LaTeX Vertical Comment Formatter for VS Code & Antigravity IDE

Automated, idempotent LaTeX vertical comment line (%) formatter for Sanskrit critical editions, classical TeX text structures, and multi-layered commentary environments.

Metadata & Author Information

Author: lalitaalaalitah
Website: https://www.lalitaalaalitah.com
GitHub Profile: https://github.com/lalitaalaalitah
Repository: https://github.com/lalitaalaalitah/01_AddCommentedLines
Version: 1.0.0

Overview

In Sanskrit critical editions and complex LaTeX typesetting pipelines (such as reledmac / ekdosis), structural markers and tag boundaries must be cleanly isolated using exact vertical comment lines (%).

This extension automatically inserts, normalizes, and enforces a configurable number of pure comment lines (default: 3) directly before and after key LaTeX constructs:

Tag Markers: %<*1>%, %</1>%, %<*१>%, %</१>%, %<*2>%, %</2>%
TeX Block Markers: \pstart%, \pend% (and variants without %)
Environment Boundaries: \begin{vyAkhyA}, \end{vyAkhyA}, \begin{Jnanankusham}, \begin{Pathabhedah}, etc.
Structural Commands: \section, \subsection, \subsubsection, \shlokaH, \granthaH

Key Features

Format on Save & Manual Format: Seamlessly format files automatically when saving (editor.formatOnSave / latexVerticalCommentFormatter.formatOnSave) or manually via shortcut/command palette.
Preserves Indentation: Adapts to line indentation so % comments align with surrounding code structure.
Guaranteed Idempotency: Running formatting multiple times yields the exact same clean output without accumulating redundant duplicate % lines.
Smart Batch Workspace Formatting: Format all content .tex files across your workspace in a single click with progress reporting, automatically skipping non-content macro definitions (02_macros_*.tex) and root project driver files (03_AllTexFiles.tex).
Secondary Post-Formatter Execution: Optionally kick a custom VS Code command (e.g. latex-workshop.indent) or CLI tool (e.g. latexindent -w {file}) automatically after formatting.
Companion CLI Python Script: This extension is tightly coupled with the official LaTeX Project Helpers CLI Script (latex_vertical_comment_formatter.py), sharing the exact same core formatting engine and smart batch filtering logic.

Example Before & After

Before Formatting

%<*1>%
\pstart%
\shlokaH{धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः।}
\pend%
%</1>%

After Formatting (3-Line Comment Padding)

%
%
%
%<*1>%
%
%
%
%
%
%
\pstart%
%
%
%
    %
    %
    %
    \shlokaH{धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे समवेता युयुत्सवः।}
    %
    %
    %
%
%
%
\pend%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%</1>%
%
%
%

Extension Settings

Customize extension behavior in VS Code settings (settings.json):

Setting	Default	Description
`latexVerticalCommentFormatter.commentCount`	`3`	Number of commented lines (`%`) to insert before and after target markers.
`latexVerticalCommentFormatter.formatOnSave`	`true`	Automatically format LaTeX files when saved.
`latexVerticalCommentFormatter.enablePostFormat`	`false`	Enable executing secondary post-formatter command after vertical comment formatting.
`latexVerticalCommentFormatter.postFormatCommand`	`""`	Secondary VS Code command ID (e.g. `latex-workshop.indent`) or CLI command (e.g. `latexindent -w {file}`) to execute after formatting.
`latexVerticalCommentFormatter.targetPatterns.tagMarkers`	`true`	Include tag markers (e.g. `%<1>%`, `%</1>%`, `%<१>%`, `%</१>`).
`latexVerticalCommentFormatter.targetPatterns.pstartPend`	`true`	Include `\pstart%` and `\pend%` block markers.
`latexVerticalCommentFormatter.targetPatterns.environments`	`true`	Include `\begin{...}` and `\end{...}` boundaries.
`latexVerticalCommentFormatter.targetPatterns.structuralCommands`	`true`	Include `\section`, `\subsection`, `\shlokaH`, `\granthaH`.

Commands & Keyboard Shortcuts

Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P on macOS / Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows/Linux) and search for:

LaTeX Formatter: Format Current Document
LaTeX Formatter: Format Selection
LaTeX Formatter: Format All TeX Files in Workspace

Standard VS Code formatting shortcuts also apply:

Format Document: Shift+Option+F (macOS) / Shift+Alt+F (Windows/Linux)
Format Selection: Cmd+K Cmd+F (macOS) / Ctrl+K Ctrl+F (Windows/Linux)

LaTeX Vertical Comment Formatter

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