Not possible to use variables like ${project_loc} in External Tools

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Hello,

I just encountered your plugin through the Eclipse Marketplace RSS feed,
and was immediately drawn to its use of a designated view for various
launch configurations. I am a heavy user of both Java Application and
External Tool launchers in Eclipse.

Sadly, most of my External Tools are not possible to execute using your
plugin, because I often use various variables to refer to resources in
Eclipse, for instance ${project_loc} to refer to any marked resource's
project root folder. Typically, when comfiguring an External Tool, I set
Working Directory to ${project_loc} to enable the tool to be run from any
project I am currently working with, not hardcoded to a specific path.

Anyway, this works well when I use the External Tools button because
Eclipse then keeps focus on the file I am currently working with. But if I
use your view and double click on the same External Tool I get the error
"Variable references empty selection: ${project_loc}", because Eclipse's
focus changes to the Runner view, instead of the file I am currently
working with.

So to sum it up, the plugin currently seems not to be usable for External
Tools which uses such variables. I have no idea if there is possible to
resolve these variables in views. Maybe there is possible to catch the
values of these variables each time the view gets focus, and before the
variables are cleared? And then substitute any variables when running an
external tool from the Runner view?

Just to give you a heads up :)

- Rune

Original issue reported on code.google.com by flobakk on 31 Mar 2010 at 12:57