Komodo User Guide

Customizing Preferences

This section describes the customization of the Komodo environment. Set your preferences using the Preferences dialog and the Current File Settings dialog accessible from the Edit menu (or from the Properties and Settings right-mouse menu option in the Editor Pane).

Customizing the Appearance

You can customize how you want Komodo to look. The functions described below can also be changed using keyboard shortcuts; see Key Bindings for more information. To customize the Komodo workspace, select Edit|Preferences and select Appearance. Configure the following options:

Toolbar Configuration

  • Show button text the descriptive text displayed beneath toolbar icons
  • Show standard toolbar the toolbar with commonly used functions like Open, Save, etc
  • Show debug toolbar the toolbar with debugger functions, like Step Over, Step Through, etc
  • Show source code control toolbar the toolbar with source control functions such as Update, Revert, etc

Initial Page Configuration

  • Show Komodo Start Page on startup If you want the Start Page displayed in the Editor Pane whenever Komodo launches, check this box.
  • Hide Tutorials Pane to hide the Tutorials section of the Komodo Start Page, check this box.
  • Hide Quick Links Pane to hide the Quick Links section of the Komodo Start Page, check this box.
  • Hide Tip of the Day Pane to hide the Tip of the Day section of the Komodo Start Page, check this box.

Most Recently Used

  • Number of Projects the number of projects displayed on Komodo's Start Page, and on the Recent Projects menu option
  • Number of Files the number of files displayed on Komodo's Start Page, and on the Recent Files menu option
Top

Customizing the Debugger

To customize general debugger functions, from the Edit menu, select Preferences, then click Debugger.

  • When starting debugging, you can set Komodo to:


    • Ask me what files to save
    • Save all modified files
    • Save no files

  • Skip debugging options dialog - To block the display of the debugger dialog when the debugger is invoked, check this box. Using the Ctrl key in conjunction with a debugger command key will toggle the value specified here. However, commands invoked from the Debugger drop-down menu will always use the convention specified here.
  • Debugging Listener Port - When you are debugging (non-Perl) programs that reside on remote machines, you must specify the port through which the remote machine connects the local machine running Komodo. The same port number must be specified on the remote machine. For information on configuring the remote machine for debugging, see Debugging Python Remotely or Debugging PHP.
  • Enable Perl Debugging - Uncheck this box if you will not be debugging Perl programs. The Perl debugger background infrastructure will not be enabled on startup, thus consuming fewer resources.
  • Perl Listener Port - When you are debugging Perl programs that reside on remote machines, you must specify the port through which the remote machine connects to the local machine running Komodo. The same port number must be specified on the remote machine. For information on configuring the remote machine for debugging, see Debugging Perl Remotely.
  • Try to find files on the local system when remote debugging: By default, when Komodo performs remote debugging, it retrieves a read-only copy of the file to be debugged from the debug engine. When this check box is selected, however, Komodo will first search for the debugger file on the local system. While it is probably safe to leave this check box selected for all of your remote debugging, there is a slight possibility that Komodo will retrieve the wrong file if remote debugging is performed on another machine. If, by chance, there is a file on your local system with the same name and location as the file on the remote system, Komodo will use the local file. This would only happen if the names and locations were identical (e.g., if both machines contained a file called "C:\foo\bar\baz.pl").
Top

Customizing the Editor

Customizing Editor Features

From the Edit menu, select Preferences, then click Editor.

General Preferences

The following options may be enabled or disabled by clicking the check boxes on the right side of the dialog:

  • Show whitespace characters - You can configure Komodo to display or hide whitespace characters in the file. Spaces appear as dots and Tab characters appear as arrows pointing right.
  • Show end-of-line characters - If this option is enabled, markers will indicate the end of each line.
  • Show line numbers - If this option is enabled, line numbers will be displayed on the left side of the Editor Pane.

Note - options set through the Preferences dialog are the default for all files opened in Komodo. You may also customize editing features for the current file.

