Customizing the current line highlight (v4.7)

[jreyes1000]

Can I customize the line highlight by:

- change the background OF THE ENTIRE LINE. (Not just of top and bottom borders..).

- remove the broken lines on the top and bottom borders. I write a lot of pl/sql and use a lot of '_' (underbar) and the borders make the code harder to read.



Thanks for any tips.
JR

[bbadmin]

Initial trials showed that highlighting by changing the background color made it hard to see syntax highlighting colors, so decided to use dotted lines instead. They are rendered in a mode that does not obsure underlying parts of characters, so try choosing a more subtle color, if you still find they get in the way.

Keith MacDonald
Helios Software Solutions

[tryl]

Imho. the dashed lines are a bit confusing, because when you see one line, you have to find out which one your are looking at, and which line is heighlighted.

I know it sounds a bit picky, but that's how I am about editors. That's why I chose TextPad .

For Java I use another editor (intellij.com - very java specific, and extreamely good for writing Java), which has full background heighliting for the selected line. I have no problems with the rest of the syntax heighliting. I have chosen a color very close to the back ground color, so I can see the heighligting, but so it dosn't interfere.

The dashed line have to be a lot more different from the background, so it interferes much more.

I hope the next version will have the possibillity to have a full background heighliting (as now the forground could be set to dashed, and background to background, this way everybody gets what they want ).

[SecondToughest]

Personally, I think the dashed lines don't stick out enough. Also if you are editing a file that happens to contain several rows of dashes, it looks really weird. I like having the whole line background shaded. Also, the highlight should extend into the line number column so that you can see immediately which line you are on. I was really looking forward to the current line highlighting but the dashes just didn't do the trick so I disabled it.

[no.cache]

You know guys, it's funny: At first I really wanted this feature (the dashes) but after just a few days of it . . .

I disabled it. I think the bit that really began getting to me was having two of these dashed lines. I tried even the most subtle of greys in the dash, but having it above the line, as well as below it, my attention continued to be drawn to the dashes. Although the more I contemplate it, I think dash marks are simply too distracting, soooooo . . .

A better suggestion might be an option to have current line underlined in a solid line.

[webmasta]

For me it suckz bigtime... try writing a complicated regex with 2 dashed lines squeezing ure brain and pullin ure eyes inward... and underscores clashes with line...

Also. it takes 4 distinct steps to turn it off .. thats unproductive, why did they bury it ?? An option like that should be on the tool bar .. clik on / clik off.... because obviously no one will use that continuously, its too distracting, i found my eyes pulling...

What may be nice is to have a find cursor button on the toolbar that you can just clik and have the page scroll from wherever it is and bring the line into view, highlited of course ... moving around in a 2000 line script ure cursor will always disappear....

the way i find it is by looking at the line number on the status bar and pressing page up/page down to go to the line

See my post on saving bookmarks with saving file .. enhancements ..

There more productivity enhancements i would like to see but ill leave my suggestions for the proper forum

webmasta






[/b]

[no.cache]

Yeah Webmasta, that's the problem: found my eyes pulling

I do exactly the same thing you do: Use line numbering.

Still it would be nice to have some way of articulating current line . . . perhaps like a bookmark? That just follows you? In a different color from your regular bookmarks?

The dash was rash.
A line would be fine.




hee hee

[webmasta]

A pale colored band would be grand

[SteveH]

Just to add my <AOL>me too</AOL> to this debate.

I also initially thought that current-line highlighting was a really good addition to TextPad. In the end though I've turned it off because it just seemed to get in the way on most files.

I reckon that being able to setup a pale coloured band would be less intrusive and still be an effective way to highlight the line. Anyone got any mock-ups of the various options.

Cheers,

Steve

[memphis75]

I agree with the previous posters - there are several other editors that allow background highlighting. I've never had any problems seeing the syntax - Eclipse is also a good example. Hope this change will get in!

[robbage]

Some sort of arrow or marker in the margin would be good IMHO

[dnavarrojr]

I'm coming over from a DOS editor with syntax highlighting support.

It allows me to specify the foregound and background color for the current cursor line and gives me the option of disabling syntax highlighting on the line that I am editing.

This is my personal preference.

--Dave

[briankiser]

I was one of the guys that requested the current line be highlighted. I did this probably about 3 years ago. Who in the world came up with the dashed effect? That hideous--it creates an optical illusion that the line is small and squished between the two dashed lines.

You should allow the current line to be highlighted in any color the user selects (my preference is yellow, from my QEdit DOS days).

Take a look at Ultraedit for what I'm talking about. It's clearly visible and looks great.

[bbadmin]

Thanks for all your feedback on this. We'll implement background coloring of the active line, as an alternative, in the next maintenance release.

Keith MacDonald
Helios Software Solutions

[briankiser]

Thanks for all your feedback on this. We'll implement background coloring of the active line, as an alternative, in the next maintenance release.

Keith MacDonald
Helios Software Solutions

Thanks, Keith. That's great to hear!