A powerful Visual Studio extension for enhanced T4 template editing

T4Editor brings professional-grade syntax highlighting, IntelliSense, and advanced editing features to T4 (Text Template Transformation Toolkit) files in Visual Studio. Whether you're working with code generation, automated documentation, or template-based development, T4Editor transforms your T4 editing experience.

• Smart T4 Block Recognition: Distinct colors for all T4 block types

• Control Blocks (<#...#>) - For C# statements and control flow

• Class Feature Blocks (<#+...#>) - For methods, properties, and class-level features

• Expression Blocks (<#=...#>) - For value output expressions

• Directive Blocks (<#@...#>) - For template directives and imports

• Output Blocks - Static text content outside T4 tags

• T4 Tags - The delimiters themselves (<#, #>, etc.)

• Context-Aware Code Completion: Smart suggestions for T4 syntax elements
• Predefined T4 Constructs: Quick insertion of common patterns
  • Control block templates
  • Class feature block scaffolding
  • Expression block helpers
  • Import and include directive snippets

• Smart Brace Matching: Highlights matching braces, brackets, parentheses, and quotes
• Code Outlining: Collapsible regions for T4 blocks to manage large templates
• Block Navigation: Easily navigate between related T4 constructs

• Theme Awareness: Automatically adapts to Visual Studio's light and dark themes
• Customizable Colors: Full control over syntax highlighting colors
• Settings Panel: Easy-to-use configuration interface
• File Support: Works with .tt, .t4, and .ttinclude files

• Optimized for Large Files: Efficient parsing for templates over 50KB
• Smart Caching: Intelligent result caching for improved responsiveness
• Regex Timeout Protection: Prevents UI freezing on complex content
• Incremental Processing: Only processes visible areas in large files

1. Open Visual Studio
2. Go to Extensions -> Manage Extensions
3. Search for "T4Editor"
4. Click Download and restart Visual Studio

• .tt - T4 Text Templates
• .t4 - T4 Templates (alternative extension)
• .ttinclude - T4 Include Files

• Method 1: Go to Tools -> T4Editor Settings
• Method 2: Right-click in a T4 file -> T4Editor Settings

• Syntax Colors: Customize colors for each T4 block type
• Theme Integration: Automatic theme detection and color adjustment
• Performance Settings: Adjust parsing thresholds for large files

When you type <#, T4Editor provides intelligent suggestions:

• <#...#> - Control Block
• <#+...#> - Class Feature Block
• <#=...#> - Expression Block
• <#@ import #> - Import Directive
• <#@ include #> - Include Directive

T4Editor is built with performance and reliability in mind:

• Small Files (< 50KB): Full document parsing with intelligent caching
• Large Files (> 50KB): Incremental parsing of visible areas
• Complex Content: Fallback parser for regex-intensive scenarios

• Classification Type Caching: 90% reduction in registry lookups
• Snapshot Result Caching: Eliminates redundant parsing
• Targeted Processing: Only parses visible content in large files
• Timeout Protection: Prevents UI freezing on malformed content
• Graceful Fallbacks: Maintains functionality even with complex templates

We welcome contributions! Here's how you can help:

1. Clone the repositorygit clone https://github.com/Tim-Maes/T4Editor.git

2. Prerequisites

   • Visual Studio 2019/2022 with VSIX development workload
   • .NET Framework 4.7.2

3. Build and Test

• Open T4Editor.sln in Visual Studio
• Build solution (Ctrl+Shift+B)
• Press F5 to run in experimental instance

• Create an issue on GitHub
• Check existing issues for solutions
• Contact the maintainer for support

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE.txt file for details.