# Edit Styles in Simulator

DevFeed: [Edit Styles in Simulator](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/edit-styles-in-simulator-19293.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://www.codenameone.com/blog/edit-styles-simulator/>)

Author: Shai Almog

Published: 2017-04-11T00:00:00Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [CodeName One](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/codename-one.md>)

Topics: [Tool](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/tool.md>), [ui](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ui.md>), [GUI](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/gui.md>)

Tags: [component](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/component.md>), [designer](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/designer.md>), [screen](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/screen.md>), [simulator](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/simulator.md>), [themes](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/themes.md>), [tool](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/tool.md>), [ui](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ui.md>), [update](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/update.md>)

## AI overview

This Codename One blog article introduces a simulator feature for editing styles in a running application and instantly previewing the changes. It explains how the Component Inspector connects the simulator with the designer and notes possible issues with multiple or layered themes.

## Source excerpt

One of the biggest pain points in Codename One is theming, there are several things we did to alleviate the problem but it's an inherently complex problem. One difficulty people have is in the disconnect between what we see in the UI and the styling in the designer. This creates a disconnect that is often hard to bridge. In the past we added the Component Inspector tool to the simulator that allows you to discover the UIID's of the various components and change the UIID's to see the effect. This is very helpful for inspecting a running application and understanding what we see on the screen. Unfortunately, this is a half measure as we need to see something in the Component Inspector then open it in the designer restart the app rinse/repeat...