let’s look at setting the system path variables on the various supported operating systems.

Windows

Windows 7

  1. Select Computer from the Start menu
  2. Choose System Properties from the menu
  3. Click Advanced system settings > Advanced tab
  4. Click on Environment Variables, under System Variables, find PATH, and click on it.
  5. In the Edit windows, modify PATH by adding the location of the class to the value for PATH. If you do not have the item PATH, you may select to add a new variable and add PATH as the name and location of the class as the value.
  6. Close the window and reopen the command prompt window.

Windows 8

  1. Drag the Mouse pointer to the Right bottom corner of the screen
  2. Click on the Search icon and type: Control Panel
  3. Click on Control Panel > System > Advanced
  4. Click on Environment Variables, under System Variables, find PATH, and click on it.
  5. In the Edit windows, modify PATH by adding the location of the class to the value for PATH. If you do not have the item PATH, you may select to add a new variable and add PATH as the name and location of the class as the value.
  6. Close the window and reopen the command prompt window.

Windows 10

  1. Click on the Windows logo and type: Control Panel
  2. Click on System > Advanced system settings > Advanced tab
  3. Click on Environment Variables, under System Variables, find PATH, and click on it.
  4. In the Edit windows, modify PATH by adding the location of the class to the value for PATH. If you do not have the item PATH, you may select to add a new variable and add PATH as the name and location of the class as the value.
  5. Close the window and reopen the command prompt window.

Mac OSX / Linux

  1. Edit ~/ .bash_profile
  2. Modify PATH variable, write the following line, with the path to one of the tools:

     export PATH=<PATH-TO-ADD-HERE>:$PATH
    
  3. Save and close the file and open a new terminal window

Note: The .bash_profile is a hidden file. These sorts of files are hidden in Finder by default. To enable hidden files, run the following command from the command line:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
killall Finder

Dependency Installation

Java Runtime Environment (JRE)

To start, here are links for downloading Java JRE 1.8 and JDK.

Sencha Architect requires the JRE to properly utilize Sencha Cmd. You will need Cmd to produce a valid build, so it’s necessary to have Java installed properly.

Open a command line tool to test for Java's proper installation.

Mac OSX

Mac OSX users can simply open Terminal.

Windows

Windows users can open the command line by entering cmd from the start screen.

Once your command line is available, issue the following command.

java -version

If correctly installed, it should produce the following version information:

>java -version
java version "1.8.0_40"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_40-b27)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.40-b25, mixed mode)

For a bit more information, the Java Runtime Environment is an implementation of the Java Virtual Machine that executes Java programs. Without the JRE, you can compile an application but can’t run it.

The Java Development Kit (JDK) is a software bundle that you can use to develop Java-based software. Since the JRE contains the JVM which executes the bytecode generated from the javac compiler, you need to add your JRE path as the JAVA_HOME variable from the environment variables.

Note: The JDK contains the JRE, so if you have set your PATH properly, you shouldn't need a separate entry for the JRE. Note: 64bit Sencha Architect installer requires 64bit JRE.

Adding Java to your PATH

Windows

Add the following bits of information to your System Variables to add Java to your PATH:

variable name: 
JAVA_HOME
variable value: 
c:\jdk1.7.0_40

variable name: 
PATH
variable value: 
%PATH%;%JAVA_HOME%\bin\
Mac OSX / Linux

Unless you have intentionally changed your Java path, Java is most likely installed here:

/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/<java version>/. 

Add the following lines to your ~/.bash_profile to add Java to your PATH:

export JAVA_HOME=/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.7.0_40.jdk/Contents/Home
export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH

For more information see: http://java.com/en/download/help/path.xml

Ruby

Sencha Architect may use Ruby during the app build process when building a theme. Theming in Sencha frameworks may require Sass and Compass depending on the Cmd version used. You don’t need to install these two dependencies since they ship with the versions of Sencha Cmd and Sencha Architect as necessary. However, Sass and Compass run on top of Ruby, so it does need to be specifically installed when using versions of Cmd older than 6.x.

Sencha Architect works with both Ruby 1.9 and 2.0.

To check if Ruby is correctly installed, run the following command:

> ruby -v

If correctly installed, it should output version information as such:

> ruby -v
ruby 2.0.0p451 (2014-02-24 revision 45167) [universal.x86_64-darwin13]

Windows

Windows users will have to download Ruby. If Ruby is not yet installed, you can download it here.

Make sure you run the Ruby installer with admin rights. To enable admin rights, right click on the installer executable and select "run as administrator". During the installation, you will need to mark the check-box that asks for permission to add Ruby to your PATH variables.

Mac OSX / Linux

Ruby is automatically installed on Mac OSX machines. No further action should be required.

Ant

Sencha Architect requires Apache Ant for building a native/hybrid Android build with Sencha Architect. If you do not want to build a hybrid Android app, or you would rather use Apache Cordova or PhoneGap for this process, installing Ant is unnecessary.

If you need to install Apache Ant, download it here.

