Expand/Collapse blocks of text

[dloritz]

Folding is *very* useful. I like the suggestions on this thread to follow the Amiga hack with user-defined comment-like lines to define fold points. I personally would not object if you wrote back fold status into those lines to maintain state.

Otherwise, please do be sure to maintain text-file transparency. And Keeping It Simply Simple will also help bring this feature out ASAP.

[insert_nick]

Oh city, I'm reading this post only now, and it's very similar to what I wrote some years later (and some years ago) here!
Even if I was an Amiga user, I didn't know this feature had already been developed in some software, nice to know.

I think it's obvious that if this will be done in Textpad, lot of us will write a a big synched OOOoooh!

The old GoldED for the Amiga had this feature in 1997 or earlier. I really loved it.

Codefolding is a feature that would be an immense benefit.

There should be keywords for the beginning and the end of a fold definable for each document-class.

The naming of the fold could be done by the text following the beginning-keyword.

pascal:
[...]
begin (* my fold here *)
writeln('bla');
end
[...]

could be folded to
[...]
> (* my fold here *)
[...]

what i want to say is, that folding by { and } pairs wouldn't be flexible enough. and of course Strings should not be parsed for folding keywords too.

Folds in folds would be very nice too.

As others said, folding and unfolding should be possible by keyboard.

In GoldED there was it also possible to fold and unfold the innermost fold relative to the mouse-pointer by shift-left-click (of course user defined).

a fold-line should be shown in a special color.

oh dear, i've been waiting for an editor-feature like this for years yet.

[peterbaldock]

I absolutely agree with everyone that codefolding or some similar block hiding technique would be immensely valuable. I like to use TextPad "on the side" of any IDE I am working in, because of all the extended features.

However, there are now many IDEs including all the MS and Borland stuff, plus various VHDL/Verilog environments, which incorporate codefolding. The the ability to just concentrate on two or three procedures without swathes of unrelated code getting in the way is a delight.

It is therefore rather sad that TextPad, which is so proficient in every other way, has fallen behind here.

I notice that one commentator worried about interfering with the "Pure Text Editor" aspect - ie special symbols should not be embedded in the file to indicate collapse positions - I agree with this, but perhaps the syntax highlighter can be extended, or an indent scheme could be used or a parallel ".CFold" file could permanently retain collapse section information.

[insert_nick]

I notice that one commentator worried about interfering with the "Pure Text Editor" aspect - ie special symbols should not be embedded in the file to indicate collapse positions - I agree with this, but perhaps the syntax highlighter can be extended, or an indent scheme could be used or a parallel ".CFold" file could permanently retain collapse section information.

I can definitely give you a +1 for the ".CFold" file for meta info about collapse, comments, etc. It could be an xml file or whatever. I suggest it to be in a separate (hidden) folder, a bit like SVN and other apps use to do.

Please TextPad staff, let us know if you're reading this thread at all, and if you care your users enough: give us a sign, e.g. a quick (or long) reply here. I never use red in my posts but here I have to, because this thread has been opened 7 YEARS AGO and we're still here waiting. Maybe we've waited enough?

It's pretty obvious this is a feature you should provide in next release, but if for some reason you won't, please write here your reasons and let us know.

[peterbaldock]

Please TextPad staff, let us know if you're reading this thread at all, and if you care your users enough: give us a sign, e.g. a quick (or long) reply here.

I agree with Nick? (insert_nick) - TextPad is a great product, but please, Helios guys, react to your user's comments and feedback.

[darren]

I've long wished for folding in TextPad. If it's implemented, 2 features I'd like are:

1) Nestable folding
eg, 3-deep nested fold (but in principle unlimited nesting levels)
first fold collapses a for() loop;
second fold collapses the while() loop that contains the for() loop;
third fold collapses function main() that contains while()
expand main() shows while() still collapsed
expand while() shows for() still collapsed
expand for() restores the original unfolded state

2) Persistent folding status stored, if at all, in workspace .tws file
My own personal preference is not to save fold info in text files. But we can still remember folds across sessions by storing in the workspace .tws file (if active). That way we can have our cake and eat it. On closing, if there's folded code but no active .tws then TP could warn and give option to create .tws. If user doesn't care about losing fold status then (s)he just chooses not to create a .tws. Of course, if there is a .tws active then it can store folds in there, just like it does with markers.

