Implement Split File Editor Functionality for the Eclipse IDE

Releases

Instructions: Click on the link to download the JAR file and place it in the dropins directory of Eclipse
Requirements: Eclipse 3.4 RC4 or later

• 2007-07-14. Working universal split editor prototype (MultiEditor-based). Ctrl-6 to split any editor.
• 2008-06-30. Split editor with basic functionality (undo/redo, cut/copy/paste, cursor line highlight, action contributions to menu/toolbar/statusbar) working correctly.
• 2008-06-23. 1st release of multi editor and split editor implementations. Instructions: Download the plugin jar and place in the dropins directory (compatible with Eclipse 3.4 RC4 or later).

Project Completion Plan

Legend

Pending item/not started
Work in progress
Bug fixed / Feature added

Milestone	Deadline	Tasks
M1	July 21, 2008	MultiEditor backwards compatibility Fix activation warnings AbstractMultiEditor patch for bug 240651
M2	July 28, 2008	AbstractMultiEditor API for dynamic addition/removal of InnerEditors Design and implement a procedure for enabling split editing support in existing and new editors SplitMultiEditor persistence between sessions
RC1	August 4, 2008	Look into participation in the SoC Simultaneous Release Java breadcrumb clicking problem Comprehensive testing and fixing of new issues
RC2	August 11, 2008	Go over Daniel's List of MultiEditor-related bugs and fix or comment where appropriate. Fix other related bugs such as 64911 if time permits
Final	August 18, 2008	Fix any critical coding issues only Documentation and final integration work

Implementations

Multi Editor-based

Usage: Open a file in Eclipse, then select Window -> New Split Editor from the main menu to open a split editor of the file.

This implementation is based on Paul Webster's patch, which uses the existing multi-editor architecture in Eclipse.

• Advantages
  • does not require custom work for different editor types (java/xml/etc)
  • works automatically with new custom editor types

• Disadvantages
  • Split editor opens in a new tab as opposed to appearing within the existing tab
  • Activating with the mouse requires going to the main menu (Window->New Split Editor). There is also a keyboard shortcut - Ctrl+6.
  • Bound by the limitations of the multi-editor infrastructure

Custom Split Editor Implementation

Usage: Right-click on a file, select Open with -> Other... and select \[Split Text Editor\] from the list of editors.

This implementation is based on a custom editor implementation that dynamically creates a new StyledText control when a sash is dragged within the editor to split it.

• Advantages
  • fully replaces existing editors and allows splitting the active editor in-place (as opposed to opening a split editor in a new tab)
  • easier activation via the mouse because there is no need to go to the window main menu or editor tab context menu.

• Disadvantages
  • requires customization of every editor class that wants to support split editing (java/xml... etc)

Issue Tracker

Legend

Needs some investigation/research
Work in progress
Bug fixed / Feature added

Uncategorized

Feature	Importance	Test Case	Multi Editor	Split Editor	New Editor Tab
Delete open file	critical	Delete file from the package explorer while the file is open in a split editor	fixed does not work - memory leak keeps nonexistent resource in package explorer	not tested	works
Java Breadcrumb click	critical	Click on the leaf element of the java breadcrumb in one editor then the other and go back and forth several times.	does not work - SWT exception is thrown. seems to be related to general problem with multieditor activation	not tested	works
Save	critical	Select File-> Save from the main menu	fixed works but invokes Save command twice	works	works
Save as	critical	Select File-> Save As from the main menu	fixed works but the other nested editor is not switched to the new resource	works	works
Mark dirty editor's tab (star (*) next to file name)	critical	Make a change in the editor	fixed does not mark editor tab as dirty with a * (star)	works	works
Mark occurrences (java)	nice-to-have	enable mark occurrences and click over a java element (method/field/class name etc)	works but marks occurrences in both editors	not applicable (java editor not available)	works but marks occurrences in both editors
Mark occurrences of different elements (java)	nice-to-have	enable mark occurrences and click over different java elements in both editors	works but both elements are highlighted in both editors	not applicable (java editor not available)	works but both elements are highlighted in both editors (see bug 64911)
Current line highlight within active focused editor	critical	switch the focus (by mouse-clicking) between the two editors	works	fixed does not appear in top editor and cursor is no longer visible in bottom editor after split	works
Back/Forward Navigation (Navigate->Back/Forward from menu or Alt-Left/Right Arrow keys)	nice-to-have	click within the one of the two editors; make a change; switch to another editor; use Go Back command (Alt-LeftArrow) to go back	does not always go back to the editor where the change was made	does not always go back to the editor where the change was made	does not always go back to the editor where the change was made
Moving around text using Ctrl-? key commands	critical	Use Ctrl+Home/End to move to the beginning/end of the editor; Ctrl+Left/Right to move left/right a word at a time; Ctrl+Shift+Left/Right to move and left/right a word at a time and expand the selection	works	fixed always acts on top editor in split mode, regardless of which editor (top or bottom) the cursor is in	works
Undo/Redo from menu	critical	open a split editor or multiple editor tabs, type some text in one of the editors and select Edit->Undo from the menu	works	works	works
Undo/Redo using keyboard	critical	open a split editor or multiple editor tabs, type some text in one of the editors and type Ctrl-Z to undo then Ctrl-Y to redo	works	works	works
Cut/Copy/Paste from menu	critical	open a split editor or multiple editor tabs, select some text in one of the editors and select Edit->Cut from the menu, then Edit->Paste	works	works	works
Cut/Copy/Paste using keyboard	critical	open a split editor or multiple editor tabs, select some text in one of the editors and type Ctrl-X to cut, then Ctrl-V to paste	works	works	works
Quick-fix shortcut	critical	press Ctrl-1 where a quick-fix is available (misspelled word for example); check at different locations in both editors	works	works	works
Incremental find	critical	press Ctrl-J then type some text to look for	works	works	works
Find Next/Previous shortcuts	critical	press Ctrl-K; Ctrl-Shift-K to find the next/previous occurrence of the selected text	works	works	works
Find Next/Previous from menu	critical	use Edit->Find Next/Previous from menu	works	works	works
Go to line action	critical	Select Navigate-> Go to line... from the menu; type a line that would require the active editor to be scrolled to bring into view	works	works	works
Overview Ruler context menu	critical	right click on the overview ruler (to the right of vertical scrollbar)	works	works	works
Vertical Ruler context menu	critical	right click on the vertical ruler (to the left of editor) after splitting in either editor	works	does not work after splitting several times - the context menu stops showing on right-click	works
Show whitespace characters toggle	critical	customize perspective and make sure the Editor Presentations command group is checked under the Commands tab. Open Split editor and press the toggle white-space toolbar button	works	only updates the active editor	works
Default (non-accessible) caret	important	Uncheck the "use custom caret" option from the Accessibility preference panel	works	the caret no longer shows in the slave editor	works
Text editor font change	important	Change the Text Font from the Colors and Fonts preference panel	works	the font of the active editor only is updated	works

