Tools Method Table Preview

The Table tab shows the Darty sheet produced by the current Tools Method. It contains the real four-row Darty header and every method row captured with Add Row, Apply, or a supported specialized action.

Use the preview to inspect serialized values, refine stored rows, change their order, test one saved row, copy the complete table, or save it as CSV or Excel.

The Table preview belongs to the selected Tools Method. It is not automatically inserted into Builder or Data, and it is not saved merely because it appears in the extension.

Open and Populate the Table

A new method starts with an empty Table tab. Capture at least one configuration using:

• Add Row to add the configuration without changing Illustrator.
• Apply to add or update the row and dispatch it to Illustrator.
• Generate when a specialized tool, such as Barcode, provides that action.

Apply to Selection and Apply to Document do not add rows because they are one-time execution modes.

See Tools Method Actions and Apply Modes for the complete action behavior.

Preview Anatomy

The grid combines the four Darty header rows with the captured data records.

The column letters and pinned row controls are interface aids. The copied or downloaded sheet contains the four headers and data values, not the interface controls.

How Columns Are Built

The preview uses the union of properties configured across its rows. If a later row introduces another property, the grid adds that property column and leaves it blank for rows that do not provide a value.

Properties follow the method's defined order when possible. Additional recognized values are placed after the ordered properties.

The first captured tag target becomes the block-level Tag Search header. If a later row uses a different target, the preview can add a tagSearch property value for that row so its override survives when the sheet is copied or saved.

Append or Replace Rows

The Add Row checkbox in the Table toolbar controls how a new configuration is captured.

This setting affects future captures. Turning it off does not immediately remove existing rows.

When you are editing an existing preview row, the action determines the result:

• Apply updates and dispatches that row in its current position.
• Add Row preserves the original and appends the edited controls as a new row, regardless of the Add Row checkbox.

Reset restores the checkbox to its normal checked state and clears the preview.

Focus the Table After Capturing

Enable Focus on the Table tab after applying or adding a method when you want Add Row or Apply to open the Table automatically.

The focus preference is shared by the Tools Methods that use this preview during the current extension session. Changing it in one method updates the others. It returns to its default when the extension session restarts.

Disable the setting when you are entering several configurations and want to remain in the method's Options area after each capture.

Inspect Values

Each data cell shows the exact value serialized for that property. Blank cells mean the captured row does not provide a value for that property.

The preview can also provide visual cues or translated tooltips for recognized methods, properties, constants, colors, and text control characters. Those presentation aids do not change the underlying copied or downloaded value.

Columns resize automatically to their contents and can be resized manually for review. Preview column widths are not stored in the exported sheet.

The Table grid is primarily a review surface. Use Edit Row rather than typing directly into its data cells.

Edit a Captured Row

Select the pencil control beside a row to choose Edit Row. The method:

1. Loads that row's serialized values into the method controls.
2. Restores method defaults for controls not represented by the row.
3. Switches from Table to the method's Options area.
4. Marks the selected preview row as the editing target.

After making changes:

• Select Apply to replace and dispatch the edited row.
• Select Add Row to keep the original and append a new row from the current controls.
• Select Reset to abandon editing and clear the complete working preview.

There is no separate Save Row action. Apply is the update-and-test path; Add Row is the preserve-and-append path.

Apply One Stored Row

Select the lightning control beside a row to choose Apply Row. This dispatches the values already stored in that preview row.

Apply Row:

• Does not rebuild the row from the current Options controls.
• Does not add, replace, or reorder preview rows.
• Uses the target and property values saved in that row.
• Reports its result in the method status area.

Use Apply Row to retest a captured configuration after switching to other Options values. If the row itself needs to change, use Edit Row and then Apply.

Reorder Rows

Drag from the row-number area to move a captured row. The preview renumbers the rows after the move.

Reordering changes:

• The visible row order.
• The order copied to the clipboard.
• The order written to CSV or Excel.

Each row is a separate Darty data record, so reordering rows is not the same as changing the execution order of multiple method blocks. Use Builder when you need to arrange several methods in a sequence.

Delete Rows

Select the trash control beside a row to remove it from the preview. Deletion is immediate and does not ask for confirmation.

Deleting a preview row:

• Does not undo anything previously applied in Illustrator.
• Does not delete a row from Builder, Data, or an already saved file.
• Cannot be undone through a Table-specific history control.

Recreate the configuration with Add Row if a preview row is deleted accidentally. Use Reset only when you intend to clear the entire method preview and restore the method defaults.

Copy the Complete Table

Select Copy to place the complete Darty matrix on the clipboard as tab-delimited text. It includes:

• All four Darty header rows.
• Every serialized property column supplied by the method preview.
• Every captured data row in its current order.

Paste into Excel, Google Sheets, or another spreadsheet application. Tab-delimited copying preserves the cell boundaries without creating a file first.

Copy is unavailable as a useful operation while the preview is empty; add or apply a row first.

Download CSV or Excel

Select CSV or Excel to open a save dialog for the complete preview.

The extension adds the selected extension when it is missing. Cancelling the save dialog leaves the preview unchanged. A successful download creates a standalone file; later changes in the Tools Method do not update that file automatically.

The saved table can be opened in a spreadsheet application or loaded through Darty's normal data workflow. It contains only the method or related method group represented by that preview.

Method Groups and Specialized Previews

Most Tools Methods produce one method block. Related method groups, such as Tags or Swatches, can capture rows from more than one operation and construct the necessary method/property columns within their shared preview.

Appearance, Graphic Style, and Barcode use specialized editors, but their Table controls retain the same core behavior: capture rows, append or replace, edit, reorder, delete, apply one row, copy, and download.

See the Appearance Tool, Graphic Style Tool, and Barcode Tool for the configuration that precedes those previews.

Preview Lifetime and Saving

The preview is working state held by the extension. Switching to another opened Tools entry can preserve it during the current session, but it should not be treated as durable storage.

The preview can be cleared by:

• Resetting that method.
• Closing or restarting the extension.
• Another workflow that replaces the current Tools state.

Copy or download any rows you need to retain. For a complete multi-method sheet, recreate or combine the required blocks in Builder and save the table there.

Recommended Review Workflow

1. Configure the method and choose the intended tag target.
2. Use Add Row to capture without changing Illustrator, or Apply to capture and test.
3. Open Table and verify the method, properties, target, and serialized values.
4. Edit, reorder, apply, or delete individual rows as needed.
5. Copy or download the finished preview before resetting or ending the session.

Related Documentation

• Tools Methods
• Tools Method Actions and Apply Modes
• Builder Table Anatomy
• Builder Method Blocks
• Darty Header