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Walkthrough: Displaying SmartTags

Smart tags are tags on text that expand to display a set of actions. For example, in a Visual Basic or Visual C# project, a red line appears under a word when you rename an identifier such as a variable name. When you move the pointer over the underline, a button is displayed near the pointer. If you click the button, a suggested action is displayed, for example, Rename IsRead to IsReady. If you click the action, all references to IsRead in the project are renamed IsReady.

Although smart tags are part of the IntelliSense implementation in the editor, you can implement smart tags by subclassing SmartTag, and then implementing the ITagger<T> interface and the IViewTaggerProvider interface.

Note

Other kinds of tags can be implemented in a similar manner.

The following walkthrough shows how to create a smart tag that appears on the current word and has two suggested actions: Convert to upper case and Convert to lower case.

Prerequisites

To complete this walkthrough, you must install the Visual Studio 2012 SDK.

Note

For more information about the Visual Studio SDK, see Extending Visual Studio Overview. To find out how to download the Visual Studio SDK, see Visual Studio Extensibility Developer Center on the MSDN Web site.

Creating a Managed Extensibility Framework (MEF) Project

To create a MEF project

  1. Create an Editor Classifier project. Name the solution SmartTagTest.

  2. Open the source.extension.vsixmanifest file in the VSIX Manifest Editor.

  3. Make sure that the Content heading contains a MEF Component content type and that the Path is set to SmartTagTest.dll.

  4. Save and close source.extension.vsixmanifest.

  5. Add the following reference to the project, and set CopyLocal to false:

    Microsoft.VisualStudio.Language.Intellisense

  6. Delete the existing class files.

Implementing a Tagger for Smart Tags

To implement a tagger for smart tags

  1. Add a class file and name it TestSmartTag.

  2. Add the following imports:

    Imports System
    Imports System.Collections.Generic
    Imports System.ComponentModel.Composition
    Imports System.Collections.ObjectModel
    Imports System.Windows.Media
    Imports Microsoft.VisualStudio.Language.Intellisense
    Imports Microsoft.VisualStudio.Text
    Imports Microsoft.VisualStudio.Text.Editor
    Imports Microsoft.VisualStudio.Text.Operations
    Imports Microsoft.VisualStudio.Text.Tagging
    Imports Microsoft.VisualStudio.Utilities
    
    using System;
    using System.Collections.Generic;
    using System.ComponentModel.Composition;
    using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
    using System.Windows.Media;
    using Microsoft.VisualStudio.Language.Intellisense;
    using Microsoft.VisualStudio.Text;
    using Microsoft.VisualStudio.Text.Editor;
    using Microsoft.VisualStudio.Text.Operations;
    using Microsoft.VisualStudio.Text.Tagging;
    using Microsoft.VisualStudio.Utilities;
    
  3. Add a class named TestSmartTag that inherits from SmartTag.

    Friend Class TestSmartTag
        Inherits SmartTag
    
    internal class TestSmartTag : SmartTag
    
  4. Add a constructor for this class that calls the base constructor with a SmartTagType of Factoid, which will cause a blue line to appear under the first character of a word. (If you use Ephemeral, a red line will appear under the last character of the word.)

    Public Sub New(ByVal actionSets As ReadOnlyCollection(Of SmartTagActionSet))
        MyBase.New(SmartTagType.Factoid, actionSets)
    End Sub
    
    public TestSmartTag(ReadOnlyCollection<SmartTagActionSet> actionSets) :
        base(SmartTagType.Factoid, actionSets) { }
    
  5. Add a class named TestSmartTagger that inherits from ITagger<T> of type TestSmartTag, and implements IDisposable.

    Friend Class TestSmartTagger
        Implements ITagger(Of TestSmartTag), IDisposable
    
    internal class TestSmartTagger : ITagger<TestSmartTag>, IDisposable
    
  6. Add the following private fields to the tagger class.

    Private m_buffer As ITextBuffer
    Private m_view As ITextView
    Private m_provider As TestSmartTaggerProvider
    Private m_disposed As Boolean
    
    private ITextBuffer m_buffer;
    private ITextView m_view;
    private TestSmartTaggerProvider m_provider;
    private bool m_disposed;
    
  7. Add a constructor that sets the private fields, and subscribes to the LayoutChanged event.

    Public Sub New(ByVal buffer As ITextBuffer, ByVal view As ITextView, ByVal provider As TestSmartTaggerProvider)
        m_buffer = buffer
        m_view = view
        m_provider = provider
        AddHandler m_view.LayoutChanged, AddressOf OnLayoutChanged
    End Sub
    
    public TestSmartTagger(ITextBuffer buffer, ITextView view, TestSmartTaggerProvider provider)
    {
        m_buffer = buffer;
        m_view = view;
        m_provider = provider;
        m_view.LayoutChanged += OnLayoutChanged;
    }
    
  8. Implement GetTags so that the tag is created for the current word. (This method also calls a private method GetSmartTagActions that is explained later.)

    Public Function GetTags(ByVal spans As NormalizedSnapshotSpanCollection) As IEnumerable(Of ITagSpan(Of TestSmartTag)) Implements ITagger(Of TestSmartTag).GetTags
        Dim snapshot As ITextSnapshot = m_buffer.CurrentSnapshot
        If snapshot.Length = 0 Then 
            Return Nothing 
            Exit Function 
        End If 
    
        'set up the navigator 
        Dim navigator As ITextStructureNavigator = m_provider.NavigatorService.GetTextStructureNavigator(m_buffer)
    
        'set up a list to contain the tags 
        Dim list As List(Of TagSpan(Of TestSmartTag))
        list = New List(Of TagSpan(Of TestSmartTag))()
    
        For Each span In spans
            Dim caret As ITextCaret = m_view.Caret
            Dim point As SnapshotPoint
    
            If CInt(caret.Position.BufferPosition) > 0 Then
                point = caret.Position.BufferPosition - 1
            Else 
                Exit For 
            End If 
    
            Dim extent As TextExtent = navigator.GetExtentOfWord(point)
            'don't display the tag if the extent has whitespace 
            If extent.IsSignificant Then
                list.Add(New TagSpan(Of TestSmartTag)(extent.Span, New TestSmartTag(GetSmartTagActions(extent.Span))))
            Else 
                Exit For 
            End If 
        Next span
    
        Return list
    End Function
    
    public IEnumerable<ITagSpan<TestSmartTag>> GetTags(NormalizedSnapshotSpanCollection spans)
    {
        ITextSnapshot snapshot = m_buffer.CurrentSnapshot;
        if (snapshot.Length == 0)
            yield break; //don't do anything if the buffer is empty 
    
        //set up the navigator
        ITextStructureNavigator navigator = m_provider.NavigatorService.GetTextStructureNavigator(m_buffer);
    
        foreach (var span in spans)
        {
            ITextCaret caret = m_view.Caret;
            SnapshotPoint point;
    
            if (caret.Position.BufferPosition > 0)
                point = caret.Position.BufferPosition - 1;
            else 
                yield break;
    
            TextExtent extent = navigator.GetExtentOfWord(point);
            //don't display the tag if the extent has whitespace 
            if (extent.IsSignificant)
                yield return new TagSpan<TestSmartTag>(extent.Span, new TestSmartTag(GetSmartTagActions(extent.Span)));
            else yield break;
        }
    }
    
  9. Add a GetSmartTagActions method to set up the smart tag actions. The actions themselves are implemented in later steps.

    Private Function GetSmartTagActions(ByVal span As SnapshotSpan) As ReadOnlyCollection(Of SmartTagActionSet)
        Dim actionSetList As New List(Of SmartTagActionSet)()
        Dim actionList As New List(Of ISmartTagAction)()
    
        Dim trackingSpan As ITrackingSpan = span.Snapshot.CreateTrackingSpan(span, SpanTrackingMode.EdgeInclusive)
        actionList.Add(New UpperCaseSmartTagAction(trackingSpan))
        actionList.Add(New LowerCaseSmartTagAction(trackingSpan))
        Dim actionSet As New SmartTagActionSet(actionList.AsReadOnly())
        actionSetList.Add(actionSet)
        Return actionSetList.AsReadOnly()
    End Function
    
    private ReadOnlyCollection<SmartTagActionSet> GetSmartTagActions(SnapshotSpan span)
    {
        List<SmartTagActionSet> actionSetList = new List<SmartTagActionSet>();
        List<ISmartTagAction> actionList = new List<ISmartTagAction>();
    
        ITrackingSpan trackingSpan = span.Snapshot.CreateTrackingSpan(span, SpanTrackingMode.EdgeInclusive);
        actionList.Add(new UpperCaseSmartTagAction(trackingSpan));
        actionList.Add(new LowerCaseSmartTagAction(trackingSpan));
        SmartTagActionSet actionSet = new SmartTagActionSet(actionList.AsReadOnly());
        actionSetList.Add(actionSet);
        return actionSetList.AsReadOnly();
    }
    
  10. Declare the SmartTagsChanged event.

    Public Event TagsChanged As EventHandler(Of SnapshotSpanEventArgs) Implements ITagger(Of TestSmartTag).TagsChanged
    
    public event EventHandler<SnapshotSpanEventArgs> TagsChanged;
    
  11. Implement the OnLayoutChanged event handler to raise the TagsChanged event, which causes GetTags to be called.

    Private Sub OnLayoutChanged(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As TextViewLayoutChangedEventArgs)
        Dim snapshot As ITextSnapshot = e.NewSnapshot
        'don't do anything if this is just a change in case 
        If Not snapshot.GetText().ToLower().Equals(e.OldSnapshot.GetText().ToLower()) Then 
            Dim span As New SnapshotSpan(snapshot, New Span(0, snapshot.Length))
            Dim handler As EventHandler(Of SnapshotSpanEventArgs) = Me.TagsChangedEvent
            If handler IsNot Nothing Then
                handler(Me, New SnapshotSpanEventArgs(span))
            End If 
        End If 
    End Sub
    
    private void OnLayoutChanged(object sender, TextViewLayoutChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        ITextSnapshot snapshot = e.NewSnapshot;
        //don't do anything if this is just a change in case 
        if (!snapshot.GetText().ToLower().Equals(e.OldSnapshot.GetText().ToLower()))
        {
            SnapshotSpan span = new SnapshotSpan(snapshot, new Span(0, snapshot.Length));
            EventHandler<SnapshotSpanEventArgs> handler = this.TagsChanged;
            if (handler != null)
            {
                handler(this, new SnapshotSpanEventArgs(span));
            }
        }
    }
    
  12. Implement the Dispose method so that it unsubscribes from the LayoutChanged event.

    Public Sub Dispose() Implements IDisposable.Dispose
        Dispose(True)
        GC.SuppressFinalize(Me)
    End Sub 
    
    Private Sub Dispose(ByVal disposing As Boolean)
        If disposing Then 
            RemoveHandler m_view.LayoutChanged, AddressOf OnLayoutChanged
            m_view = Nothing 
        End If
    
        m_disposed = True 
    End Sub
    
    public void Dispose()
    {
        Dispose(true);
        GC.SuppressFinalize(this);
    }
    
    private void Dispose(bool disposing)
    {
        if (!this.m_disposed)
        {
            if (disposing)
            {
                m_view.LayoutChanged -= OnLayoutChanged;
                m_view = null;
            }
    
            m_disposed = true;
        }
    }
    

Implementing the Smart Tag Tagger Provider

To implement the smart tag tagger provider

  1. Add a class named TestSmartTagTaggerProvider that inherits from IViewTaggerProvider. Export it with a ContentTypeAttribute of "text", a OrderAttribute of Before="default", and a TagTypeAttribute of SmartTag.

    <Export(GetType(IViewTaggerProvider))>
    <ContentType("text")>
    <Order(Before:="default")>
    <TagType(GetType(SmartTag))>
    Friend Class TestSmartTaggerProvider
        Implements IViewTaggerProvider
    
    [Export(typeof(IViewTaggerProvider))]
    [ContentType("text")]
    [Order(Before = "default")]
    [TagType(typeof(SmartTag))]
    internal class TestSmartTaggerProvider : IViewTaggerProvider
    
  2. Import the ITextStructureNavigatorSelectorService as a property.

    <Import(GetType(ITextStructureNavigatorSelectorService))>
    Friend Property NavigatorService() As ITextStructureNavigatorSelectorService
    
    [Import(typeof(ITextStructureNavigatorSelectorService))]
    internal ITextStructureNavigatorSelectorService NavigatorService { get; set; }
    
  3. Implement the CreateTagger<T> method.

    Public Function CreateTagger(Of T As ITag)(ByVal textView As ITextView, ByVal buffer As ITextBuffer) As ITagger(Of T) Implements IViewTaggerProvider.CreateTagger
        If buffer Is Nothing OrElse textView Is Nothing Then 
            Return Nothing 
        End If 
    
        'make sure we are tagging only the top buffer 
        If buffer Is textView.TextBuffer Then 
            Return New TestSmartTagger(buffer, textView, Me)
        Else 
            Return Nothing 
        End If 
    End Function
    
    public ITagger<T> CreateTagger<T>(ITextView textView, ITextBuffer buffer) where T : ITag
    {
        if (buffer == null || textView == null)
        {
            return null;
        }
    
        //make sure we are tagging only the top buffer 
        if (buffer == textView.TextBuffer)
        {
            return new TestSmartTagger(buffer, textView, this) as ITagger<T>;
        }
        else return null;
    }
    

Implementing Smart Tag Actions

To implement smart tag actions

  • Create two classes, the first named UpperCaseSmartTagAction and the second named LowerCaseSmartTagAction. Both classes implement ISmartTagAction.

