Lisp Integration

This is a Visual Studio extension that provides support for Lisp language:

• Syntax highlighting, including ability to configure colours from Visual Studio
• Brace matching

• Code outlining and collapsing for top-level functions, macros and comments
• QuickInfo tooltips to display signatures and descriptions when user hovers mouse over function/macro

• Signature help to display parameter help as user types

• Text highlighting to highlight every occurrence of the current Lisp symbol in the file.

• Code completion

• Ability to add context sensitive help for Lisp keywords from Common Lisp HyperSpec.

To change colors used for syntax highlighting in Visual Studio go to Tools->Options->Environment->Fonts and Colors, in Display Items list look for entries starting with lisp, you should find lispChar, lispComment, lispString etc.

Version 1.3.1 provides support for Visual Studio 2019, requires .NET version, v4.6.1.

Version 1.3 provides support for Visual Studio 2017, some bug fixes, more keywords added to QuickInfo and Signature help, some formatting fixes in Common Lisp HyperSpec.

Version 1.2.1 removes restriction on .NET version, v4.5 and higher are now supported.

Version 1.2 provides bug fixes, more keywords (still not all) have QuickInfo and Signature help, adds support for files with extension .lsp, provides improved Common Lisp HyperSpec (CLHS) integration and formatting. F1 should now work for all Lisp keywords.

If you never installed CLHS as offline content in Visual Studio Help Viewer, please follow instructions provided in Version 1.1 description further below.

If you already installed CLHS, you will need to remove the old file and replace it with the new one:

1. In Visual Studio, go to menu Help->Add and Remove Help Content
2. Find Common Lisp HyperSpec and click on Remove link.
3. Click Update button in bottom right corner. The old content will be removed.
4. Now follow the steps from the installation guide further below, starting with step 1.

Version 1.1, along with some bug fixes, provides ability to install Common Lisp HyperSpec (CLHS) as offline content in Visual Studio Help Viewer. Once installed (see instruction below) it can be used as context sensitive help for Lisp keywords: place cursor on a keyword, press F1 key and Help Viewer should show the topic for this keyword from CLHS. Some keywords still do not work (I'm working on fixing this) but I think it can be useful even as it is. CLHS becomes searchable using the viewer and its Table of Contents is accessible for browsing through the viewer as well.

CLHS is based on ANSI Common Lisp standard and it is widely available on internet. LispWorks owns copyright for it so you will see LispWorks logo and other references to LispWorks in it. Note that I'm not associated with LispWorks. I did ask them for permission to include CLHS into this extension and they kindly gave me such permission.

Instructions for installing CLHS as offline content in Visual Studio Help Viewer:

1. After the extension update is installed, find extension files on your hard drive. They should be in folder C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\Microsoft\VisualStudio\12.0\Extensions or something similar, where UserName is your Windows user name. 12.0 corresponds to Visual Studio 2013, your number may be different if you use different Visual Studio version. This folder will have a number of subfolders with names like qkpylqqr.fhc or kbetpd5l.gwv. You will have to find the subfolder that contains file LispLanguage.dll. You should also see a number of other files in it including CLHS.mshc and helpcontentsetup.msha
2. In Visual Studio, go to menu Help->Add and Remove Help Content
3. Select Disk for Installation Source and navigate to the folder where the extension is installed, select helpcontentsetup and press Open.
4. You should see Common Lisp HyperSpec in the Help viewer window now, click Add link. Status should change to Add (pending).
5. Click Update button, then press Yes in the dialogs that appear.
6. It might take 20 seconds or so to install. After it is done, you should see "Common Lisp HyperSpec" in Contents pane in Help Viewer. By clicking on it you should be able to explore it in both Contents pane and in the main help window.
7. To allow help to be displayed in Help Viewer when F1 key is pressed, go to Visual Studio menu Help->Set Help Preference and select "Launch in Help Viewer".

To test, open .Lisp file, place cursor on defun keyword, press F1, you should see defun help from CLHS.