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Syntax Expansion
Syntax Expansion is a feature designed to minimize keystrokes, increasing your code editing efficiency.
When you type certain keywords and then press the spacebar, Syntax Expansion inserts a default tem-
plate that is specifically designed for this statement. For example, if you are using the C language and
type for, press Space and the following text expansion is inserted, with the cursor location between the
parentheses:
for() {
}
Additionally, for C, C#, C++, J#, Java, and Slick-C®, after the statement is expanded, you can use the
next_hotspot command (Ctrl+[) to jump the cursor to the next part of the statement. In the case of the
for loop above, Ctrl+[ would move the cursor from the group in parentheses to the code block.
The structures loop, if, and switch or case are also expanded. You do not have to type the entire
keyword for Syntax Expansion to occur. If there is more than one keyword that matches what you type, a
list of possible keyword matches is displayed. To get the C template displayed above, type f followed by
pressing Space.
To override the insertion of braces immediately for one line if, for, or while statements, type a semicolon
immediately after the keyword. For example:
if; => if ( <cursor here> ) <next hotspot>;
To override non-insertion of braces immediately for if, for, while, foreach, with, lock, fixed, and switch
statements, type an open brace immediately after the keyword. For example:
if{ => if ( <cursor here> ) { <next hotspot> }
If the default behavior of Syntax Expansion does not match your coding style, for most languages, it can
be customized. From the main menu, click Window → Preferences, expand SlickEdit and click General
in the tree, then double-click the File Extension Setup setting. Select your language extension, then click
the Options button. For more information on these options, see the topic for your language in the
Chapter 7, Language-Specific Editing chapter.
For further customization, for most languages, you can override the default keyword expansion by defin-
ing an alias for that keyword. See Extension-Specific Aliases for more information.
Syntax Expansion Settings
To access Syntax Expansion settings, from the main menu, click Window → Preferences, expand
SlickEdit and click General in the tree, then double-click the File Extension Setup setting. Choose the
extension you wish to affect from the Extension drop-down list, then select the Indent Tab.
To turn Syntax Expansion on or off, select or deselect the option Syntax expansion.
Syntax Expansion Settings
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