# Setting annotation preferences for markup languages

This documentation describes how to set annotation preferences for Web and XML files. The annotation preferences include whether to analyze the syntactic validity of your file while you are typing and what colors to use to highlight errors, warnings, tasks, search results, bookmarks, and other text.

By default, when you edit in a structured text editor, your source code is validated as you type it in. Like other Eclipse-based editors, the structured text editors for markup languages flag warnings and errors in the source code in the editor area. The warnings and errors also show up in the Tasks view when you save the file.

Note: Highlighting is fully dynamic with the exception of search results. Search results are highlighted based upon what has been saved to disk.
Tip: You can improve a structured text editor's performance by turning off the real-time validation.

To set annotation preferences, complete the following steps:

1. Click Window > Preferences . A Preferences window appears.
2. In the Preferences window, click Workbench > Editors.
3. Select one of the following options:
   - To turn off real-time syntax validation, click Structured Text Editor and uncheck the Analyze annotations while typing box.
   - To control other annotation settings, click Annotations and select your annotation preferences.
4. Click OK to save your preferences and close the page.

Related concepts
Structured text editors for markup languages
Related tasks
Setting preferences for structured text editors