    Friend Class UpperCaseSmartTagAction
        Implements ISmartTagAction
    
    internal class UpperCaseSmartTagAction : ISmartTagAction
    
    Friend Class LowerCaseSmartTagAction
        Implements ISmartTagAction
    
    internal class LowerCaseSmartTagAction : ISmartTagAction
    

Both classes are alike except that one calls ToUpper and the other calls ToLower. The following steps cover only the uppercase action class, but you must implement both classes. Use the steps for implementing the uppercase action as a pattern for implementing the lowercase action.

  1. Declare a set of private fields.

    Private m_span As ITrackingSpan
    Private m_upper As String 
    Private m_display As String 
    Private m_snapshot As ITextSnapshot
    
    private ITrackingSpan m_span;
    private string m_upper;
    private string m_display;
    private ITextSnapshot m_snapshot;
    
  2. Add a constructor that sets the fields.

    Public Sub New(ByVal span As ITrackingSpan)
        m_span = span
        m_snapshot = span.TextBuffer.CurrentSnapshot
        m_upper = span.GetText(m_snapshot).ToUpper()
        m_display = "Convert to upper case" 
    End Sub
    
    public UpperCaseSmartTagAction(ITrackingSpan span)
    {
        m_span = span;
        m_snapshot = span.TextBuffer.CurrentSnapshot;
        m_upper = span.GetText(m_snapshot).ToUpper();
        m_display = "Convert to upper case";
    }
    
  3. Implement the properties as follows.

    Public ReadOnly Property DisplayText() As String Implements ISmartTagAction.DisplayText
        Get 
            Return m_display
        End Get 
    End Property 
    Public ReadOnly Property Icon() As ImageSource Implements ISmartTagAction.Icon
        Get 
            Return Nothing 
        End Get 
    End Property 
    Public ReadOnly Property IsEnabled() As Boolean Implements ISmartTagAction.IsEnabled
        Get 
            Return True 
        End Get 
    End Property 
    
    Private privateSource As ISmartTagSource
    Public Property Source() As ISmartTagSource
        Get 
            Return privateSource
        End Get 
        Private Set(ByVal value As ISmartTagSource)
            privateSource = value
        End Set 
    End Property 
    
    Public ReadOnly Property ActionSets() As ReadOnlyCollection(Of SmartTagActionSet) Implements ISmartTagAction.ActionSets
        Get 
            Return Nothing 
        End Get 
    End Property
    
    public string DisplayText
    {
        get { return m_display; }
    }
    public ImageSource Icon
    {
        get { return null; }
    }
    public bool IsEnabled
    {
        get { return true; }
    }
    
    public ISmartTagSource Source
    {
        get;
        private set;
    }
    
    public ReadOnlyCollection<SmartTagActionSet> ActionSets
    {
        get { return null; }
    }
    
  4. Implement the Invoke method by replacing the text in the span with its uppercase equivalent.

    Public Sub Invoke() Implements ISmartTagAction.Invoke
        m_span.TextBuffer.Replace(m_span.GetSpan(m_snapshot), m_upper)
    End Sub
    
    public void Invoke()
    {
        m_span.TextBuffer.Replace(m_span.GetSpan(m_snapshot), m_upper);
    }
    

Building and Testing the Code

To test this code, build the SmartTagTest solution and run it in the experimental instance.

To build and test the SmartTagTest solution

  1. Build the solution.

  2. When you run this project in the debugger, a second instance of Visual Studio is instantiated.

  3. Create a text file and type some text.

    A blue line should be displayed under the first letter of the first word of the text.

  4. Move the pointer over the blue line.

    A button should be displayed near the pointer.

  5. When you click the button, two suggested actions should be displayed: Convert to upper case and Convert to lower case. If you click the first action, all the text in the current word should be converted to upper case. If you click the second action, all the text should be converted to lower case.

See Also

Tasks

Walkthrough: Linking a Content Type to a File Name Extension