Adding Ant to your PATH

Windows

Unless otherwise specified, Windows users can assume Ant is installed at c:\ant. Add the following bits of information to your System Variables to add Ant to your PATH:

variable name: 
ANT_HOME
variable value: 
c:\ant

variable name: 
PATH
variable value: 
%PATH%;%ANT_HOME%\bin\
Mac OSX / Linux users

Unless otherwise specified, Mac and Linux users can assume Ant is installed at /usr/bin/ant. Add the following lines to your ~/.bash_profile to add Ant to your PATH:

export ANT_HOME=/usr/bin/ant
export PATH=${PATH}:${ANT_HOME}/bin

Reload Ant

After installing Apache Ant, you will need to reload the dependencies in Sencha Architect. You can reload the dependencies by going to:

Sencha Architect Preferences > Dependencies > Reload

Finalizing 3rd Party Dependencies

Besides these three dependencies, Sencha Architect also uses Sencha Cmd and the Sencha frameworks. You will not need to install Sencha Cmd or the frameworks as they are provided in tandem with Architect. When the other dependencies are properly installed, go ahead and run the Sencha Architect installer.

For Windows users, it may be wise to install Sencha Architect with the same admin rights as the dependencies so Sencha Architect can access them.

Sencha Cmd

Sencha Cmd encapsulates a very useful set of tools. Not only can you build your applications, but you can also build themes, generate code, or use the built-in web server (Jetty 8.1.7).

Sencha Architect requires Sencha Cmd to properly build applications. Since Sencha Architect runs on top of Sencha Cmd, they are packaged together so no further installation should be required. That said, Cmd is NOT added to your PATH by default. Make sure to follow the steps below if you have any intention of running Cmd from the command line independently from Architect.

You can test for proper Sencha Cmd installation from the command line by issuing the following:

> sencha which

If correctly installed, it should output the version number. For example:

> sencha which
Sencha Cmd v6.1.1.70
/Users/<User>/bin/Sencha/Cmd/6.1.1.70/

Adding Cmd to your PATH

Run the following commands in your terminal to add Cmd to your PATH.

Windows

Unless otherwise specified, Windows users can assume Sencha Cmd is installed at c:\sencha\cmd\5.0.0.116. Add the following bits of information to your System Variables to add Sencha Cmd to your PATH:

variable name: 
PATH
variable value: 
%PATH%;c:\sencha\cmd\6.1.1.70\

Mac OSX / Linux

Unless otherwise specified, Mac/Linux users can assume Sencha Cmd is installed at ~/bin/sencha/cmd/6.1.1.70.

Add the following lines to your ~/.bash_profile to add Sencha Cmd to your PATH:

export PATH=~/bin/Sencha/Cmd/6.1.1.70:$PATH

Enabling Sencha Cmd

Sencha Cmd will also need to be enabled in Sencha Architect. This should be done by default on the first save.

Verify Sencha Cmd can be manually enabled by navigating to:

Edit > Project Settings > Framework.

It should be noted that the CDN will be used for the framework when build tools is disabled. The path is set on the Library node in the inspector under Library Base Path. This should only be set for projects with build tools disabled. The CDN path will be used if the user clears the path as a default.

Sencha Frameworks

Architect automatically downloads and install the Sencha Frameworks you require. This means that you shouldn't need to manually install Ext JS or Sencha Touch.

However, you can switch to other supported legacy versions of Ext JS or Touch by specifying the location under "License"

You can find more detailed instructions below.

Application License

Sencha provides different options for licensing your application via the framework of your choice. For more information, see Sencha Licenses and Policies.

Note: This does not refer to Sencha Architect's licensing, rather the framework licensing for your applications.

To change the application license:

  1. Click Edit > Project Settings > Framework.
  2. Click Build Tools > Enabled - If you disable Build Tools, Architect assumes you will handle building your application and setting its license yourself. By enabling Build Tools, Architect provides the optimal software for each license choice.

  3. Click a license choice:

    • Commercial: Architect default license for free or purchased applications
    • Complete or Custom Path: For use with Sencha Complete or Sencha Touch Bundle
    • GPL: Open source
  4. Click Save.

Note: For Sencha Complete or Sencha Touch Bundle, click Sencha Complete or Custom Path and the Browse button to locate the Ext JS or Touch framework directory.

By default, the Ext JS and Touch frameworks are installed in the following directories by the Sencha Complete or Touch Bundle installers.

In the following addresses is username, is either Complete or Touch-Bundle, n.n.n is the version number, and build is the build number.

Mac OS X:

/Users/<User>/bin/Sencha/<pkg>/ext-n.n.n.build
/Users/<User>/bin/Sencha/<pkg>/touch-n.n.n

Windows 7+:

C:\Users\<User>\bin\Sencha\<pkg>\ext-n.n.n.build
C:\Users\<User>\bin\Sencha\<pkg>\touch-n.n.n

Ubuntu:

/home/user/bin/Sencha/<pkg>/ext-n.n.n.build
/home/user/bin/Sencha/<pkg>/touch-n.n.n

Create a Project Directory

The location and name of the directory in which you create your directory varies by operating systems and web servers. If you are using a local webserver, you will need to store your directory somewhere within your localhost's web-accessible area. Examples of this would be XAMPP's htdocs directory or Linux's /var/www/html.

If you are using the Sencha Cmd Web Server, you can use any directory for your project directory.

After you save a project for the first time, Architect creates a new directory for the project in the same location. Store any additional project assets in the directory that Architect creates. This includes data and additional resources such as images.

Configure IIS to Serve JSON Files

If you are running an IIS web server, make sure to add application/x-json as a MIME type. IIS requires a MIME type setup to properly serve JSON files. If this is not set up, JSON files will return an error when you preview your project.

See also:

Next Steps

After installing software, proceed to:

Now you know how to set up Sencha Architect and handle all of its dependencies. We hope this helps you get started quickly so you can get straight to building. If you’d like to learn more about Sencha tools and frameworks, you can take one of our Sencha training courses, or check out our forums for lots of helpful information.

Architect 3