Preferences

When preferences that are related to editor appearance or behavior are updated, a split editor needs to propagate the changes to both of its internal editors. Here is a comprehensive list of text editor preferences and the corresponding split editor behavior on preference change.

Preference	Page	Preference Key	Editor Class	Are both editors updated?
Appearance color options	General->Editors->Text Editors	PREFERENCE_COLOR_*	AbstractTextEditor	no
Use custom caret	General->Editors->Text Editors->Accessibility	PREFERENCE_USE_CUSTOM_CARETS	AbstractTextEditor	no
Enable thick caret	General->Editors->Text Editors->Accessibility	PREFERENCE_WIDE_CARET	AbstractTextEditor	yes
Enable on demand hyperlink…	General->Editors->Text Editors->Hyperlinking	PREFERENCE_HYPERLINKS_ENABLED	AbstractTextEditor	not testable on plain text editor
Default modifier key	General->Editors->Text Editors->Hyperlinking	PREFERENCE_HYPERLINK_KEY_MODIFIER	AbstractTextEditor	not testable on plain text editor
		PREFERENCE_RULER_CONTRIBUTIONS	AbstractTextEditor	pref page not found
Show whitespace characters	General->Editors->Text Editors	PREFERENCE_SHOW_WHITESPACE_CHARACTERS	AbstractTextEditor	no
Enable drag and drop of text	General->Editors->Text Editors	PREFERENCE_TEXT_DRAG_AND_DROP_ENABLED	AbstractTextEditor	no
When mouse moved into hover…	General->Editors->Text Editors	PREFERENCE_HOVER_ENRICH_MODE	AbstractTextEditor	no
		OVERVIEW_RULER	AbstractDecoratedTextEditor	pref page not found
		DISABLE_OVERWRITE_MODE	AbstractDecoratedTextEditor	pref page not found
Show line numbers	General->Editors->Text Editors	LINE_NUMBER_RULER	AbstractDecoratedTextEditor	yes
Enable quick diff	General->Editors->Text Editors->Quick Diff	QUICK_DIFF_ALWAYS_ON	AbstractDecoratedTextEditor	yes
Show differences in overview ruler	General->Editors->Text Editors->Quick Diff			yes
Colors	General->Editors->Text Editors->Quick Diff			EXCEPTION, but works
Displayed tab width	General->Editors->Text Editors	EDITOR_TAB_WIDTH	AbstractDecoratedTextEditor	no
Insert spaces for tabs	General->Editors->Text Editors	EDITOR_SPACES_FOR_TABS	AbstractDecoratedTextEditor	no
Undo history size	General->Editors->Text Editors	EDITOR_UNDO_HISTORY_SIZE	AbstractDecoratedTextEditor	not tested
Show range indicator	General->Editors->Text Editors	SHOW_RANGE_INDICATOR	AbstractDecoratedTextEditor	what is range indication
Enable spell checking	General->Editors->Text Editors->Spelling	PREFERENCE_SPELLING_ENABLED	TextEditor	yes
Highlight current line	General->Editors->Text Editors			EXCEPTION when turning on, but works
Show print margin	General->Editors->Text Editors			EXCEPTION
Smart caret positioning at line start and end	General->Editors->Text Editors			no
(all)	General->Editors->Text Editors->Linked Mode			not tested
Vertical ruler	General->Editors->Text Editors->Annotations			yes
Overview ruler	General->Editors->Text Editors->Annotations			yes
Text as	General->Editors->Text Editors->Annotations			EXCEPTION, but works
Color	General->Editors->Text Editors->Annotations			EXCEPTION, but works

Editor Actions

TODO