## What you can do

Use Object Inspector to begin examining an object in the active Visual
Components layout. Inspector opens an Object Inspector window and can keep
more than one Inspector window open at the same time.

![Object Inspector showing Object bounds and Property container results for the selected Lifter in the Automatic Warehouse System layout](https://inspector.4111778.xyz/assets/captures/core-inspector-lifter-investigation.png)

## Start inspecting

1. Open Inspector in Visual Components.
2. Find the floating window named **Object Inspector**.
3. Select an object in the active layout. A new Object Inspector is configured
   to inspect the active selection by default.
4. Use the information shown for the selected object to continue your
   investigation.

## Core controls

Use the panel controls to keep the inspection useful as the layout changes:

* Keep **Follow selection** enabled to inspect later VC selections
  automatically. Clear it to hold the current inspected object while you
  select another object in the layout.
* When follow mode is clear, use the magnifying-glass button to inspect the
  currently selected VC objects manually.
* Use the back button to return to a previous inspected object. The mouse
  back and forward buttons move backward and forward through the inspection
  history.
* Select the refresh button or press `F5` to refresh the active gadgets. The
  refresh selector also supports `500 ms`, `1 s`, and `5 s` intervals instead
  of `Manual` refresh. The elapsed-time label shows when the panel was last
  refreshed.
* Use the select button to make the currently inspected object the VC
  selection. The button is unavailable when the inspected object is invalid
  or cannot be selected.
* Use the Notes button to create a Notes entry containing a reference to the
  currently inspected object.

See [Compare inspected objects](https://inspector.4111778.xyz/docs/workflows/compare-inspected-objects/) for
a task-focused example of holding one reference while exploring another.

## Result

The Object Inspector window identifies the object being examined and presents
the Inspector content that applies to that object. Select another layout object
to continue inspecting the active selection, or open another Inspector window
when you need to keep a separate inspection visible.