Handling panels in tab

[ivan141]

I would like to ask the experts here if there is a proper way of addressing panels loaded into a tab object.
Since I am transitioning most of our code to take advantage of object oriented features I find myself a bit confused about the way one should handle panels in tabs.
If I run a getShapes command on the panels, it seems that all the shapes are loaded in the base panel containing the tabs. But the panels do have their own 'self' context, so they can function separately from the base panel.
Is there a dot-notation that works for addressing panels in tabs? How can I connect to a panel event for a panel loaded in a tab (without resorting to ui global events)?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

[gschijndel]

Take a look at the panelAt function of the tab.