Confirmation Dialogs

Komodo can be configured to monitor the status of files that are changed or deleted outside its environment. If the file is changed on disk, Komodo can prompt you to reload the latest version. If a file is deleted on disk, Komodo can prompt you to close the file. To enable or disable this detection, select Edit|Preferences, select Editor, and check or un-check Detect when file is changed outside the environment. You can then choose options from the following drop-down lists:

  • If files have been changed, you can set Komodo to:


    • Ask me what files to reload
    • Reload all files
    • Reload no files

  • If files have been deleted, you can set Komodo to:


    • Ask me what files to close
    • Close all files
    • Close no files
If you choose the first option in each of the drop-down lists, you will be prompted under the following circumstances:

  • when you change between tabs in the editor
  • when you switch back to Komodo from another application
  • when you save a file
  • when you delete a file

Scrolling

The value specified in this field determines the number of lines that will be displayed above or below the editing cursor. As you move the editing cursor, the number of lines specified here will be displayed between the cursor and the top or bottom of the Editor Pane. You can also set the horizontal scroll bar width by entering the desired size in pixels.

Incremental Search

Configure the defaults for the Incremental Search function.

  • Match Case: specify whether Incremental Search should be case sensitive.
  • Uses: specify the search syntax type.
Top

Configuring Key Bindings

Most Komodo functions can be assigned to custom key bindings. That is, you can invoke Komodo functions with default keyboard shortcuts, or configure your own preferred keyboard shortcuts.

To configure custom key bindings, select Edit|Preferences|Editor|Key Bindings.

Editor Configuration Scheme: You can create multiple key binding configurations, each with a unique name. Select the key binding to use in the current Komodo session from the drop-down list. "Default Settings" will use the key bindings described in Key Bindings. Note that you cannot modify the default setting; if you try, you will be prompted to make a copy of the default before making changes.

Select the command that you wish to configure from the Commands list box. Refer to Configuring Custom Key Bindings for instructions on changing function keys using the Current Key Sequence and New Key Sequence features.

Top

Customizing Indentation

From the Edit menu, select Preferences, then click Editor|Indentation.

  • Auto-Indent Style - you can choose from one of three indentation styles so that Komodo will:
    • Use Smart Indent - choose this option to have Komodo automatically anticipate logical indentation points, based on language cues.
    • Indent to first non-empty column - choose this option to have Komodo maintain the current level of indentation.
    • Don't auto-indent - choose this option if you do not want any form of automatic indentation.
  • Auto-adjust closing braces - If selected, Komodo will automatically align closing braces with their corresponding opening braces.
  • Show indentation guides - If selected, Komodo will display indentation markers. Indentation markers are displayed as grey vertical lines. An indentation marker will be displayed every time the number of spaces on the left margin equals the value specified in the Number of spaces per indent field.
  • Allow file contents to override Tab settings - If selected, when files are opened, Komodo will use the indentation settings saved in the file, possibly overriding the other preferences. If unselected, Komodo uses the preference configuration regardless of the indentation values in the file.
  • Prefer Tab characters over spaces - Komodo displays Tab characters wherever possible, according to the values specified in the "Number of spaces per indent" and the "Width of each Tab character" fields. When the Tab key is pressed, Komodo inserts indentation up to the next indent width. If the new indentation is a multiple of the Tab width, Komodo inserts a Tab character.
    Example - with a Tab width of 8 and an indent width of 4, the first indent is 4 spaces, the second indent is a Tab character, and the third indent is a Tab character plus 4 spaces.

Tab and indent widths are specified as follows:

Note - options set through the Preferences dialog are the default for all files opened in Komodo. You may also customize editing features for the current file.

Top

Smart Editing

Enabling Background Syntax Checking

Background syntax checking checks the validity of code as you type, and underlines syntax errors and warnings in the Editor Pane. See Background Syntax Checking for more information.

An icon on the bottom border of the Komodo workspace indicates the status of background syntax checking (enabled or disabled). To turn background syntax checking on or off:

  1. From the Edit menu, select Preferences.
  2. Click the Editor category, and select Smart Editing.
  3. Select or unselect Enable background syntax checking.
  4. Click OK.

Note - options set through the Preferences dialog are the default for all files opened in Komodo. You may also customize editing features for the current file.

Top

Enabling AutoComplete

AutoComplete presents a pop-up list of choices when it encounters functions, methods and properties for which there is a pre-defined set of options. For a complete description, see AutoComplete in the "Editing Files" section of the User Guide.

To turn AutoComplete on or off:

  1. From the Edit menu, select Preferences.
  2. Click the Editor category, and select Smart Editing.
  3. Select or unselect Enable autocomplete.
  4. Click OK.

Note - options set through the Preferences dialog are the default for all files opened in Komodo. You may also customize editing features for the current file.

Top

Enabling CallTips

CallTips present you with a reference list of the parameters or arguments for a given function or method. See CallTips in the Editing Files section of the Komodo User Guide for more information.

