AsciiDoc Table Editor

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Overview

Edit AsciiDoc pipe tables visually while preserving source-safe, Git-reviewable diffs.

AsciiDoc Table Editor is a VS Code extension for teams that maintain specifications, runbooks, migration notes, and technical documents in AsciiDoc. It opens an AsciiDoc table as a grid, lets you edit cells, spans, block cells, rows, columns, clipboard imports, and formatting, then writes safe changes back to the original .adoc, .asciidoc, or .asc document.

The extension treats AsciiDoc source as the source of truth. It keeps unsupported table syntax out of unsafe structured edits, preserves table attributes where possible, and surfaces diagnostics instead of silently normalizing source it cannot own safely.

The editor is designed as a short review loop: open a table from CodeLens or the Command Palette, edit it in the grid, check Preview or Format Review when needed, then apply only source-safe changes back to the selected table block.

Try It in Your Browser

Try the static web version at asciidoc-table-editor.pages.dev to see the grid editor, rendered AsciiDoc Preview, clipboard paste, block cell editing, and format review behavior without installing the VS Code extension.

The static site is useful for evaluating the editor experience. Use the VS Code extension when you want AsciiDoc CodeLens integration, diagnostics in your local workspace, and write-back to local .adoc, .asciidoc, or .asc files.

What You Can Do

• Open AsciiDoc pipe tables from .adoc, .asciidoc, and .asc files
• Open a specific table from CodeLens using Open Table Editor
• Edit plain cells in the grid or bottom Cell Editor
• Select ranges with keyboard or mouse drag
• Merge and unmerge rectangular cell ranges
• Insert and remove rows or columns from the table context menu
• Paste tables copied from Word, Excel, Pages, Numbers, and browsers
• Auto-expand rows and columns when pasted tables exceed the current grid
• Preserve imported merged cells when the target range is safe
• Map safe inline clipboard content such as bold, italic, monospace, and links
• Convert non-table list or multiline HTML fragments into block cells
• Edit block cell raw source in the bottom editor and preview it in the Inspector
• Switch between Edit and rendered AsciiDoc Preview
• Review table formatting before applying it
• Use VS Code undo / redo for table edits

Installation

To install from the Marketplace:

1. Open the VS Code Extensions view
2. Search for AsciiDoc Table Editor or asciidoc-table-editor
3. Press Install
4. Open an AsciiDoc document that contains a table

For local validation, you can also install a VSIX build.

pnpm run package:vsix
pnpm run install:vsix

Quick Start

1. Create an AsciiDoc table

Use an AsciiDoc pipe table.

= Example

[cols="2,2,5a"]
|===
|Name |Type |Notes

|Firefox
|Browser
|Firefox is an open source web browser.

* Standards compliant
* High performance
* Portable
|===

2. Open the Table Editor

Use the Open Table Editor CodeLens above an AsciiDoc table.

From the Command Palette, run:

• AsciiDoc Table: Open Table Editor

3. Edit in the grid

Edit plain cells, select ranges, merge cells, paste tables from office tools, and use the bottom Cell Editor for the selected cell. Block cells stay readonly in the grid, but their raw AsciiDoc source can be edited from the same bottom editor.

4. Preview rendered AsciiDoc

Switch to Preview to inspect the rendered table, including spans, alignment, links, and block cell content.

5. Format after review

Use Format Table from CodeLens or the toolbar to open Format Review. Review before / after source, choose a format mode, and apply only after confirming the result.

Features

Main Workflows

Open a table

Open an AsciiDoc document and use Open Table Editor above the table you want to edit. In documents with multiple tables, the editor targets only the table selected by CodeLens or cursor position.

Edit cells

Select a cell and edit it from the grid or the bottom Cell Editor. Press the apply button or use the supported keyboard flow to write the change back to the AsciiDoc document.

Select and merge ranges

Drag across cells or use keyboard range selection, then press Merge. The extension validates that the selected range can be represented safely in AsciiDoc before it writes span syntax.

Paste from office tools

Copy a table from Word, Excel, Pages, Numbers, or a browser, select the destination cell, and paste. Plain rectangular tables can expand the current table, while imported merged cells are preserved when the target range is safe.

Edit block cells

Block cells are readonly in the grid because they may contain lists, paragraphs, source blocks, or nested AsciiDoc content. Edit their raw content in the bottom Cell Editor and use the Inspector preview to check the rendered result.

Format source after review

Run Format Table to open Format Review. The extension shows before / after source and applies formatting only after you confirm it.

Source-Safe Editing

The extension is built around a lossless table parser and grid projection. It avoids rewriting unrelated source for GUI convenience.

• Writes back only to the selected table block
• Preserves table attributes and unsupported source where possible
• Keeps block cell content as raw AsciiDoc source
• Blocks edits when table structure is malformed or unsafe
• Uses diagnostics instead of silent lossy conversion
• Leaves source readable for pull request and LLM review

Limitations

Requirements / Compatibility

Build from Source

Requirements:

• Node.js 22+
• pnpm 10.30.3+
• VS Code Desktop 1.105+

Install dependencies and build the extension:

pnpm install
pnpm run build

Package a local VSIX:

pnpm run package:vsix

Install the generated VSIX into VS Code:

pnpm run install:vsix

Run the main verification gate:

pnpm run verify

For UI changes:

pnpm run verify:ui-change -- --scenario table-grid --id <feature-id>

License

• License: MIT