# Properties Pages

The implementation of a properties page requires that you define an extension in your plug-in and provide an implementation of the extension. This solution's `plugin.xml` defines one property page extension. The page is implemented as a subclass of `PropertyPage` that implements `IWorkbenchPropertyPage`.

## Running the Solution

To run the example, launch the run-time instance of Eclipse (Run > Run As > Run-time Workbench).

1. Select any file resource in the Navigator or Package Explorer view and use the Properties context menu choice to open the Properties dialog. Select the page titled Soln: File Properties. You will see the custom preference page implemented by the `MyPropertyPage` class:
   The current values for the selected resource are displayed, and in the case of the text field, if no value was found a default string is supplied just before the page is shown.
2. Modify the values shown on the properties page and select the Apply button. The changes will be recorded as part of the resource for this workspace. That is, these values are not stored in the resource, but managed by the Eclipse org.eclipse.core.resources plug-in and stored in the workspace .metadata.
3. If you entered a unique string in the text field, you should be able to find it in the workspace's .metadata. For example, enter the string qrs-property and select the Apply button.
   Then find the .properties file for the project that contains the resource you selected when opening up the Properties dialog. For example, given a project named a.custom this would be the file:

       \runtime-workspace\.metadata\.plugins\org.eclipse.core.resources\.projects\a.custom

   Open the file in Notepad (Wordpad will complain that the file is locked) and then search for the text qrs-property:
   Resource properties are stored in the active workspace, not the resource itself. This is why resource properties are not sent/returned from a repository.

## Roadmap to the Solution

This example includes a properties page extension that demonstrates how to build the user interface an access resource properties using the Workspace API. The extension definition can be found in the plugin.xml. The class that implements the extension is shown below.

Extension | Implementation
--- | ---
Properties page extension | The properties page is implemented by the `MyPropertyPage` class.

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