To turn CallTips on or off:

  1. From the Edit, select Preferences.
  2. Click the Editor category, and select Smart Editing.
  3. Select or unselect Enable call tips.
  4. Click OK.

Note - options set through the Preferences dialog are the default for all files opened in Komodo. You may also customize editing features for the current file.

Top

Configuring Word Completion

The Komodo editor maintains an index of words in the current file. Instead of re-entering words that already exist in the current file, you can use the Complete Word function to finish words. By default, you invoke this feature from the keyboard by pressing Ctrl+Space. To configure Komodo to invoke word-completion with the Tab key, select the check box labeled Use tab character to complete words like Ctrl+Space.

Top

Configuring Word Wrap

Word wrapping is used to limit the horizontal display size of a line. To configure word wrap, from the Edit menu, select Preferences, then click Editor|Smart Editing.

To enable word wrapping, check Word wrap long lines.

Configuring Edge Lines

The edge line is a vertical line that indicates a column marker.

  • Show edge line / Highlight characters beyond edge line: To show where the line wraps, and to highlight characters beyond the wrap column, check this box. If you're using a fixed-width font, a line is drawn at the column specified. If you're using a proportional-width font, those characters beyond the specified column are drawn on a colored background. The line or background color is configured on the Fonts and Colors page of Preferences.
  • Edge line column: specify the column position of the vertical marker.

Note - options set through the Preferences dialog are the default for all files open in Komodo. You may also customize editing features for the current file.

Top

Save Options

You can set Komodo to automatically fix whitespace errors when saving files.

  • Clean trailing whitespace and EOL markers: eliminates unnecessary empty space between text and EOL markers, and fixes inappropriate EOL markers.
  • Ensure file ends with EOL marker adds an EOL marker to the last line in a file if one does not already exist.

Auto-Save is used to make an automatic back-up of your files as you work. Based on the Minutes between auto-save that you specify, Komodo will make backup copies of the files opened in the editor. When Komodo is shut down normally, the backup copies are deleted. However, if Komodo is shut down abnormally, such as through a system crash, the next time you use Komodo to open a file with a backup copy you will be asked if you want to restore the backup copy of the file. If you respond "Yes", the backup copy of the file, rather than the (older) disk copy, will be opened in the editor.

To configure the number of minutes between auto-saves:

  1. From the Edit menu, select Preferences.
  2. Select Editor.
  3. In the Smart Editing section, enter the desired value in the Minutes between auto-save field. To disable auto-save, enter a zero in the field.
  4. Click OK.

You can also configure Komodo to prompt you if a filename has no extension. If you select Ask me what to do, Komodo will suggest a suitable file extension. You can also select Add appropriate extension to have Komodo automatically add an extension. Select Leave filename alone if you want Komodo to do nothing when you attempt to save a file without an extension.

Top

Customizing File Associations

Komodo's file associations determine the editing features (such as autocomplete, colorization, etc) that are available when you edit files in Komodo. For a reference of language-based editor features, see Editor Features.

To customize Komodo's file association, from the Edit menu, select Preferences|File Associations.

You can configure custom file associations for use with Komodo. You can use the File Associations dialog to edit the language associated with a file pattern, to edit the file pattern associated with a language, to add a new file association, and to remove an association.

To allow the characteristics of the file to determine the file association, check the box at the bottom of the dialog.

Editing the Language Associated with a File Pattern

To edit the language associated with a file pattern:

  1. Scroll the list of file patterns and select the one you want to modify.
  2. From the Language drop-down list, select the desired language to associate with the file pattern.
  3. Ensure the file pattern is correct.
  4. Click OK.
Top

Editing the File Pattern Associated with a Language

To edit the file pattern associated with a language:

  1. Scroll the list of file patterns and locate the one you want to modify.
  2. Double-click the file pattern and edit.
  3. Ensure the language association is correct.
  4. Click OK.
Top

Adding a New File Association

To add a new file association:

  1. In the New Association area, enter the file pattern.
  2. From the Language drop-down list, select the language to associate with the file pattern.
  3. Click Add.
    Komodo adds your new association to the bottom of the list.
  4. Click OK.
Top

Removing a File Association

To remove a file association:

  1. Scroll the list of file patterns and locate the one you want to modify.
  2. Click the pattern you want to remove.
  3. Click Remove.
  4. Click OK.

