Editor page (Editor Options dialog box)

Use the Editor page of the Editor Options dialog box to customize editing behavior.

To open the Editor page, choose Tools|Editor Options, then click the Editor tab. You can also right-click in the editor and select Editor Options. Click the expand icon to expand the list of options.

Keymap

Sets the keymapping definitions for the editor and the IDE menus. Supported editor emulations include:

See also

Customize button

Displays the Keymap Editor dialog box where you can customize your keymapping for the selected keymap.

Block Indent

Specifies the number of characters between indent levels in text. This is the effective 'tab stop' level for everything except actual tab characters. The value is used for indenting marked blocks and for indenting when the tab key is pressed.

The values in the drop-down list are provided for convenience -- other values can be typed in. The default is 2; the upper limit is 20. If you enter a value greater than 20, you will receive an error.

Tab Size

Sets the number of characters between tab stops for actual tab characters. The default setting is 8.

Note: This option is only used for displaying text already containing tab characters. Pressing the tab key indents by the number of spaces set in the Block Indent option, above.

Max Indent

The Max Indent setting is used for setting the indent threshold for the SmartIndent and format-code actions. When these actions attempt to match assignment statements or parentheses and that match is beyond the specified Max Indent setting, then the indent is not based on the match and is instead treated as a simple continuation (the indentation of the previous line plus two times the block-indent setting).

Type or choose an indentation level from the drop-down list. You may type a number greater than the largest number in the list.

Backup Level slide-bar

Specifies the maximum number of backup copies of each file to keep. The deepest possible backup level is 90.

Once the maximum number of backups is reached,

This preserves the most recent work.

Backup versions of a file can be viewed in the History pages in the content pane.

Version control is a feature of JBuilder SE and Enterprise:

Backup versions are displayed along with version control versions in the History pages. Backup level has no effect on other forms of version control.

Editor Options panel

Each set of options has an expansion icon next to it. Click the icon to expand the list of options.

Smart Key Options

Options that determine how smart keys work in the editor. Click the expand icon to expand the list.

Smart Home

When this option is enabled, Home moves the cursor to the left of the first non-blank character on a line. If the cursor is already in this position, it is moved to the beginning of the line instead.

Smart End

When this option is enabled, End moves the cursor to the right of the last non-blank character on a line. If the cursor is already in this position, it is moved to the end of the line instead.

Smart Tab

Using Smart Tab causes the Tab key to indent to align the cursor with the left edge of words in the first non-blank line above the current line. Searches for the first non-whitespace character in the above line. If no character matching this description is found, pressing the Tab key indents to the next block indent position.

Indent Options

These options determine indentation behavior in the editor.

Smart Indent

Smart Indent indents code appropriately, according to how deeply a given line should be nested.

Wrapped text in the middle of a line of code is indented to line up under the first opening parenthesis of that line of code, or at the maximum indentation, whichever is less. It uses the Max Indent value as the maximum indentation.

The cursor can be anywhere in the line of code for the line to be correctly indented.

Block Indent

Block Indent is an alternative to Smart Indent. Positions the cursor under the first non-blank character of the preceding non-blank line when you press Enter. When you press Enter, it positions the cursor under the first non-whitespace character of the preceding non-whitespace line.

When appropriate, it aligns the closing curly brace with the first column of the opening curly brace's line of code and automatically indents the next line.

Note: The cursor must be at the beginning of the line for the line to be indented correctly.

Smart Paste

After you paste code in, Smart Paste indents the first line of the code block appropriately below the line above it. Smart Paste supports the nesting requirements of the rest of the pasted-in block, using the indentation depth specified in Block Indent.

Use Tab Character

When indenting a line, automatically replaces space characters with tab characters as appropriate. For example, if Block Indent is set to 2 and Tab Size is set to 8, tabbing four times at the start of a line results in a single tab character.

Tab characters are never inserted after non-whitespace characters, even if this option is enabled.

Display Options

Options that affect the screen display in the editor.

Blink Caret

Controls whether the cursor is blinking or not.

Save Options

Options that take effect when saving a file.

Strip Trailing Whitespace

Removes any trailing whitespaces in the file when you save.

Change Leading Tabs To Spaces

Removes leading tab characters ("\t") on all lines and replaces them with spaces when you save.

Change Leading Spaces To Tabs

Replaces leading spaces with tabs when you save.

Search Options

These options determine the behavior of search and replace features.

Show Dialog When Search Fails

Shows a dialog when the search fails. When this option is not selected, the dialog is suppressed and the message is displayed on the status bar.

Search Word At Cursor

Automatically places the word closest to the cursor position in the Text To Find field in the Find/Replace Text dialog box.

Brace Match Options

Determines how braces are handled. Unless otherwise specified, the term "brace" here includes curly braces, parentheses, and square brackets.

Generate Closing Curly Brace

When you type an opening brace and press Enter, this option automatically inserts a closing curly brace.

Enable Brace Match Highlighting

Highlights both braces in a set when the cursor is immediately to the right of one. Change the color and style of highlighting in the Color page of this dialog box.

Highlight Opposing Brace Only

Highlights only the brace that matches the selected brace.

Ignore Neighboring Braces

Prevents braces from being highlighted when there are no characters between them, as in an empty array or a method with no args.

Error Options

Specifies how syntax errors are marked and provides assistance in handling them.

Underline Errors

Underlines syntax errors with squiggles. Default underline color is red. Change the color in the Color page of this dialog box.

Show Tooltip

Displays a tooltip specifying the nature of the syntax error. Default is on. The tooltip contains one of two buttons, depending on the nature of the error:

Show In Gutter

Displays an error icon in the gutter next to a syntax error. Default is off.

Reset button

Returns options to the state they were in when the dialog box was opened. Leaves the dialog box open so you can continue to view the settings.

OK button

Closes the dialog box and applies changed preferences immediately.

Cancel button

Closes the dialog box, returning options to the state they were in when the dialog box was opened.