Feature Overview

The following is a list of features provided by the plugin. Note that this is only a small fraction and the vast majority of features comes from IDEA itself that gives you an excellent environment to manage files, have a project view, share and manage code through version control systems like git, or provides excelent general editing.

Code Highlighting and formatting

• Context-aware syntax highlighting of Mathematica code. The plugin deduces if a symbol (variable, function) is globally defined or if it is bound in a smaller context like Module-variables.
• Highlighting of pattern variables in function definitions or replacements using RuleDelayed (:>).
• Highlighting of anonymous functions, e.g. #+3&.
• Highlighting of special constructs like fun::usage, comment annotations like (* ::Section:: *) or (* :Author: Brian Briggs *).
• Highlighting of matching braces and the display of the current context on the left
• Automatic formatting and indentation of code.

Code Completion

For details, please see the Code Completion section.

• Autocompletion for all built-in functions.
• Autocompletion for localized variables inside Module, Block, Table, Compile, and other constructs like plotting commands.
• Template completion for common code constructs. Write e.g. mdl and press Tab to get a Module[{..},..]. For a complete list look at this xml file.
• Smart completion for options of a function.
• Smart completion to insert defined messages in Message[..].
• Smart completion for special comment annotations.

Advanced Editing

• Renaming of local variables bound to any of functions that localize their variables. This includes Module, Block, and much more.
• Renaming of global symbol definitions including their usages in the ::usage message string.
• Surround code with other code. This lets you quickly surround an expression with braces, functions, anonymous function, or any of the live temples like Module.
• Smart Enter to auto-insert brackets or a template for functions during autocompletion.
• Expand selection by expression. This lets you quickly expand (shrink) a selection by including surrounding expressions.
• Comment/uncomment region or line.
• Smart insertion/deletion of braces and quotes.
• Support for named characters like \[Gamma] that can be folded to their real UTF-8 character

Error Annotations

Error annotations help you to find suspicious code parts that might be an error quickly.

• Version annotator. Select a Mathematica version you are developing for and all functions that are only available in a later version will be marked as an error.
• Highlighting of (* TODO: ... *) comments which additionally appear in the todo tool window
• Missing comma error highlighting.
• Missing semicolon in compound expressions.
• Spellcheck for your code, strings, and comments.

Navigation

• Goto definition will jump to the first place where a symbol is assigned a value
• Goto related symbol will show all usages of a function or symbol and lets you quickly navigate through long code files.
• Structure View for your package file showing a detailed list of defined functions, messages, and much more. You can quickly navigate from the structure view to the code.
• Code folding. Fold expressions, function definitions or even whole sections as defined by comments like (* ::Section:: *) to hide code
• Documentation lookup for all built-in functions.

Creation of template code

• Creation of complete Mathematica projects with boilerplate code
• Creation of package files with template code