TAcroMan

Smart acronym support for LaTeX in Visual Studio Code.
Write first — let TAcroMan take care of the acronym commands.

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TAcroMan helps you use acronyms consistently while writing LaTeX documents.

Instead of repeatedly looking up acronym keys or manually replacing plain text, TAcroMan connects your acronym database directly to Visual Studio Code and provides:

• acronym-aware completion for commands such as \ac{...};
• suggestions for acronyms written as plain text;
• lookup by both short form and long form;
• an integrated acronym browser in the VS Code sidebar;
• interactive scanning and replacement of acronyms in existing text;
• live synchronization when the acronym database changes.

It is especially useful for theses, dissertations, papers, reports, and other large LaTeX projects with many acronyms.

✨ Features

1. Complete \ac{...} commands

Start typing an acronym command:

\ac{AU

TAcroMan searches the active database and suggests matching acronyms:

\ac{AUV}

The suggestion shows the acronym together with its long form, so you can choose the right entry without leaving the editor.

2. Convert plain acronyms to LaTeX commands

If you type an acronym directly in your text:

The AUV performs the mission autonomously.

TAcroMan can suggest:

The \ac{AUV} performs the mission autonomously.

Plural forms are supported as well:

Several AUVs were deployed.

can become:

Several \acp{AUV} were deployed.

The singular and plural commands are configurable.

3. Search by long form

Forgot the acronym itself?

Just start typing the long form:

autonomous underwater...

TAcroMan can still find:

\ac{AUV}

This works through normal VS Code IntelliSense and lets you search the acronym database by both abbreviation and meaning.

4. Manage acronyms directly from VS Code

TAcroMan adds its own view to the Secondary Side Bar.

There you can:

• browse all acronyms in the active database;
• search and filter the acronym list;
• see short and long forms at a glance;
• insert \ac{...} or \acp{...};
• select or reload the active database;
• open the TAcroMan desktop application.

The desktop application can be launched directly from VS Code when you want to add, edit, or delete acronym entries.

Changes to the database are detected automatically — there is normally no need to reload the extension manually.

5. Check an existing file for acronyms

Already have a chapter, paper, or older LaTeX file containing plain acronyms?

Use:

TAcroMan: Check Current File for Acronyms

TAcroMan scans the active .tex file for known short and long forms.

For every occurrence, you decide individually whether it should be replaced.

Example:

The autonomous underwater vehicle uses a DVL.

TAcroMan may suggest:

The \ac{AUV} uses a \ac{DVL}.

For each match you can:

• Replace
• Skip
• Stop checking

The scanner avoids common non-text contexts such as existing acronym commands, comments, citations, references, labels, acronym definitions, and verbatim content.

🚀 Getting started

1. Install the extension

Open the Extensions view in Visual Studio Code:

Ctrl+Shift+X

Search for:

TAcroMan

and install the extension.

For local development, a packaged .vsix can also be installed using:

Extensions → … → Install from VSIX…

2. Select an acronym database

TAcroMan uses a JSON database containing the available acronyms.

You can either:

• select a database from VS Code using
  TAcroMan: Select Database, or
• use the database currently selected in the TAcroMan desktop application.

Once a database is active, the sidebar and completion features are available immediately.

3. Start writing

Try any of the following:

\ac{

AUV

autonomous underwater

or open the TAcroMan sidebar and browse the database directly.

🔄 Live database synchronization

The active acronyms.json file is watched automatically.

When an acronym is added, edited, or deleted in TAcroMan, the VS Code extension updates its database cache and sidebar automatically.

This also works when the database is located outside the current VS Code workspace.

🧭 TAcroMan sidebar

The sidebar provides quick access to the most common actions:

• Check current file for acronyms
• Open TAcroMan
• view the active database
• search/filter acronyms
• reload the database
• select another database
• insert singular or plural acronym commands

Right-click an acronym to insert it directly into the active LaTeX document.

⌨️ Commands

Open the Command Palette with Ctrl+Shift+P and search for TAcroMan.

⚙️ Configuration

For most users, the default settings should work without modification.

[
  "ac",
  "acp"
]

ac

acp

🖥️ TAcroMan desktop application

The VS Code extension is part of the larger TAcroMan project.

The desktop application provides a graphical interface for managing the acronym database and generating LaTeX acronym definitions.

The VS Code extension focuses on using that database efficiently while writing.

You can therefore use the two together:

TAcroMan desktop
       ↓
 acronyms.json
       ↓
VS Code extension
       ↓
   LaTeX document

The database remains a normal JSON file, so the extension does not lock you into a proprietary document format.

🤝 Works alongside LaTeX Workshop

TAcroMan is designed to complement LaTeX Workshop.

It does not modify LaTeX Workshop and does not replace its LaTeX editing, building, citation, or navigation features.

TAcroMan simply adds acronym-specific tooling on top of your normal VS Code LaTeX workflow.

🐛 Feedback and feature requests

Found a bug or have an idea for another acronym workflow?

Please open an issue:

https://github.com/TAWilts/TexAcronymManager/issues

If possible, include:

• your VS Code version;
• your TAcroMan extension version;
• your operating system;
• a small LaTeX example that reproduces the issue.

👨‍💻 Development

The VS Code extension lives in the same repository as the desktop application.

To build it locally on Windows:

.\build-vscode-extension.cmd

The script automatically:

1. installs/updates the Node dependencies;
2. runs the extension tests;
3. builds the .vsix package.

Alternatively, from vscode-extension/:

npm install
npm test
npm run package

📄 License

TAcroMan is released under the MIT License.