Highlighter+- for VS Code

Project Overview

Highlighter+- is a high-performance text highlighter extension for Visual Studio Code that replicates the multi-colored token and string highlighting behavior of Notepad++. It allows developers to highlight different tokens simultaneously using five independent visual styles. Overlapping or adjacent highlights blend their translucent layers to create custom mixed shades using the editor's native compositing system.

This extension solves the problem of tracking multiple terms, variables, or execution paths within complex source code files by providing a persistent, non-overlapping color styling experience with Scrollbar (Overview Ruler) indicators.

Features & Usage

Highlighter+- provides the following core features:

1. Five Independent Highlight Styles: Highlight different text segments concurrently using translucent color themes (Turquoise, Pink, Orange, Purple, Green).
2. Visual Color Blending: Overlapping highlights naturally blend together via CSS opacity layer compositing.
3. Context Menu Integration:
   • Style all occurrences of token: Highlights all matches of the selected token in the document (exact selection match, or whole-word match if cursor is placed on an identifier).
   • Style one token: Highlights only the single, specific selection.
   • Clear style: Wipes highlights of a chosen style or clears all styles at once.
4. Quick Pick Menu: Accessible via the Command Palette by running Highlighter+-: Show Quick Pick Menu. It offers identical options to the context menu, enriched with dynamic circle icons matching current style colors.
5. Active Edit-Tracking: Automatically adjusts the coordinates of single-token highlights as you insert, delete, or modify text in the active document.
6. File Isolation & Workspace Scope: Supports restricting highlights locally to individual files, or applying them workspace-wide to match active tokens across all visible and newly opened editors.
7. Scrollbar Indicators: Highlighting a token places matching colored markers on the Overview Ruler for swift navigation.

Settings Customization

Configure settings by searching for Highlighter+- in Settings:

• highlighter-plus-minus.colors.style1 to ...style5: Custom background colors in standard CSS formats (Hex, RGB, RGBA, names).
• highlighter-plus-minus.showOnScrollbar: Enable/disable scrollbar Overview Ruler indicators.
• highlighter-plus-minus.persistOnClose: Retain highlight states when document tabs are closed.
• highlighter-plus-minus.highlightAllOpenFiles: Enable workspace-wide token highlighting.

This project was developed with the assistance of AI.