"Structured text editor" is any of several text editors that
you can use to edit various markup languages such as HTML, JavaScript, or
XML.
The structured text editor is represented by various editors that you can
use to edit files coded with markup tags:
| File type |
Editor |
Content assist? |
| Cascading style sheet |
CSS source page editor |
Yes |
| Document type definitions |
DTD source page editor |
No |
| HTML |
HTML source page editor |
Yes |
| JavaScript™ |
JavaScript source page editor or source
tab of JavaScript editor |
Yes |
| JSP |
JSP source page editor |
Yes |
| XML |
Source tab of XML editor |
Yes |
| XSD (schema) |
Source tab of XML schema editor |
Yes |
You can access the structured text editor by right-clicking on a relevant
file name in Navigator or Package Explorer view and then clicking Open
With and selecting the editor mentioned above.
The structured text editor provides a consistent interface regardless of
the markup language with which it is associated. It provides capabilities
such as find and replace, undo, redo, a spelling checker, and coding assistance
(unless otherwise noted). It also highlights syntax in different colors. Following
is a brief description of some of the structured text editor's capabilities:
- syntax highlighting
- Each keyword type and syntax type is highlighted differently, enabling
you to easily find a certain kind of keyword for editing. For example, in
HTML, element names, attribute names, attribute values, and comments have
different colors; in JavaScript, function and variable
names, quoted text strings, and comments have different colors.
- unlimited undo and redo
- These options allow you to incrementally undo and redo every change made
to a file for the entire editing session. For text, changes are incremented
one character or set of selected characters at a time.
- content assist
- Content assist helps you to insert JavaScript functions, HTML tags, or
other keywords. Choices available in the content assist list are based on
functions defined by the syntax of the language in which the file is coded.
- user-defined templates and snippets
- By using the Snippets view, you can access user-defined code snippets
and (for all code types except JavaScript) templates to help you
quickly add regularly used text strings.
- function selection
- Based on the location of your cursor, the function or tag selection indicator
highlights the line numbers that include a function or tag in the vertical
ruler on the left area of the Source page.
- pop-up menu options
- These are the same editing options available in the workbench Edit menu.