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New Visual Studio Tool Allows Easier Snippet Creation
The free extension currently works only with Visual Studio 2013.
Code snippets are an important part of many developers' toolboxes. They're useful for quickly inserting frequently-used code blocks, and a real time-saver.
Visual Studio's had the ability to create code snippets for awhile, but a new, free extension, called Snippetizer, takes snippet creation to new heights.
According to an MSDN blog, Snippetizer is available only for Visual Studio 2013. The new functionality it brings to the table includes full IntelliSense and semantic editor colorization. In addition, no XML schema work is required.
The snippet, once created, is shown inside a new "Peek" window, the blog authors write. "The Snippetizer helps you define fields that are linked together effortlessly, so when you insert the snippet, you can rename the fields into contextually meaningful ones."
There's an action bar at the bottom of the Peek window that has some basic actions like ungrouping selections and removing fields, for tuning the snippet. Another new property in Snippetizer is the "Snippet Definition" tool window, for setting common properties; they include "Set caret location" and "Set Properties" activities. Snippetizer also works with existing snippets.
There are few reviews of the tool so far, but the majority of those who have posted about it on the download page have had a good experience with Snippetizer.
About the Author
Keith Ward is the editor in chief of Virtualization & Cloud Review. Follow him on Twitter @VirtReviewKeith.