Source Editor Properties

Source Editor properties enable you to set properties for any of the types of editors that appear in the Source Editor window.

To display Source Editor properties:

  1. Choose Tools and choose Options and expand the Editing node. Then expand the Editor Settings node.
  2. Select the type of editor you want to set properties for (such as HTML Editor, Java Editor, JSP Editor, and so on).
Note The properties described on this page are the properties for the Java editor. Most of the properties for the Java editor also apply to the other Source Editor types.

The property sheet has two tabs, Properties and Expert:

Properties Tab
Abbreviations Specifies abbreviations for terms that you want the editor to expand automatically. Click the ellipsis (...) button to edit abbreviations.
Auto Popup Completion Window If True, enables the editor to display a code completion box with options for how to complete a Java expression. (In the HTML Editor, this property applies to HTML tags.) See Using Code Completion for details.
Delay of Completion Window Auto Popup If the Auto Popup Completion Window property is True, sets the number of milliseconds between the time when typing stops and the code completion box is displayed.
Font Size Sets the font to the specified size for all tokens that aren't given distinct values in the Fonts and Colors property.
Fonts and Colors Sets background and foreground colors and fonts for various syntax tokens and other elements displayed in the Source Editor, such as bookmarked lines, comments, guarded blocks, and so on. Click the ellipsis (...) button to edit the properties.
Indentation Engine Specifies how you want to handle text formatting, including settings for tabs, spaces, and new lines. Click the ellipsis (...) button to edit the possible indentation engine choices.

For details, see Indentation Properties.

Key Bindings Edits, adds, and removes keystroke shortcuts. Click the ellipsis (...) button to modify shortcuts.
Line Numbers If True, adds line numbers in the left margin. You can also toggle line numbers by choosing Margin and choosing Show Line Numbers from the contextual menu in the Source Editor.
Macros Edits, adds, and removes Source Editor macros. Click the ellipsis (...) button to modify existing macros.

Note that it is generally easier to add a new macro by recording it than by manually adding one in the Macros property editor. See Recording a Macro for details.

Tab Size Sets the number of spaces inserted per tab character (\t) when a file is imported. This is set as 8 by default for compliance with many other applications.

Note that you can also specify tab settings for text that is typed, generated, or formatted in the Source Editor using the Indentation Engine property described above.

Expert Tab
Display Text Limit Line If True, shows a vertical line to mark suggested maximum line width (for example, for printing).
Highlight Caret Row If True, highlights the row where the insertion point (caret) is.
Highlight Matching Bracket If True, the matching brace, bracket, or parenthesis highlights whenever the insertion point is immediately after a brace, bracket, or parenthesis.
Insertion Point Determines the type of caret that appears at the insertion point when in insert mode. From the list you can select Vertical bar, Thin vertical bar, or Solid block.
Insertion Point Blink Rate Sets blink rate (in milliseconds) for the text pointer that marks the insertion point.
Insertion Point Color Specifies the color of the caret when in insert mode. Select a color from the list or display the custom property editor for colors by clicking the ellipsis (...) button.
Italic Insertion Point If True, displays italic insertion point (caret) when in insert mode.
Italic Overwrite Caret If True, displays italic insertion point (caret) when in overwrite mode.
Line Height Correction Adjusts height of lines by specified multiplier.
Line Number Margin Determines placement of line numbers within the glyph margin.

Line numbers are aligned to the right. The left margin determines the distance from the left edge of the window based on the highest line number. Therefore, the left margin will look larger at the top of the page, where line numbers have fewer digits.

Margin Sets top, bottom, left, and right margins of text within the Source Editor page. The left margin determines how far text starts to the left of the glyph margin. Click the ellipsis (...) button to edit the settings.
Overwrite Caret Determines the type of caret that appears when in overwrite mode. From the list you can select line, thin line, or block.
Overwrite Caret Color Specifies the caret color when in overwrite mode.
Scroll Find Insets Specifies how much space should be reserved on each side of text located with the Find command.
Scroll Jump Insets For each of four directions, specifies how much the view should jump when the scrolling goes off the screen.
Status Bar Caret Delay Sets the delay (in milliseconds) between the time when the caret stops moving and the update of its position in the status bar.
Status Bar Visible If True, displays the status bar (which shows information such as current line number and whether the editor is in insert or overwrite mode) at the bottom of the window.
Text Limit Character Count Sets the number of characters to the right of the left margin where the text limit line is displayed.
Text Limit Line Color Specifies the color of the text limit line.
See also
Indentation Properties
Source Editor
Configuring the Source Editor
Editing Source Files
Working With Tabs

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