Notepad++ auto indent html code while writing

Question

I have seen many plugins in Notepad++ for indenting html code after you write the code, but is there a plugin or other method to auto intent html while you are writing the code? Many of the other programming languages Notepad++ supports automatically indent while you are writing but html doesn't seem to have the same support.

Any ideas?

Solution 1

Is there a plugin or other method to auto intent HTML while you are writing the code?

Two possibilities:

1. Use the TextFX plugin which has HTML Tidy built in.

2. Use the Indent by fold plugin (see below).

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IndentByFold plug-in for Notepad++

Here's your php code indented by fold:

(The image above is not assembled from two separate images! Notepad++ has the ability to clone its tabs in a new view)

You can access here a screencast demo for the Indent by fold plugin. There's no separate plugin for the auto complete feature in the video; for most languages there are defined already xml files with keywords:

Now, about the Code Alignment plugin: just use it only if you are not satisfied with the Indent by fold results!

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Here's how you can define a shortcut for the the indent operation:

Settings/Shortcut mapper/Plugin Commands

The Ctr + K and Ctrl + D shortcuts key are already "taken" (by comment code and duplicate selection), therefore I've choosed another combination. But everyone can re-map all the commands according to own needs.

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If anytime you find a language with a "weak" code formatting / folding you can take the lead, and proceed in defining your own folding and coloring rules for keywords, comments, numbers, operators and delimiters:

See how beautiful Indent by fold works when I press ALt + K ?

The vbproc keyword is underlined because the DSpellChecker plugin is active.

Here are a zillion UDLs (User Defined Languages) for Notepad++. To better understand how to use this feature I recommend you to read the UDL 2.0 online documentation. It was a time when folding was possible only for single words like "BeginSub" and "EndSub". Now it is easier because folding can be done using expressions, as you can see in my My better ASP example. Even now, the UDL cannot address every imaginable situations (there is a work in progress called UDL 3). But can we blame the Notepad++ developers for not achieving perfection with this free and simple, yet wonderful utility?

Source answer Auto indentation plugin for Notepad++ by Sorin Călinică

Solution 2

I don't know of something that is for Notepad++, but I strongly recommend downloading Brackets and then getting the Emmet and Beautify extensions. Emmet contains tons of great keystrokes for quickly creating html elements, and Beautify has an awesome keystroke that can auto-indent an entire page (my key binding is ctrl+shift+L , which I think is the default).

Comments

[DavidPostill]

I use the TextFX plugin which has HTML Tidy built in.

[DavidPostill]

Auto indentation plugin for Notepad++

[DavidPostill]

Which option did you go for?

[Mark Skelton]

I went for the indent by fold plugin.

[Bob]

Although it was an answer for the poster, he's explicitly asking while writing. This doesn't meet that requirement. I have the same requirements and want auto indent while writing, like it does for PHP. I don't want to press a hotkey for that every time. Is there a new up-to-date solution?

[DavidPostill]

@Bob Not that I know of.