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FireEdit

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4 Apr 2006CPOL2 min read 134K   1.6K   75   27
FireEdit - a small code editor with plugins support
FireEdit screenshot

For a binary release, go to DotNetFireball (SourceForge.net).

Introduction

FireEdit is a small source code editor and is provided with basic editing functionalities. Since the idea is to extend it by the plugins system, as a basis FireEdit uses Fireball.Plugins, a class library developed for use as a base implementation for creating plugins system for any application. You can find the source of its dependencies here.

Using the Code

The objective of this article is to introduce how to implement your own plugin for FireEdit.

As an example for this article, I can use the simple plugin that adds to the HTML editor a bottom toolstrip with two buttons for switching from code to preview and vice versa.

Implementing your own plugin is very simple. You only need to inherit from FireEditPlugin, that is the base class used by FireEdit. For initializing your events and other things when the plugin is executed, you need to put this code in the Execute method by overriding it. For example, in this plugin I need to understand when a new CodeEditing window was created. See the following code:

C#
public override bool Execute(Fireball.Plugins.PluginApplication application,
       params object[] parameters)
{
   ((FireEditApplication)application).MainForm.NewCodeEditor +=
       new EventHandler<NewCodeEditorEventArgs>(MainForm_NewCodeEditor);

     return true;
}

The function must return true for informing FireEdit that the plugin was loaded correctly. Now you are able to say when a new code editor was instanced but you need to say when the HTML language was set! See this piece of code:

C#
void MainForm_NewCodeEditor(object sender, NewCodeEditorEventArgs e)
 {
   e.FireEditorTabItem.LanguageChanged += new EventHandler
       <LanguageChangedEventArgs>(FireEditorTabItem_LanguageChanged);
 }

Now you can say when the language is changed on the FireEditorTabItem_LanguageChanged method. Next you see the code for adding the new controls on the current TabStrip.

C#
void FireEditorTabItem_LanguageChanged(object sender, LanguageChangedEventArgs e)
{
     if (e.Language.Name == "HTML")
     {
        FireEditorTabItem tabItem = (FireEditorTabItem)sender;
        ToolStrip myToolStrip = new ToolStrip();
        myToolStrip.Name = "switchBar";
        myToolStrip.Dock = DockStyle.Bottom;
        tabItem.Controls.Add(myToolStrip);
        ToolStripButton btnCode = new ToolStripButton();
        btnCode.Checked = true;
        btnCode.Text = "Html Code";
        btnCode.CheckOnClick = true;
        myToolStrip.Items.Add(btnCode);
        btnCode.Click += new EventHandler(btnCode_Click);
        ToolStripButton btnPreview = new ToolStripButton();
        btnPreview.Text = "Html Preview";
        btnPreview.CheckOnClick = true;
        myToolStrip.Items.Add(btnPreview);
        btnPreview.Click += new EventHandler(btnPreview_Click);
        WebBrowser browser = new WebBrowser();
        browser.Name = "preview";
        browser.Dock = DockStyle.Fill;
        browser.Visible = false;
        tabItem.Controls.Add(browser);
    }
}

Most of the code of this plugin is here. The rest is in the source code. I can't add it here for clarity. If you need more help or if you have created your own plugin, post a message on my forum.

N.B. To try your plugin, you need to load it from the Menu Plugins->Configure Plugins and click on Browse and Load Now. If you want the plugins to be loaded at startup, click on Load at Startup and next on Save Config. If you don't save ,the config can't be stored.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


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Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralBugs in Chinese language input Pin
kimble_wu20-May-06 14:09
kimble_wu20-May-06 14:09 
GeneralRe: Bugs in Chinese language input Pin
wyzte20052-Aug-07 4:59
wyzte20052-Aug-07 4:59 
GeneralAccess to content lines Pin
93Current17-Apr-06 22:56
93Current17-Apr-06 22:56 
QuestionWhere is 'LineMarginRender' ? Pin
Ingo H. de Boer11-Apr-06 8:30
Ingo H. de Boer11-Apr-06 8:30 
AnswerRe: Where is 'LineMarginRender' ? Pin
Omar Othman18-Apr-06 17:36
Omar Othman18-Apr-06 17:36 
GeneralRe: Where is 'LineMarginRender' ? Pin
Ingo H. de Boer19-Apr-06 13:42
Ingo H. de Boer19-Apr-06 13:42 
GeneralFix for compile trouble Pin
Ingo H. de Boer20-Apr-06 9:25
Ingo H. de Boer20-Apr-06 9:25 
GeneralFeature list Pin
david_dawkins7-Feb-06 21:12
david_dawkins7-Feb-06 21:12 
GeneralRe: Feature list Pin
dotnetfireball8-Feb-06 2:14
dotnetfireball8-Feb-06 2:14 
QuestionUse CAB for the UI? Pin
Daniel Cazzulino [XML MVP]7-Feb-06 1:05
Daniel Cazzulino [XML MVP]7-Feb-06 1:05 
AnswerRe: Use CAB for the UI? Pin
dotnetfireball7-Feb-06 3:43
dotnetfireball7-Feb-06 3:43 
GeneralA Question Pin
shmulik1-Feb-06 10:37
shmulik1-Feb-06 10:37 
Generalprobably VS 2005 Standard Edition or above Pin
FTrader1-Feb-06 10:51
FTrader1-Feb-06 10:51 
Looks like generated from Visual Studio 2005 (non-Express) to me.

Check out VS product feature comparison table at
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/products/compare/default.aspx
and look for "Class Designer / Object Test Bench". This functionality is not available in the free Express edition Frown | :-(

FTrader
GeneralRe: A Question Pin
dotnetfireball1-Feb-06 18:57
dotnetfireball1-Feb-06 18:57 
GeneralExcellent work! Pin
Dario Solera1-Feb-06 7:14
Dario Solera1-Feb-06 7:14 
GeneralRe: Excellent work! Pin
dotnetfireball1-Feb-06 8:19
dotnetfireball1-Feb-06 8:19 
GeneralRe: Excellent work! Pin
Dario Solera1-Feb-06 8:55
Dario Solera1-Feb-06 8:55 
Generalmissing projects Pin
lemz1-Feb-06 4:25
lemz1-Feb-06 4:25 
GeneralRe: missing projects Pin
dotnetfireball1-Feb-06 5:39
dotnetfireball1-Feb-06 5:39 

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