InterSystems Namespace Search

Studio-style tools for working on InterSystems IRIS code in VS Code, directly on the server:

• Namespace Search: fast Find in Files across a whole namespace, run on the server the way Studio does it.
• Go To: Studio's Ctrl+G. Jump to label^routine, ##class(Pkg.Cls).Method, a line number and more.
• Open Document (Tree / Flat): open any class or routine from a package tree or a flat list, and switch between them.
• Bookmarks: mark lines with Ctrl+F2, jump between them with F2, and see them all in the sidebar. They follow your edits.

It works with the server-side (isfs) namespace folders you open through the InterSystems extensions ("Edit Code in Namespace"). It reuses that connection, so there is nothing extra to configure.

Requirements

• InterSystems ObjectScript extension (any version, including 3.0.x)
• A server-side namespace folder (isfs://...) open in your workspace
• IRIS or Caché 2017.2+ for server-side search (older servers fall back to a local scan automatically)

Namespace Search: Ctrl+Alt+S

Opens the ISFS Search panel in the Activity Bar.

1. Namespace: pick which open namespace folder to search. Each namespace keeps its own search text, masks and results, so you can switch between them without losing anything.
2. Search Text: case-insensitive. With Use wildcards on, * matches any characters and ? matches one. Turn it off to search for a literal * or ?.
3. File Mask / Package: limit where to search.
   • *.cls,*.mac,*.int: by document type
   • Pkg.Sub.*: a package and everything under it
   • NAME* (no dot): only items directly at the namespace root, which keeps it fast
   • Press + to add more masks.
4. Press Enter or Search. Stop cancels a running search.

Click a result to see its matching lines, then click a line to open the document at that line. Search History keeps your previous searches and their results.

How it searches

By default the search runs on the IRIS server through the Atelier API. That's the same server-side search Studio's Find in Files uses, so a whole namespace takes seconds.

It automatically falls back to a local scan, which lists folders and reads each file, when:

• the server connection can't be resolved,
• the server doesn't support server-side search, or
• the server's Atelier API version is below serverSideSearchMinApiVersion (default 4). Older versions were found to silently miss matches, so they're scanned locally to keep results complete.

To see which path a search took and why, open View → Output → ISFS Namespace Search.

Go To: Ctrl+Alt+G

Studio's Go To dialog. It pre-fills with the reference under your cursor, or your selection.

With several namespaces open it asks which one to use. The current file's namespace is listed first, so Enter keeps you where you are.

Open Document (Tree / Flat)

Command: InterSystems: Open Document (Tree / Flat) (isfsNamespaceSearch.openDocument). It has no default shortcut. To put it on Ctrl+Alt+O, add this to your keybindings.json:

{
  "key": "ctrl+alt+o",
  "command": "isfsNamespaceSearch.openDocument",
  "when": "vscode-objectscript.connectActive"
}

It has two views of the namespace's documents:

• Tree: browse package by package, like the InterSystems ObjectScript extension did up to 3.8.2.
• Flat: one filterable list of every document, like 3.8.3 and later.

You can also type a full document name with its extension (e.g. My.App.Cls.cls) in either view and press Enter. The title-bar buttons show or hide System, Generated and Mapped documents.

Opening several files at once

Click the checklist button in the title bar to turn on checkbox mode:

• Click a file, or press Ctrl+Enter on the highlighted one, to tick it. Do the same again to untick it.
• Ticks are kept when you move between packages and when you switch Tree / Flat, so you can collect files from anywhere.
• VS Code shows a checkbox on every row. Clicking a package or .. goes into it or up, rather than ticking it.
• Press Enter (or OK) to open every ticked file, each in its own tab.
• The title shows how many files are ticked. Clicking the button again turns checkbox mode off and clears the ticks.

Keys while the picker is open

These keys only work while this picker is open. Everywhere else they keep their usual VS Code behaviour. Holding Backspace deletes your filter text and stops at the empty filter, so press it again to go up. The ← and Home buttons in the title bar do the same as the keys and stay visible however far you scroll.

Switching Flat → Tree starts at the namespace root. Switching Tree → Flat keeps your filter text.

Bookmarks

Works in server-side (isfs) documents.

These keys only apply in isfs documents. Elsewhere F2 is still Rename Symbol.

Bookmarked lines get a yellow marker in the gutter and on the scrollbar. The ISFS Bookmarks sidebar lists them by namespace → document → bookmark. Each bookmark shows its label and offset (e.g. SetTavla+3, or the class method it's in) and its line number. Click one to jump there. The buttons on each row delete one bookmark, clear a document, or clear a whole namespace.

Bookmarks follow the text. Adding or deleting lines above a bookmark moves it with its line, and editing the bookmarked line keeps it. Deleting the bookmarked line removes the bookmark. This only tracks edits made in VS Code. If a document changes elsewhere (in Studio, or on the server), a bookmark can end up on a different line.

Bookmarks are saved per workspace.

No preview tabs for server documents

A single click on an isfs document opens it as a regular tab rather than a preview tab (the one in italics that the next file replaces). Turn this off with isfsNamespaceSearch.pinIsfsEditors. To get the same behaviour for all files, use VS Code's own workbench.editor.enablePreview: false instead.

Settings

Credentials

This extension never asks for a password and never shows VS Code's "wants to sign in" dialog.

Open Document lists documents through your isfs namespace folder, using the connection the InterSystems extension already made when you added the namespace. It needs no password of its own. The flat list has to go through the folder one package at a time, so on a big namespace it fills in over a few seconds. It's then kept for 3 minutes; the Reload button in the title bar refreshes it.

Server-side search, and a faster Open Document flat list, need to talk to the server directly. They use a password when one is available without asking:

1. settings.json (intersystems.servers), or whatever the InterSystems ObjectScript extension provides. On 3.0.x that includes the password you typed for Add Server Namespace to Workspace.
2. Server Manager's saved login, if you've allowed this extension to use it: Accounts menu → InterSystems Server Credentials → your login → Manage Trusted Extensions → tick InterSystems Namespace Search.

Without one, search uses the slower local scan and Open Document uses the isfs folder. Both still work.

InterSystems: Forget Stored Password... removes a password saved by versions 1.4.1 and 1.4.2.

Credits

Open Document's list queries and name validation are adapted from the InterSystems ObjectScript extension (MIT). See THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.