Netbeans: Go from javax.swing item declaration to its display in UI design tab

Question

I've got a couple years of programming experience under my belt and am starting work as a software development intern. I was given a big program that is 70% done being written. There are several thousand codes of line already in place. Much of it was generated by the UI generator and design tab and since there's so much of it, it can be difficult to navigate as I'm trying to get to know the program. Most of the main machinery is already in place in this program and my role is to connect the UI with the command-line program machinery.

I run across a problem like this, for example:

I'm trying to understand what format a String needs to be in (whether multi-line, or single line) based on how big of a space it has been given in the UI to be displayed. So the easiest way to find out would be to look at this text area in the GUI that's already designed, right? I find the declaration for the text area the String will go in, and it looks like this:

private javax.swing.JTextArea wsNoteField;

and then I go to find this text area in the UI displayed in the "Design" tab. The UI is already so big that I have to click around for several minutes and look at the name of everything I click on, just to find this one text area.

Which, to be completely honest, is doable... but still somewhat a waste of time. I'm just wondering, is there a faster way? A secret button to push? A wand to be waved? Magic slippers to click together, that will whisk me away from the declaration of this javax.swing item to the place where it's used in the GUI?

Thanks!

Answer 1

What i use to do is to find it in "Navigator tab" in NetBeans. I dont know other way. If you click on it in navigator, component becomes selected in design view.