There are components with a specific functionality that are re-used in various tools. Building blocks like this are called views. A view (for example the Navigator View) can not be opened until a perspective is open, so there has to be a perspective open to contain the view. Views can be started from icons in the toolbar, by using the respective menu item "Show View" from the “Tools” menu or as "fast views" in the status bar.
Each view has a title bar on its upper section. On the title bar you can set several default options (mainly via context menu by right-click):
- Show a view as "fast view". By clicking the button, the view opens in the current perspective. As soon as you click outside that view it is hidden again.
- Detach a view by so that it can be placed wherever needed.
- Restore a view.
- Move a view by dragging its title bar with the mouse or move a tab group after selecting this option in “Move”.
- Resize views by dragging the border between screen components or select a border to change the size of the view.
- Minimize, maximize or close a view.
Multiple views can be stacked on top of each other. Only the topmost one of these views is visible. Click a background view’s title bar to make it visible in the foreground. In the perspective of the XML Editor for example the Navigator, the Metadata Editor and the Unicode Character Table are arranged in this way by default.