View type of UI element in Design mode

Is there any way to tell what type of UI element an existing widget is, other than by visual inspection? Currently if a student selects an item in design mode, they can view its properties, id, and events, but nothing tells them whether it’s an image, button, label, text input, etc.

I feel that with time they (and I) will be able to easily distinguish just by appearance, but as appearances can be so highly customized, it’s not always obvious to us at this point.

Thanks,
Alex

Great question @alex.jacoby! I don’t think there is a field that says what type of UI element is being used…

Typically I see students get most confused between a label and a text input or text area. Once they see that the text input or text area may be edited by users, they tend to have a better eye for the difference.

I can put in a request for that to be added to design mode though, I can see how that would be useful for learners!

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@alex.jacoby

The default name of the element is the element type with a number i.e. button1, text_input2, screen3 etc. So I see this as an opportunity to reinforce the importance of selecting descriptive and meaningful id names. I encourage students to include the element type in the id name. So label1 becomes scoreLabel or text_input2 on screen2 becomes name_TxtInpt_Scr2. I realize it can be time-consuming but documentation is part of programming. Since I am THAT teacher, I will not help students debug code with the default id names.

Andrea

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