Comment Box for Visual Studio Code

Add, remove and update pretty and highly configurable comment boxes in VS Code. The Comment Box extension adds new commands to VS Code that allow you to easily manage your comment boxes.

Examples:

Adding a simple comment (with default settings)

my comment

turns into:

/**************
 * MY COMMENT *
 **************/

Adding a multiple line comment (with default settings)

could you
comment box this?
pretty please (*.*)

turns into:

/***********************
 *      COULD YOU      *
 *  COMMENT BOX THIS?  *
 * PRETTY PLEASE (*.*) *
 ***********************/

Usage

Select the text that you want to comment, then call the command bar with:

Ctrl+Shift+P

And run the command:

> Add Comment Box

That's it. If you want to pick from one of many styles instead, run:

> Add Comment Box Using Style

Check the Configuration section to learn how to add your own styles.

Keybindings

You can bind these commands to a shortcut by adding something like this to your keybindings.json:

{ "key": "shift+alt+c", "command": "commentBox.add", "when": "editorTextFocus"},
{ "key": "shift+alt+z", "command": "commentBox.remove", "when": "editorTextFocus"},
{ "key": "shift+alt+x", "command": "commentBox.update", "when": "editorTextFocus"}

If you want to select a style:

{ "key": "shift+alt+c", "command": "commentBox.addUsingStyle", "when": "editorTextFocus"}

If you have multiple styles defined, you can make a keybind for each one like so:

{ 
    "key": "shift+alt+c", 
    "command": "commentBox.addUsingStyle", 
    "when": "editorTextFocus", 
    "args": "styleA"
},
{ 
    "key": "shift+alt+b", 
    "command": "commentBox.addUsingStyle", 
    "when": "editorTextFocus", 
    "args": "styleB"
}

Configuration

If you have troubles with setting up the style you want, please fill an issue in the GitHub Repository.

Define your comment styles with the commentBox.styles setting:

"commentBox.styles": {
    "defaultStyle": {
        "capitalize": false,
        "ignoreInnerIndentation": false,
        "ignoreOuterIndentation": false,
        "removeEmptyLines": false,
        "textAlignment": "left"
    },
    "pythonicStyle": {
        "commentStartToken": "",
        "commentEndToken": "##",
        "leftEdgeToken": "# ",
        "rightEdgeToken": " #",
        "topEdgeToken": "#",
        "bottomEdgeToken": "#",
        "topRightToken": "##",
        "bottomLeftToken": "##"
    }
},

The Add Comment Box command always uses the defaultStyle.

Style settings

Setting	Description
capitalize	Capitalizes the text inside the box.
textAlignment	Controls how the text should be aligned. Can be 'center', 'left' or 'right'.
wordWrap	When set to 'on', lines that overflow the current 'boxWidth' wrap to the next line.
extendSelection	When 'true' the whole line is replaced, not just the selected part.
commentStartToken	Characters that start a multi-line comment for your current language. This also defines the top left corner of the box.
commentEndToken	Characters that end a multi-line comment for your current language. This also defines the bottom right corner of the box.
topRightToken	Characters that are used to draw the top right corner of the box.
bottomLeftToken	Characters that are used to draw the bottom left corner of the box.
topEdgeToken	Characters that are used to draw top edge of the box. The entire top edge is skipped when this is set to an empty string.
bottomEdgeToken	Characters that are used to draw bottom edge of the box. The entire bottom edge is skipped when this is set to an empty string.
leftEdgeToken	Characters that are used to draw left edge of the box.
rightEdgeToken	Characters that are used to draw right edge of the box.
fillingToken	Characters that are used to fill the space between the text and the edges.
boxWidth	The width of the comment box. When set to 0, it will automatically pick the smallest possible value.
maxEndColumn	The max column where a comment box can end at. When set to 0, it can end anywhere.
removeEmptyLines	When set to 'true', skips drawing lines that are empty.
ignoreOuterIndentation	When set to 'false', the box is placed in a way that matches the indentation of the text being commented. Works best when 'extendSelection' is enabled.
ignoreInnerIndentation	When set to 'false', the text inside the box will keep the same relative indentation between the lines. Requires 'textAlignment' to be set to 'left'.
hidden	When set to true, this style won't appear in commands like 'using style' commands. It can still be used in 'basedOn', or with a specific keybind.
basedOn	Name of the style or styles this one is based on. Inherits all properties from the given styles.

Style examples

Don't mess with my text

    /**********************************************
     * try to:                                    *
     *    - preserve inner and outer indentation; *
     *    - preserve text CaSiNg;                 *
     *                                            *
     *    - and skipping lines is fine too;       *
     **********************************************/

settings.json:

"commentBox.styles": {
    "defaultStyle": {
        "capitalize": false,
        "ignoreInnerIndentation": false,
        "ignoreOuterIndentation": false,
        "removeEmptyLines": false,
        "textAlignment": "left"
    }
}

Pythonic style

##############################
#         THIS IS A          #
# MULTI-LINE COMMENT EXAMPLE #
##############################

settings.json:

"commentBox.styles": {
    "defaultStyle": {
        "commentStartToken": "",
        "commentEndToken": "##",
        "leftEdgeToken": "# ",
        "rightEdgeToken": " #",
        "topEdgeToken": "#",
        "bottomEdgeToken": "#",
        "topRightToken": "##",
        "bottomLeftToken": "##",
    }
}

Just a left bar

/* Just a left bar
 * is enough.     
 */

settings.json:

"commentBox.styles": {
    "defaultStyle": {
        "commentStartToken": "/* ",
        "commentEndToken": "\n */",
        "leftEdgeToken": " * ",
        "rightEdgeToken": "",
        "topEdgeToken": "",
        "bottomEdgeToken": "",
        "topRightToken": "",
        "bottomLeftToken": "",
        "capitalize": false,
        "textAlignment": "left"
    }
}

I Live on the Edge

/*==================+
 |I LIVE ON THE EDGE|
 |~-~-~-~SEE?~-~-~-~|
 +==================*/

settings.json:

"commentBox.styles": {
    "defaultStyle": {
        "commentStartToken": "/*",
        "commentEndToken": "*/",
        "leftEdgeToken": " |",
        "rightEdgeToken": "|",
        "topEdgeToken": "=",
        "bottomEdgeToken": "=",
        "topRightToken": "+",
        "bottomLeftToken": " +",
        "fillingToken": "~-"
    }
}

Multiple language support

/***********
 * comment *
 ***********/

settings.json:

"[javascript][cpp][c]": {
    "commentBox.styles": {
        "defaultStyle": {
            "capitalize": false
        }
    }
}