Exploring the table of contents

In this topic

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About exploring the table of contents

To open the TOC in the Microsoft Document Explorer window, click the Contents icon. See the following screen shot:

Scroll down the TOC to the ArcObjects namespace reference node. If necessary, to view the ArcObjects namespace reference node, click to expand intermediate nodes—for example, ArcObjects Software Development Kit (SDK) for Microsoft .NET.

The TOC is a good starting point to become familiar with the types of information in the help system. The ArcObjects namespace reference section of the TOC is organized alphabetically by namespace name. Each namespace node can contain object model diagrams (OMDs) and a list of associated interfaces, classes, constants, structures, and so on for that namespace. Each namespace also contains a reference overview document that outlines the contents of the namespace.

See the following screen shot that shows the TOC with the Carto node expanded and the Carto namespace reference overview:

TOC dockable window

The TOC is a dockable window that can be moved around the document explorer by clicking and dragging the TOC pane, then dropping it into position (indicated by the arrows). See the following screen shot:

The remainder of this document discusses various TOC nodes for any namespace in the ArcObjects namespace reference.

Namespace contents

Namespace contents contain high-level details for all programmable interfaces, classes, structures, and enumerations. See the following screen shot that shows the SystemUI Namespace Contents:

Object model diagram

OMDs are graphical representations of how various ArcObjects classes fit in the hierarchy of a specific namespace and their available properties, methods, and events. See the following screen shot that shows the OMD for the Carto namespace:

Interfaces
Expanding an interface node shows the main interface page and associated members. Click a specific interface name (preceded by an I, for example, IEnvelope) to view details that provide additional information. See the following screen shot for the IEnvelope interface in the Geometry namespace:

Members
Click an interface's member (that is, property or method) in the TOC to view the usage of the associated property or method. See the following screen shot of the Display namespace's ClipEnvelope property on the IDisplay interface:

Member corresponding to the interface

Any member clicked in the TOC corresponds to the interface that is its parent node. In the following screen shot, clicking GroupLayer Property in the TOC corresponds to the IAddDataDialog2 interface:

 

This is in contrast to clicking a member link on the interface page that may or may not directly correspond to the interface that is its parent node. In the following screen shot, clicking the Map member on the IAddDataDialog2 interface corresponds to the Map property of the IAddDataDialog interface because it uses Component Object Model (COM) inheritance. This is noticeable by clicking the Sync with Table of Contents button on the toolbar in the document explorer. For more information, see How COM inheritance impacts the components in the table of contents.

 

Classes

Expanding the Classes node lists individual classes in subgrouped alphabetical order categories.

Click a specific class name (for example, EnvelopeClass) in the TOC to view details that provide additional information. The supported interfaces are listed and provide links to access more information. See the following screen shot: