Use this command to display the Modify Templates dialog. A template is predefined text that may be recalled automatically at a later time and inserted into a file. The Template Group dropdown may be used to select which templates are listed in the Templates pane.
Templates are organized in four groups: Global, Layouts, Languages, and Projects. Global templates are always available; Layout templates are only available when the layout they're associated with is loaded; Language templates are associated with languages specified for syntax highlighting and are only available when editing files with extensions that match that language; and Project templates are only available when the project they're associated with is loaded.
An unlimited number of templates may be defined. Each of the first 20 global templates may be recalled at a later time using hot keys Alt+0 through Alt+9, and Shift+Alt+0 through Shift+Alt+9, or any of the templates may be recalled with the Insert Template dialog or by user-defined hot keys.
Each template may optionally have a name associated with it, that if defined will show up on the tooltips on the toolbar and in the list of templates when inserting a template.
Global templates are stored in the UETMPLTE.TPL file in the default directory or the directory specified under the Directories branch under Settings in the Advanced tab if using the default layout. The built-in layouts and the customized user layouts save the Layout templates in a layout-related file in the environment directory. Language templates are stored in the default wordfiles directory as they are associated with the languages specified in the wordfiles. Project templates are stored in the directory/file specified in the Project Settings dialog.
Placeholder Variables
Using the syntax [+VariableName+], a user may define "placeholder" variables in templates, and when the template is inserted, the placeholders will be highlighted in a template editing mode so that the user can type over the placeholder value to rename the variable. All occurrences of the variable are then updated. Pressing TAB will cause focus to move to the next placeholder variable. For example if the user inserts the template:
// function [+function+]
[+scope+] function [+function+] () {
^
}
and types "myFunc" for the [+function+] variable and "private" for the [+scope+] variable, he would see this:
// function myFunc
private function myFunc () {
^ <-- caret blinking here
}
If ESC or ENTER is pressed the template will be permanently inserted into the active document and template editing mode will no longer be active.
A template may also contain special text strings that are translated at the time the template is recalled. These special strings are:
|
[DATE_DMY] |
Is translated into the current date with the format DAY/MONTH/YEAR. |
|
[DATE_MDY] |
Is translated into the current date with the format MONTH/DAY/YEAR. |
|
[DATE_TEXT] |
Is translated into the current date with the date displayed as text. |
|
[TIME] |
Is translated into the current time IN 24 HOUR FORMAT. |
|
^ |
This indicates the position at which to place the cursor after the template has been inserted. |
|
[FULL_FILE_NAME] |
Is translated into the full path and filename of the active document. |
|
[FILE_PATH] |
Is translated into the drive and path of the active document. |
|
[FILE_NAME] |
Is translated into the root filename of the active document. |
|
[FILE_EXTENSION] |
Is translated into the file extension of the active document with the "point", i.e. ".txt". |
|
[FILE_EXTENSION_NP] |
Is translated into the file extension of the active document without the "point", i.e. "txt". |
|
[$REPLACE$] |
Is replaced with selected text in the active document. The selection will be converted to uppercase text when inserted with the template. |
|
[$replace$] |
Is replaced with selected text in the active document. The selection's current case will be maintained when it is inserted with the template. |
Note - ^ refers to the character '^' NOT Control Key + value.
Additionally, for extended date and time formatting, UltraEdit supports the following enhanced functionality:
Time
To specify the USER TIME format use the following syntax in your template:
For local time use the following markers:
[TIME_USER]...time format string here...[TIME_USER_END]
For system time use the following markers:
[TIME_USER_SYS]...time format string here...[TIME_USER_SYS_END]
Note: TIME_USER_SYS is UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). In general usage this may be thought of as GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).
The time format string is defined as follows:
If you use spaces to separate the elements in the format string, these spaces will appear in the same location in the template. The letters must be in uppercase or lowercase as shown (for example, "ss", not "SS"). Characters in the format string that are enclosed in single quotation marks will appear in the same location and unchanged in the template.
|
String |
Meaning |
|
h |
Hours with no leading zero for single-digit hours; 12-hour clock |
|
hh |
Hours with leading zero for single-digit hours; 12-hour clock |
|
H |
Hours with no leading zero for single-digit hours; 24-hour clock |
|
HH |
Hours with leading zero for single-digit hours; 24-hour clock |
|
m |
Minutes with no leading zero for single-digit minutes |
|
mm |
Minutes with leading zero for single-digit minutes |
|
s |
Seconds with no leading zero for single-digit seconds |
|
ss |
Seconds with leading zero for single-digit seconds |
|
t |
One character time marker string, such as A or P |
|
tt |
Multicharacter time marker string, such as AM or PM |
For example, to get the time string
"11:29:40 PM"
use the following format string:
"hh':'mm':'ss tt"
This string MUST be between the markers, for example:
[TIME_USER]hh':'mm':'ss tt[TIME_USER_END]
Date
To specify the USER DATE format use the following syntax in your template:
For local date use the following markers:
[DATE_USER]...date format string here...[DATE_USER_END]
For system date use the following markers:
[DATE_USER_SYS]...date format string here...[DATE_USER_SYS_END]
The date format string is defined as follows:
Use the following elements to construct a format string. If you use spaces to separate the elements in the format string, these spaces will appear in the same location in the template. The letters must be in uppercase or lowercase as shown in the table (for example, "MM" not "mm"). Characters in the format string that are enclosed in single quotation marks will appear in the same location and unchanged in the template.
|
String |
Meaning |
|
d |
Day of month as digits with no leading zero for single-digit days. |
|
dd |
Day of month as digits with leading zero for single-digit days. |
|
ddd |
Day of week as a three-letter abbreviation. |
|
dddd |
Day of week as its full name. |
|
M |
Month as digits with no leading zero for single-digit months. |
|
MM |
Month as digits with leading zero for single-digit months. |
|
MMM |
Month as a three-letter abbreviation. |
|
MMMM |
Month as its full name. |
|
y |
Year as last two digits, but with no leading zero for years less than 10. |
|
yy |
Year as last two digits, but with leading zero for years less than 10. |
|
yyyy |
0Year represented by full four digits. |
For example, to get the date string
"Wed, Aug 31 94"
use the following format string:
"ddd',' MMM dd yy"
This string MUST be between the markers, for example:
[DATE_USER]ddd',' MMM dd yy[DATE_USER_END]
Description
If desired, users may include a description for a template. This is limited to 79 characters. When the cursor hovers over the template name in the Template List, a tooltip will be displayed with the label Template Description followed by the specified description. If a description is not specified, the label Template Extract will be displayed along with the beginning portion of the template itself.
Inserting Templates
If the option Auto-suggest smart template when typing is enabled under Advanced -> Configuration -> Templates, and the user pauses while typing a string that matches a defined template name, UltraEdit will "suggest" a template based on what was last typed, and the user may press TAB to insert the suggested template.
For example, if the user has a C/C++ template named "void" and is editing a *.cpp file and types "void" and then pauses briefly, UltraEdit will automatically insert the "void" template in a special "suggestion" mode. To finish inserting the template, the user should press TAB. The amount of time the user must wait before seeing a template suggested is defined in the after pausing for field under Advanced -> Configuration -> Templates.
Alternatively, while editing, the user may press Ctrl+Space to invoke the auto-complete dialog and any templates which are defined whose name matches the string next to the caret will be listed in the auto-complete dialog as well. The user may choose a template here and insert this if desired.
Selectable Variable Values
Selectable values allow the user to create a template with a variable with several different pre-defined choices, which can be selected during template insertion via the auto-complete drop down. To add selectable values to a template variable, the following syntax should be used:
[+defaultVal|selectableVal1|selectableVal2|selectableVal3+]
The pipe character is used to delimit different selectable values. In the above example, when the template is inserted, the variable would have a default value of defaultVal. Once the user selects an item from the auto-complete dialog by pressing Enter, UltraEdit will shift focus to the next variable (or if it's the only variable, insert the template).
In some cases, the user may prefer to use a completely different value for a template variable that does not match either the default or one of the selectable values. Should the user desire, he can simply tab to the variable during insertion and begin typing a new value. In this case, the auto-complete dialog will disappear after the user begins typing new text. At any time, the user may press Ctrl + Spacebar to make the selection dialog visible again.