Source Options

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Tools > Options > Editor Options > Source Options

Use this page to configure Code Editor settings for various types of source files.

Item	Description
Source file type	Choose a predefined or customized source file type. Choices are: C/C++, C#, Default, HTML, IDL, INI File, Java Script, Pascal PHP, SQL, Style Sheet, Visual Basic .NET, and XML.
New	Displays the New source file type dialog box, allowing you to create a new file type. Enter a name and click OK, and then enter an extension in the Extensions drop-down list. You must add an extension if you add a new source file type, or cancel the operation.
Delete	Deletes the predefined or customized file type displayed in the Source file type drop-down list box.
Extensions	Lists the file extensions that the Code Editor recognizes as belonging to the selected source file type. For example, .sql is the recognized file extension for the SQL file type.
Auto indent mode	Positions the cursor under the first nonblank character of the preceding nonblank line when you press ENTER in the Code Editor.
Use tab character	Inserts tab characters when you press TAB in the Code Editor. If not checked, pressing TAB inserts spaces. If Smart tab is enabled, this option is off. To view tab characters, select Show tab character.
Smart tab	Tabs to the first non-whitespace character in the preceding line. If Use tab character is enabled, this option is off.
Cursor through tabs	Enables the arrow keys to move the cursor to the logical spaces within each tab character.
Optimal fill	Begins every auto-indented line with the minimum number of characters possible, using tabs and spaces as necessary.
Backspace unindents	Aligns the insertion point to the previous indentation level (outdents it) when you press BACKSPACE, if the cursor is on the first nonblank character of a line.
Keep trailing blanks	Prevents trailing blanks from being truncated.
Show tab character	Displays tab characters as >>, if Use tab characters is selected.
Show space character	Displays typed spaces as dots (.).
Use syntax highlight	Enables syntax highlighting. To set highlighting options, use the Color page.
Show line breaks	Displays line break symbols at the end of each line.
Highlight current line	Highlights the current line in the Code Editor.
Syntax Highlighter	Choose an option to change the format for displaying code elements. Check Use syntax highlighting to enable this option.
Block indent	Specifies the number of spaces to indent a marked block. The default is 2; the upper limit is 16.
Tab stops	Set tabs stops that the cursor will move to when you press TAB. Enter one or more integers separated by spaces. If multiple tab stops are specified, the numbers indicate the columns in which the tab stops are placed. Each successive tab stop must be larger than the previous tab stop. If a single tab stop is specified, it indicates the number of spaces to jump each time you tab.

See Also

• Customizing the Code Editor