Documentation Monster Template Syntax

VS Code language extension providing syntax highlighting and embedded C# support for DocMonster HTML templates.

Features

• Full HTML syntax highlighting (inherits from VS Code's built-in HTML grammar)
• C# syntax highlighting inside DocMonster template delimiters
• Embedded C# language support (bracket matching, comment toggling, auto-closing pairs)
• Automatic association for .dmhtml, .wwscript, and .wwshtml files

Delimiter Forms

Multi-line Code Blocks

{{%
    var name = "Rick";
    if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(name)) { }}
        <div>{{ name }}</div>
{{% } }}

File Associations

• .dmhtml, .wwscript, .wwshtml files — automatically recognized via the extension's language contribution
• .html files — add workspace files.associations in .vscode/settings.json:

{
  "files.associations": {
    "*.html": "docmonster-template"
  }
}

Installation

From VSIX file (recommended for sharing)

1. Build the VSIX (see Building a VSIX below)
2. In VS Code, open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
3. Run Extensions: Install from VSIX...
4. Select the .vsix file

Or from the command line:

code --install-extension docmonster-template-syntax-0.1.0.vsix

Manual folder install

Copy the extension folder to:

%USERPROFILE%\.vscode\extensions\docmonster-template-syntax

Then reload VS Code.

Development mode

1. Open the docmonster-template-syntax folder in VS Code
2. Press F5 to launch an Extension Development Host
3. Open template files to verify highlighting

Building a VSIX

The extension uses @vscode/vsce to package into an installable .vsix file.

Prerequisites

npm install -g @vscode/vsce

Package

cd docmonster-template-syntax
vsce package

This produces docmonster-template-syntax-0.1.0.vsix in the extension folder.

Scope and Limitations

This extension provides:

• Syntax coloring for HTML and embedded C# in template delimiters
• Embedded-language editor behavior (bracket matching, comments) inside C# regions

This extension does not provide:

• C# IntelliSense or autocompletion inside template regions
• Roslyn diagnostics, rename, or semantic symbol awareness
• Full language server support for mixed HTML/C# template editing

These would require a custom language server or virtual-document projection design in a future phase.

TextMate Scopes