Utils Namespace | Extending Qt Creator Manual
Description: The Utils namespace contains a collection of utility classes and functions for use by all plugins.

- Extending Qt Creator Manual
- Utils Namespace
- Extending Qt Creator Manual 13.0.1

# Utils Namespace

The Utils namespace contains a collection of utility classes and functions for use by all plugins. More...

Header: | #include <Utils>

## Namespaces

namespace | MathUtils

## Classes

class | Action
class | AnsiEscapeCodeHandler
class | AspectContainer
class | BaseAspect
class | BoolAspect
class | CheckableMessageBox
class | ClassNameValidatingLineEdit
class | ColorAspect
class | CommandLine
class | CompletingTextEdit
class | DetailsWidget
class | DoubleAspect
class | ElidingLabel
class | Environment
class | FakeToolTip
class | FancyLineEdit
class | FancyMainWindow
class | FileInProjectFinder
class | FileNameValidatingLineEdit
class | FilePath
class | FilePathAspect
class | FilePathListAspect
class | FileSystemWatcher
class | FileUtils
class | FileWizardPage
class | FutureSynchronizer
class | Guard
class | HeaderViewStretcher
class | Id
class | IntegerAspect
class | ListView
class | ListWidget
class | MacroExpander
class | MultiSelectionAspect
class | NavigationTreeView
class | NetworkAccessManager
class | OptionPushButton
class | PathChooser
class | PathListEditor
class | PersistentSettingsReader
class | PersistentSettingsWriter
class | Port
class | Process
class | ProcessArgs
class | ProcessHandle
class | ProgressIndicator
class | ProgressIndicatorPainter
class | ProjectIntroPage
class | QrcCache
class | QrcParser
class | QtcSettings
class | SelectionAspect
class | StatusLabel
class | StringAspect
class | StringListAspect
class | TextDisplay
class | TextFieldCheckBox
class | TextFieldComboBox
class | TextFileFormat
class | ToggleAspect
class | TreeModel
class | TreeView
class | TreeWidget
class | TriStateAspect
class | VariableChooser
class | Wizard
class | WizardPage

## Types

enum | FindFlag { FindBackward, FindCaseSensitively, FindWholeWords, FindRegularExpression, FindPreserveCase }
flags | FindFlags
flags | LanguageExtensions
enum class | ProgressIndicatorSize { Small, Medium, Large }

## Functions

void | addToolTipsToMenu(QMenu *menu)
QAction * | execMenuAtWidget(QMenu *menu, QWidget *widget)
Utils::MacroExpander * | globalMacroExpander()
QString | joinStrings(const QStringList &strings, QChar separator)
QString | qtcEnvironmentVariable(const QString &key)
QString | qtcEnvironmentVariable(const QString &key, const QString &defaultValue)
int | qtcEnvironmentVariableIntValue(const QString &key, bool *ok = nullptr)
bool | qtcEnvironmentVariableIsEmpty(const QString &key)
bool | qtcEnvironmentVariableIsSet(const QString &key)
QString | trim(const QString &string, QChar ch)
QString | trimBack(const QString &string, QChar ch)
QString | trimFront(const QString &string, QChar ch)

## Detailed Description

## Namespaces

### namespace Utils::MathUtils

## Classes

### class Action

The Action class is intended for actions that act on a 'current', string-type parameter (typically a file name), for example 'Save file %1'. More...

### class AnsiEscapeCodeHandler

The AnsiEscapeCodeHandler class parses text and extracts ANSI escape codes from it. More...

### class AspectContainer

The AspectContainer class wraps one or more aspects while providing the interface of a single aspect. More...

### class BaseAspect

The `BaseAspect` class provides a common base for classes implementing aspects. More...

### class BoolAspect

A boolean aspect is a boolean property of some object, together with a description of its behavior for common operations like visualizing or persisting. More...

### class CheckableMessageBox

The CheckableMessageBox class implements a message box suitable for questions with a Do not ask again or Do not show again checkbox. More...

### class ClassNameValidatingLineEdit

The ClassNameValidatingLineEdit class implements a line edit that validates a C++ class name and emits a signal to derive suggested file names from it. More...

### class ColorAspect

A color aspect is a color property of some object, together with a description of its behavior for common operations like visualizing or persisting. More...

### class CommandLine

The CommandLine class represents a command line of a QProcess or similar utility. More...

### class CompletingTextEdit

The CompletingTextEdit class is a QTextEdit with auto-completion support. More...

### class DetailsWidget

The DetailsWidget class implements a button to expand a Details area. More...

### class DoubleAspect

An double aspect is a numerical property of some object, together with a description of its behavior for common operations like visualizing or persisting. More...

### class ElidingLabel

The ElidingLabel class is a label suitable for displaying elided text. More...

### class Environment

The Environment class sets Qt Creator's system environment. More...

### class FakeToolTip

The FakeToolTip class is a widget that pretends to be a tooltip. More...

