highlight-files

This vscode extension will highlight the editor tab of any file opened that is not part of the workspace. The tab will be have a unique color which can configure. Both the editor tab label and the filename in the Explorer will get this color.

The color used is a ThemeColor called highlightFiles.nonWorkspaceFiles and defaults to a lime green or #91ff00. That may not work in the theme you use for your editor so it is configurable. In your settings.json add this colorCustomiztion:

  "workbench.colorCustomizations": {
    
    "highlightFiles.nonWorkspaceFiles": "#91ff00"  // a wonderful lime green, the default
  }

Any hex color can be used including those with opacity like #91ff0060: the last two digits are for opacity.

Known Issues

• After installing the extension, you may have to reload vscode 1x or 2x to activate this extension.

The setting Highlight Files > Decoration: Badge can take 1-2 characters as a badge, which will appear just past the end of the editor tab label. The characters can be unicode characters, like ⛖, but not the actual unicode, i.e., \u26D6, because that is seen as more than two characters. In setting.json this does work: "highlightFiles.decorations.badge": "\u26D6", it is only in the Settings UI that you must use the actual character ⛖.

To enable the editor color and badges the following two settings must be enabled - they control all file color decorations whatever the source:

  Workbench > Editor > Decorations: Badges  
  // Controls whether editor file decorations should use badges.  
  "workbench.editor.decorations.badges": true,

  Workbench > Editor > Decorations: Colors  
  // Controls whether editor file decorations should use colors.  
  "workbench.editor.decorations.colors": true,

To enable the file explorer color and badges these settings must be enabled:

  Explorer > Decorations: Badges  
  // Controls whether file decorations should use badges.  
  "explorer.decorations.badges": true,

  Explorer > Decorations: Badges  
  // Controls whether file decorations should use colors.  
  "explorer.decorations.colors": true,

This setting Problems > Decorations: Enabled will take precedence over the file decorations of this extension. So, if this setting is enabled even a non-workspace file, if it has problems in it, will be colored according to whatever the Problems decorations color is and not what this extension's highlightFiles.nonWorkspaceFiles color setting. There is no way to avoid that precedence of the Problems decoration other than disabling the following setting:

  Problems > Decorations: Enabled
  // Show Errors & Warnings on files and folder.
  "problems.decorations.enabled": true,

Contributed Setting

This extension contributes three settings:

Highlight Files > Decorations > Enable: Color   (in the Settings UI), default is true

"highlightFiles.decorations.enable.color": true/false   in settings.json

The above default is true. You can change the setting at any time and it should take effect immediately.

Highlight Files > Decorations > Enable: Badges   (in the Settings UI), default is false  

"highlightFiles.decorations.enable.badges": true/false   in settings.json

The above default is false, so you will have to opt-in to enable the extension and start adding badges tab names. You can change the setting at any time and it should take effect immediately.

Highlight Files > Decorations : Badge   (in the Settings UI), default is an "!" (exclamation mark)

"highlightFiles.decorations.badge": string, 1-2 characters

Release Notes

• 0.0.3 Ignore uri.scheme === 'vscode-userdata' so settings.json and keybindings.json are not decorated

• 0.0.4 Added Highlight-files: Enable setting

• 0.0.5 Changed to 3 settings: colors, badges and badge. Simplified the decorator Class.

• 0.0.6 Fixed too lazy get workspace files, New File... was triggering decorations.