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Rich Comments

  • 6 minutes to read

You can use Rich Comments to apply text formatting to comments in the Visual Studio code editor.

This document contains the following sections:

Rich Comments Formatting

CodeRush supports the following Markdown-like formatting syntaxes:

  • **Bold**
  • *Italic*
  • _--Underline--_ (underscores on either side)
  • ~Strike-through~

For example, you can format the Copyright Header's text and add your company's logo.

//-----------------------------------------------------------------------
// <copyright file="D:\Projects\CodeRushDemo\CodeRushDemo\Program.cs" company="Developer Express Inc">
//     ![](etc\DevExpress-Logo-Medium-Color.png)
//     Author: _**CodeRush User**_
//     *Copyright (c) Developer Express Inc. All rights reserved.*
// </copyright>
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------

For CodeRush to render a comment similar to the one displayed above, enable the Rich Comments feature.

RichComments Example

The following formatting can be applied to selected text inside a comment in CodeRush.

  • **Bold** if you press Ctrl+B
  • *Italic* if you press Ctrl+I
  • _Underline_ if you press Ctrl+U
  • ~Strike-through~ if you press Ctrl+S

CodeRush can also apply formatting (bold, italic, etc.) to comments if you choose the appropriate command from the Embed Selection action menu. To invoke the menu, select text inside a comment and press Ctrl + . or Ctrl + ~. In the invoked menu, open the Embed Selection group and choose the embedding from the list.

Embed Selection

Enable Rich Comments

To enable the Rich Comments feature, use the Editor | All Languages | Rich Comments options page;

RichComments Example

or click the Toggle Rich Comments toolbar button.

RichComments_Toolbar

Disable Markdown Formatting in Comments

You can cancel markdown characters:

  • with the back slash "\":

EscapeMarkdown

or

  • with "//":

DisableMarkdown

You can also disable markdown formatting in the Rich Comments options page. Deselect the "Show markdown formatting (bold, italic, strikethrough, underline, etc.)" option on the Editor | All Languages | Rich Comments options page.

DisableMarkdown

Highlight Comments in the Color

CodeRush allows you to highlight important comments, question comments, and task-based comments.

  • Mark comments as important by starting the comment with an "!".
  • Mark comments as questions by starting the comment with a "?".

ImportantComment

  • Use the following tokens to highlight task-based comments in the color:

    • TODO
    • BUG (FIXME)
    • HACK
    • UNDONE

CommentTokens

You can change the highlight colors on the Rich Comments options page.

ChangeColor

Large and Small Comments

CodeRush gives you the ability to use markdown to create large or small comments.

  • Use one, two, or three "+" characters at the start of the comment to create large comments;
  • Use one, two, or three "-" characters at the start of the comment to create small comments.

CommentSize

You can also use the hashtag character ("#") to specify comment size.

CommentSize

CodeRush decreases comment contrast as the font size increases, and increases contrast as comment size decreases. You can change the contrast, or assign a custom color to each of the large and small comment font sizes. Use the "sized comment color" setting on the Rich Comments options page:

CommentSizedColor

To enable this functionality, make sure you check the "Change comment font size and color using ++, --, #, ##, etc" checkbox:

Options

LaTeX Formulas Support (Beta)

CodeRush provides beta support for LateX formulas in Rich Comments.

You can enter, view, and edit fully-formatted mathematical formulas in source code comments (C#, Visual Basic, JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML, XAML, CSS, and F#).

LaTeX

How to Enable

The LaTeX Formulas Support feature ships disabled by default. You can enable LaTeX formula support on the Rich Comments options page.

LaTeXEnable

LaTeX Formula Templates

CodeRush provides templates to facilitate LaTeX formula creation. See the Templates for LateX Formula Creation topic for more information.

LaTeX Color and Size

Use one of the formats below to specify the formula’s foreground color, background color, and size.

  • <formula foreground;background;size;formula_text>

  • <formula foreground;size;formula_text>

  • <formula size;formula_text>

  • <formula formula_text>

The following screencast shows the LaTeX formula with a different background color, foreground color, and size.

LaTeXColors

LaTeX Error

The following message is displayed when your LaTeX code is broken:

Error

Embed Images in Source Code

You can embed images, diagrams, formulas, tables, etc., in source code (C#, F#, JavaScript, TypeScript, Visual Basic, XAML, HTML, CSS, and XML).

  • Copy an image from any application or web browser;
  • Paste the image inside a comment in source code. To do so, right-click the "Paste Image" context menu, or press Ctrl+V or Shift+Insert.
NOTE

You can see the supported image formats in the Imaging Overview MSDN article.

CopyPasteImage

Interaction With Images

Right-click an image to invoke the context menu:

RichComments Image Manipulations

The following commands are available:

  • Link... - adds an image click action.
  • Scale Image – uses the mouse to scale an image.
  • Pixel Size – scales an image 200%, 400%, 800% or 1600%.
  • Crop image... – uses a mouse to crop an image.
  • Copy;
  • Cut;
  • Delete;
  • Open File Location.

Select an Image

Click on an image to select it.

SelectImage

Resize the Image

Drag one of the image sizing handles.

ResizeImage

Crop the Image

  • Right click and select Crop Image...;

CropImage

  • Drag the crop handles;

DragHandles

  • Click outside the image (anywhere in the code) to apply your cropping.

ApplyCropping

Copy, Paste or Cut Images plus Code

  • Select the code and images (with the mouse or Shift+navigation keys);

  • Cut or copy, and paste the code and images into any source file in the solution.

Undo/Redo Changes to Images or the Code

Press undo/redo keys (e.g., Ctrl+Z or Ctrl+Y), or invoke these actions through the Visual Studio undo/redo toolbar buttons.

Indent an Embedded Image

Add or remove spaces before the leading comment delimiter.

IndentImage

Hide Leading Comment Delimiters

You can add a backtick (`) character after the leading comment delimiter to hide this delimiter.

HideDelimiter

Make sure you check "Hide comment delimiters (`) when a backtick follows the leading comment delimiter" checkbox to enable this functionality.

HideDelimiterOption

Right-click an image and select Link....

InvokeLinkMenu

In the Action on Image Click menu you can add one of the following image-click actions:

  • Open a URL;
  • Execute a CodeRush command;
  • Execute a Visual Studio command.

For example, the following image shows how to customize the open URL action on an image click.

OpenURL

The customers can click the link that takes them to the devexpress.com community site.

ClickLink

See Also