### class FancyLineEdit

The FancyLineEdit class is an enhanced line edit with several opt-in features. More...

### class FancyMainWindow

The FancyMainWindow class is a MainWindow with dock widgets and additional "lock" functionality (locking the dock widgets in place) and "reset layout" functionality. More...

### class FileInProjectFinder

The FileInProjectFinder class is a helper class to find the original file in the project directory for a given file URL. More...

### class FileNameValidatingLineEdit

The FileNameValidatingLineEdit class is a control that lets the user choose a (base) file name, based on a QLineEdit. More...

### class FilePath

The FilePath class is an abstraction for handles to objects in a (possibly remote) file system, similar to a URL or, in the local case, a path to a file or directory. More...

### class FilePathAspect

A file path aspect is shallow wrapper around a Utils::StringAspect that represents a file in the file system. More...

### class FilePathListAspect

A filepath list aspect represents a property of some object that is a list of filepathList. More...

### class FileSystemWatcher

The FileSystemWatcher class is a file watcher that internally uses a centralized QFileSystemWatcher and enforces limits on Mac OS. More...

### class FileUtils

The FileUtils class contains file and directory related convenience functions. More...

### class FileWizardPage

The FileWizardPage class is a standard wizard page for a single file letting the user choose name and path. More...

### class FutureSynchronizer

The FutureSynchronizer is an enhanced version of QFutureSynchronizer. More...

### class Guard

The Guard class implements a recursive guard with locking mechanism. More...

### class HeaderViewStretcher

The HeaderViewStretcher class fixes QHeaderView to resize all columns to contents, except one stretching column. More...

### class Id

The Id class encapsulates an identifier that is unique within a specific running Qt Creator process. More...

### class IntegerAspect

An integer aspect is a integral property of some object, together with a description of its behavior for common operations like visualizing or persisting. More...

### class ListView

The ListView adds setActivationMode to QListView to allow for single click/double click behavior on platforms where the default is different. Use with care. More...

### class ListWidget

The ListWidget adds setActivationMode to QListWidget to allow for single click/double click behavior on platforms where the default is different. Use with care. More...

### class MacroExpander

The MacroExpander class manages Qt Creator wide variables, that a user can enter into many string settings. The variables are replaced by an actual value when the string is used, similar to how environment variables are expanded by a shell. More...

### class MultiSelectionAspect

A multi-selection aspect represents one or more choices out of several. More...

### class NavigationTreeView

The NavigationTreeView class implements a general TreeView for any sidebar widget. More...

### class NetworkAccessManager

The NetworkAccessManager class provides a network access manager for use with Qt Creator. More...

### class OptionPushButton

The OptionPushButton class implements a QPushButton for which the menu is only opened if the user presses the menu indicator. More...

### class PathChooser

The PathChooser class is a control that lets the user choose a path. The control consist of a QLineEdit and a "Browse" button, and is optionally able to perform variable substitution. More...

### class PathListEditor

The PathListEditor class is a control that lets the user edit a list of (directory) paths using the platform separator (';',':'). More...

### class PersistentSettingsReader

The PersistentSettingsReader class reads a QVariantMap of arbitrary, nested data structures from an XML file. More...

### class PersistentSettingsWriter

The PersistentSettingsWriter class serializes a Store of arbitrary, nested data structures to an XML file. More...

### class Port

The Port class implements a wrapper around a 16 bit port number to be used in conjunction with IP addresses. More...

### class Process

The Process class provides functionality for with processes. More...

### class ProcessArgs

The ProcessArgs class provides functionality for dealing with shell-quoted process arguments. More...

### class ProcessHandle

The ProcessHandle class is a helper class to describe a process. More...

### class ProgressIndicator

The ProgressIndicator class shows an circular, endlessly animated progress indicator. More...

### class ProgressIndicatorPainter

The ProgressIndicatorPainter class is the painting backend for the ProgressIndicator class. More...

### class ProjectIntroPage

The ProjectIntroPage class is the standard wizard page for a project, letting the user choose its name and path. More...

### class QrcCache

The QrcCache class caches the contents of parsed QRC files. More...

### class QrcParser

The QrcParser class parses one or more QRC files and keeps their content cached. More...

### class QtcSettings

The QtcSettings class is an extension of the QSettings class the uses Utils::Key instead of QString for keys. More...

### class SelectionAspect

A selection aspect represents a specific choice out of several. More...

### class StatusLabel

The StatusLabel class displays messages for a while with a timeout. More...

### class StringAspect

A string aspect is a string-like property of some object, together with a description of its behavior for common operations like visualizing or persisting. More...

### class StringListAspect

A string list aspect represents a property of some object that is a list of strings. More...

### class TextDisplay

A text display is a phony aspect with the sole purpose of providing some text display using an Utils::InfoLabel in places where otherwise more expensive Utils::StringAspect items would be used. More...