[insert_nick]

Storing folding info is very important: you can fold all the chapters of a book, but the one I'm working on. You can fold a set of functions, because you just remember them and need not to waste scroll dynamic. You can fold whatever in whatever, and you can be interested in keeping them that way.

Storing it for single files in ".fld" files stored into a (eventually hidden) ".fold" folder, would be better for me, because e.g. I can clear folding info just by selectively deleting some ".fld" files.

.tws files are for workspaces, and often you find yourself having more than one workspace (maybe it's not your case, but it's workspaces strength), and it's common sense that you would like to share the same folding info on files, whatever workspace you load them.

[insert_nick]

Proposal: since we've waited so long, it won't be bad to email the staff together, and see if they'll have care and compose a satisfying reply.
Everyone can write whatever feels good, or just copy/paste this one if in a hurry:

- - - --------------------------------------------- - - -
To:
sales@textpad.com, inquiries@textpad.com

Subject:
What about "expand/collapse blocks of text" feature? (i.e. custom folding)

Body:

Please Helios Software Solutions staff, let us know if you're reading this thread:

http://forums.textpad.com/viewtopic.php?t=3764

You can easily find it even without the link, because it's on top after the sticky one into the "Enhancement Suggestions" section, with its 7K views at the moment of writing.

If you have care, give us a sign, e.g. a quick (or, better, long and motivated) reply there from some of your representatives or technical staff.
The mentioned thread has been opened 7 years ago and we were waiting for a reply from you, hoping at some point to receive some feedback from you, given the popularity of the subject. It seems we've waited enough (didn't we?), so please excuse this email message but really we are waiting for some feedback, and we hope for good news from you regarding that subject.

If for some reason you do not want or cannot add the feature in the short term, just let us know your reasons, we'll not bother anymore: but it's not fair to stay silent on a crowded thread, letting us think that the next year we'll see it done, and then realizing after 7 years we're still discussing on the same old thing.

With thankfulness for your precious piece of software, we're waiting to see some of you contribute on that thread.
- - - --------------------------------------------- - - -


Thanks to whoever will take the time to contribute with a send action.

[peterbaldock]

Hi folks,

I have been off air for some time, but coming back to the forum after the 5.4 update, it is really disappointing to find no progress on this matter

As Nick says...

Proposal: since we've waited so long, it won't be bad to email the staff together, and see if they'll have care and compose a satisfying reply.

I am going to do this until I get a response. Please do the same[/b]

[PeteTheBloke]

Waiting.....

What a shame that this isn't in there yet. I've just got a new employer to license TP for me, but I'm jealously watching other developers collapse code blocks.

What's so hard about this?

[PeteTheBloke]

Is there an argument for throwing TextPad to SourceForge? It's a brilliant program but terribly neglected. In my new job I'm often working on 4000-line files and I really, really want a code collapse function.

[insert_nick]

It would be nice to know if Keith MacDonald is reading this. If yes, I kindly ask to reveal if code-folding is something that he's currently developing, or has plans to develop, and an estimate for the release date.

If yes, it would also be awesome to know which of the suggestions/hints in this thread he has taken or is taking into consideration.
If not, the motivations (e.g. something like "no time atm sorry", or "not viable with the current codebase, would need a full rewrite, no plans for it", or "very hard to do with my current knowledge", etc.).

Either way, some kind of interaction with the community on this long-standing and popular feature request should be considered and would be appreciated for sure.

[frantzm]

I registered to say I am desperate for code folding to be added to Textpad. I would be willing to pay $500 for this feature. I have been using Textpad since March 2000 and am trying to avoid switching to another editor because other than code folding, it is more or less perfect for me.

Michael Frantz

[JerzyC]

Yes, I am waiting for the code folding for years.
The idea to include code foulding information in Syntax definition file seems to be good.

Jerzy Cwifeld

[pipinn]

18 years since the first suggestion of CODE FOLDING. It is still the most needed enhancement!