[EnergyPlus_Support] Re: Syntax highlighting, navigation pane, code folding for E+ IDF files in notepad++

I got a few replies from people who had trouble getting it to run. This is good feedback, I guess the install instructions weren't crystal clear and I'll update them tomorrow. I had only shared this with my colleagues at Altanova and I've always guided them in real time.

the simplest is to use both files in there: https://github.com/jmarrec/notepad/tree/master/EnergyPlus%20Only

You'll have to rename them to just functionList.xml and userDefineLang.xml before placing them into your %appdata%Notepad++ folder.

The reason I have them with different names is because I wanted to avoid people simply overwriting their local files without thinking about it, and maybe regret it later. I recommend keeping a copy of the original files (you can even leave them in the same folder by renaming to functionList-ori.xml for example)

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Julien Marrec, EBCP, BPI MFBA
Energy&Sustainability Engineer
T: +33 6 95 14 42 13

LinkedIn (en) : www.linkedin.com/in/julienmarrec
LinkedIn (fr) : www.linkedin.com/in/julienmarrec/fr

2015-05-20 18:31 GMT+02:00 Julien Marrec <julien.marrec@xxxxxxxxx>:

Fellow E+ users,

If you're like me and you use notepad++ to work on .idf files, you might be interested in something I just released.

I found myself wanting two things: syntax highlighting to be able to quickly see the important keywords while scrolling down, and some kind of navigation pane in order to quickly reach a selected section of a file. Code folding was also interesting to me.

In order to achieve syntax highlighting, I've simply created user defined languages.

In order to achieve a navigation pane, I had to use an advanced function of Notepad++ called Function List.

For the code folding, I used a user macro.

What you'll get out of it will look like this:

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One the above picture, on the left, you can see syntax highlighting on an EnergyPlus Input File (.idf) as well as code folding (you can fold classes and/or objects)
To the right, you have the "Function List" pane that serves as a navigation pane:
- You get classes (major sections)
- You can expend them to get an anchor to any specific object: click it and you'll jump to its location in the file.

Similar results are achieved for eQuest as well if you use both.

For the files as well as as installation guidelines, please go to my Github repository, where the readme should explain everything you need to know.

Feedback/bug report/pull request are welcome.

Cheers,
Julien
--
Julien Marrec, EBCP, BPI MFBA
Energy&Sustainability Engineer
T: +33 6 95 14 42 13

LinkedIn (en) : www.linkedin.com/in/julienmarrec
LinkedIn (fr) : www.linkedin.com/in/julienmarrec/fr