### class TextFieldCheckBox

The TextFieldCheckBox class is a aheckbox that plays with `QWizard::registerField`. More...

### class TextFieldComboBox

The TextFieldComboBox class is a non-editable combo box for text editing purposes that plays with `QWizard::registerField` (providing a settable 'text' property). More...

### class TextFileFormat

The TextFileFormat class describes the format of a text file and provides autodetection. More...

### class ToggleAspect

A toggle aspect is a boolean property of some object, together with a description of its behavior for common operations like visualizing or persisting. It also contains independent tooltips, icons and text for the action() according to the on / off state of the aspect. More...

### class TreeModel

The TreeModel class is a convienience base class for models to use in a QTreeView. More...

### class TreeView

The TreeView adds setActivationMode to QTreeView to allow for single click/double click behavior on platforms where the default is different. Use with care. More...

### class TreeWidget

The TreeWidget adds setActivationMode to QTreeWidget to allow for single click/double click behavior on platforms where the default is different. Use with care. More...

### class TriStateAspect

A tristate aspect is a property of some object that can have three values: enabled, disabled, and unspecified. More...

### class VariableChooser

The VariableChooser class is used to add a tool window for selecting Qt Creator variables to line edits, text edits or plain text edits. More...

### class Wizard

The Wizard class implements a wizard with a progress bar on the left. More...

### class WizardPage

QWizardPage with a couple of improvements. More...

## Type Documentation

### enum Utils::FindFlag
flags Utils::FindFlags

This enum holds the find flags.

Constant | Value | Description
--- | --- | ---
`Utils::FindBackward` | `0x01` | Searches backwards.
`Utils::FindCaseSensitively` | `0x02` | Considers case when searching.
`Utils::FindWholeWords` | `0x04` | Finds only whole words.
`Utils::FindRegularExpression` | `0x08` | Uses a regular epression as a search term.
`Utils::FindPreserveCase` | `0x10` | Preserves the case when replacing search terms.

The FindFlags type is a typedef for QFlags<FindFlag>. It stores an OR combination of FindFlag values.

### enum class Utils::ProgressIndicatorSize

Size of a progress indicator.

Constant | Value | Description
--- | --- | ---
`Utils::ProgressIndicatorSize::Small` | `0` | Small icon size. Useful for tool bars, status bars, rows in tree views, and so on.
`Utils::ProgressIndicatorSize::Medium` | `1` | Larger progress indicator useful for covering whole medium sized widgets.
`Utils::ProgressIndicatorSize::Large` | `2` | Very large progress indicator that can be used to cover large parts of a UI.

See also Utils::ProgressIndicator and Utils::ProgressIndicatorPainter.

## Function Documentation

### void Utils::addToolTipsToMenu(QMenu *menu)

Adds tool tips to the menu that show the actions tool tip when hovering over an entry.

### QAction *Utils::execMenuAtWidget(QMenu *menu, QWidget *widget)

Opens menu at the specified widget position. This function computes the position where to show the menu, and opens it with QMenu::exec().

### Utils::MacroExpander *Utils::globalMacroExpander()

Returns the expander for globally registered variables.

### QString Utils::joinStrings(const QStringList &strings, QChar separator)

Joins all the not empty string list's strings into a single string with each element separated by the given separator (which can be an empty string).

### QString Utils::qtcEnvironmentVariable(const QString &key)

Returns the value of key in Qt Creator's modified system environment.

See also Utils::Environment::systemEnvironment and qEnvironmentVariable.

### QString Utils::qtcEnvironmentVariable(const QString &key, const QString &defaultValue)

Returns the value of key in Qt Creator's modified system environment if it is set, or otherwise defaultValue.

See also Utils::Environment::systemEnvironment and qEnvironmentVariable.

### int Utils::qtcEnvironmentVariableIntValue(const QString &key, bool *ok = nullptr)

Returns the value of key in Qt Creator's modified system environment, converted to an int. If ok is not null, sets `*ok` to true or false depending on the success of the conversion

See also Utils::Environment::systemEnvironment and qEnvironmentVariableIntValue.

### bool Utils::qtcEnvironmentVariableIsEmpty(const QString &key)

Returns if the environment variable key is not set or empty in Qt Creator's modified system environment.

See also Utils::Environment::systemEnvironment and qEnvironmentVariableIsEmpty.

### bool Utils::qtcEnvironmentVariableIsSet(const QString &key)

Returns if the environment variable key is set Qt Creator's modified system environment.

See also Utils::Environment::systemEnvironment and qEnvironmentVariableIsSet.

### QString Utils::trim(const QString &string, QChar ch)

Returns a copy of string that has ch characters removed from the start and the end.

### QString Utils::trimBack(const QString &string, QChar ch)

Returns a copy of string that has ch characters removed from the end.

### QString Utils::trimFront(const QString &string, QChar ch)

Returns a copy of string that has ch characters removed from the start.