Regular Text file - Single column background color (shading).

[JontyFrancis]

Hi,
I have regular text files that I want to check and edit line by line.
I would like a single column of background color (shading) only for the first 19 characters wide.
This is because I'm visually breaking down each line into 19 characters or less.
I'm pretty sure FWDataViz can do it but I'm lost as to how to configure it.
Please can you tell me how to do it?
Much thanks!
John

[shriprem]

@JontyFrancis, here is the basic file type definition based on your specified requirements.

File-type Definition to Import

[FT009_FIRST_19_CHARS]
FileLabel=First 19 Chars
FileTheme=Spectrum
RecordTerminator=
MultiByteChars=N
ADFT_Line_01=
ADFT_Regex_01=
ADFT_Line_02=
ADFT_Regex_02=
ADFT_Line_03=
ADFT_Regex_03=
RecordTypes=REC001
REC001_Label=First 19
REC001_Marker=
REC001_FieldLabels=first_19,later_chars
REC001_FieldWidths=19,3000

How to Import

1. In the FWDataViz panel, click on the File Type Metadata Editor button.
   

2. In the File Type Metadata Editor, click on the Append New File Type Data button.

3. In the Append File Type Metadata window, paste the file type definition data provided above.

4. Click the Append File Type button to close the Append File Type Metadata window.

5. Back in the File Type Metadata Editor window, click on the Save as Primary Configuration button.

Notes

1. Since I do not know much about the files you are working with, I did not include an Automatic File Detection pattern for the file type. So, each time you need FWDataViz to color the first 19 characters, you will need to manually select this new file type in the dropdown list in the FWDataViz panel.
2. You may also be aware that within Notepad++ itself, you can use the Preferences » Margins/Border/Edge section » Vertical Edge Settings to set a vertical edge at 19 characters. Although, with FWDataViz, you also get the option of coloring either with character counts or byte counts. The byte counts assume importance if you have TAB characters or Unicode characters in the text.

[JontyFrancis]

Thanks Shridhar,

Thanks for your reply! I think I didn't explain it too well.

I wanted a block of shading for the whole file - covering only the first 19 characters/positions of each line.
The shading should be there in the background (1-19) basically ignoring whatever characters are (or are not) in the line.

The shading starts at position 1 on each line - for 19 positions - for all the lines in the file.

If there are less than 19 characters on a line, the shading should still be 19 character positions wide (if possible).

Having said that...

Your Note #2 gives me the correct effect I want -
but it highlights the characters 19+ (over 19) rather than 1->19.

That's a good work around - it helps a lot.

So thanks very much for that suggestion!

Still, if it's possible to do what I want with FWDataViz as outlined above - that would be great too.

I really appreciate your help!

Thanks again!

John

[shriprem]

I assume this is what you are looking for:

1. The first 19 characters are shaded with just a background color. Text color remains black (i.e., the default global text color in Light mode in NPP). And the text is neither bolded nor in italics.
2. The characters beyond the 19th remain unstyled in the default global background and text color.

I also assume that the file is not being styled by any language-specific lexer like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SQL, etc. If it is being styled by a language-specific lexer, then the styling by FWDataViz will be in conflict with it.

This can be accomplished with a custom Theme definition with the output like this:

If you confirm this is what you want, I will post the custom Theme definition. You can then associate that Theme with the File Type definition I gave you earlier. But first please confirm. Thanks.

[JontyFrancis]

That's exactly what I want - all your assumptions are correct.
Thanks very much!

[shriprem]

But I also noticed this line later:

If there are less than 19 characters on a line, the shading should still be 19 character positions wide (if possible).

Shading up to the 19th character position even if a line has fewer than 19 characters is not possible with Scintilla, the engine behind NPP. The Scintilla styles will apply only when there are characters (or even spaces or some other control characters) at each position up to the 19th on every line. You will notice this even in NPP, when you set the Background Mode for the Vertical Edge.

So with this disclaimer, here are the instructions for the custom theme.

1. Click the Visualizer Theme button in the FWDataViz side panel.
   

2. Click the Append New Theme Data button in the Theme Editor window.

3. In the Append Theme Data window, paste this theme definition:

[First_19_Only]
Count=2
EOL=ECFFFF 000000 00
BFBI_00=4FE9FC 000000 00
BFBI_01=ECFFFF 000000 00

4. Click the Append File Type button. The Append Theme Data window will close.
5. Click the Save as Primary Themes File button in the Theme Editor.
6. In the FWDataViz panel, click on the File Type Metadata Editor button.
7. Select the First 19 Chars file type, and associate it with the theme we just added. Like so:
   
8. Click on the Save as Primary Configuration button.

If you review the custom file type and theme definitions in their respective editors provided by the FWDataViz plugin, you will quickly figure out how they work together. You can then tweak it further to suit your color preferences.

[JontyFrancis]

Perfect Shridhar!
Thank you so much!