To exclude a PROPATH entry from the OpenEdge tooling model, select the Exclude from OpenEdge tooling option on the PROPATH properties page.

The Exclude from OpenEdge tooling option in Developer Studio is a powerful feature designed to improve the efficiency of the OpenEdge tooling model initialization process. This option is available per PROPATH entry in the project preferences.

When working with large projects, certain PROPATH entries may contain a significant number of files. Initializing the tooling model for these files can take considerable time. If you don’t require tooling features like content assist or class wizards for a specific PROPATH entry, you can exclude it from the tooling model to enhance performance.

Note: Use the Exclude from OpenEdge tooling option to reduce tooling model size and initialization time, especially in large projects. This prevents excessive disk usage caused by metadata files generated under .metadata/.plugins/com.openedge.ptd.project directory.
You will experience the following behaviour when a PROPATH entry is excluded in the PROPATH properties page in the Developer Studio:
  • Impact on the OpenEdge tooling model— Files in the excluded PROPATH entry are not scanned or included in the OpenEdge tooling model. As a result, features like Content Assistance (by pressing CTRL+SPACE) and Class Wizards will not be available for these files.
  • Compilation and Runtime—The excluded PROPATH entry remains fully functional during compilation and runtime. The AVM (ABL Virtual Machine) PROPATH is unaffected by this setting, ensuring that the application can still reference the files as needed.
Excluding the PROPATH entries from a project provides the following benefits:
  • Improvement in the performance of the Developer Studio, as it reduces the time required to initialize the OpenEdge tooling model, especially for large directories or projects.
  • Allows you to focus more on the development as it optimizes the Developer Studio for the files and directories that are essential for your current development session.

Use this feature when you are working on a large project with directories that are not actively being developed, or when a certain PROPATH entries contain files that are only needed for runtime or compilation but not for development tooling.

By strategically excluding PROPATH entries from the OpenEdge tooling model, you can streamline your development workflow and improve the overall performance of Progress Developer Studio for OpenEdge.