Allow file characteristics to override file association: Select this check box if you want the file characteristics declared within the file (e.g., an XML declaration or a shebang line) to take priority over the File Associations settings in Preferences.

Top

Customizing Fonts and Colors

Komodo's Fonts and Colors Preference is used to customize the display of text in the Editor Pane. To modify the font and color preferences, from the Edit menu, select Preferences, then click Fonts and Colors.

The Sample Text window at the top of the Fonts and Colors page offers a preview of the current scheme. If multiple schemes are configured, you can select them from the Scheme drop-down list.

To create a new scheme:

  1. Select the scheme that you want to base your new scheme upon.
  2. Click the New button. You will be prompted to enter a name for your new scheme. Enter a name, and click OK.
  3. Make any necessary changes using the controls on the Fonts, Colors, Common Syntax Coloring, and Language-Specific Coloring tabs.
  4. Click OK to save the new scheme.

Schemes are added to the Scheme drop-down list. You can remove the selected scheme by clicking the Delete button. System schemes appear in bold and cannot be deleted.

Fonts

The Fonts tab is used to configure the display characteristics for fixed-width and/or proportional fonts. Note that the default font characteristics configured on this tab will be overridden by any language-specific font configurations.

If you want to create a scheme that requires special encodings, select the type of encoding from the Encoding drop-down list. If you do not specify the encoding, Komodo will use your system's default encoding.

The Fonts tab contains two identical sets of font controls, one for fixed-width fonts, and the other for proportional fonts. Select the Prefer Fixed or Prefer Prop. option button to set the desired font type and associated settings.

  • Font Select specific fixed-width or proportional fonts from the drop-down lists.
  • Font Size Select the size of the font from the drop-down list.
  • Bold If you want the default font to be displayed in bold, click the "B".
  • Italic If you want the default font to be displayed in italics, click the "I".
  • Font Color Set the font color by clicking on the foreground color box. Select the desired color from the color picker dialog. Click the small arrow button to set the font color using the system color palette.
  • Background Color Set the background color for the Editor Pane by clicking on the background color box. Select the desired color from the color picker dialog. Click the small arrow button to set the background color using the system color palette.
  • Reset Click this button to return the font and color preferences to Komodo's original, default settings.

Colors

Use the Color Choice drop-down list on the Colors tab to configure general color properties for the Editor Pane. After selecting a Color Choice from the list, click the box to the right of the drop-down list to choose a color from the color palette, or click the small arrow button to select a color from the system color palette.

  • Current Line Background Color The color configured here does not take effect unless the Highlight Current Line check box is selected. This sets the highlighting color of the line in which the editing cursor is positioned.
  • Cursor Color Sets the color of the editing cursor.
  • Selection Background Color The background of text that has been selected in the Editor Pane (by double-clicking, or clicking and dragging), will be colored according to this setting.
  • Selection Text Color This option is only available if the Override Text Color in Selection check box is selected. Regardless of other color configurations, all text that has been selected in the Editor Pane (by double-clicking, or clicking and dragging), will be displayed in the color specified in this setting.
  • Active Breakpoints Color Sets the color of the breakpoint at which the debugger is currently stopped.
  • Pending Breakpoints Color Sets the color of breakpoints at which the debugger has yet to stop.
  • Bookmark Color Sets the color of the bookmarks that are inserted in the margin to the left of the Editor Pane.
  • Debugger Current Line Background Color Sets the background color of the line highlighted by the debugger.
  • Debugger Calling Line Background Color Sets the color of lines that call subroutines. Caller line coloring is applied only when you have changed the stack position to view the line that calls the current line. To view a caller line, select it from the Call Stack drop-down list box on the Variables tab in the Output Pane.
  • Edge Line/Background Color of Text Too Far If you have configured Word Wrap, use this option to set the color of the word wrap column marker, as well as the highlighted characters beyond the wrap column. If you're using a fixed-width font, a line is drawn at the specified column. If you're using a proportional-width font, those characters beyond the specified column are drawn on a colored background.

The Override Text Color in Selection check box activates the "Selection Text Color" setting described above. The Highlight Current Line check box activates the coloring specified in the "Current Line Background Color" setting described above.

The Cursor Width drop-down list allows you set the cursor to a width of 1-4 pixels.

Common Syntax Coloring

Some language elements are common to a number of programming languages. The element colors specified on the Common Syntax Coloring tab will apply to all languages that use these elements. Select an element from the Element Type drop-down list and use controls described below to set the font characteristics. Note that the font characteristics configured on this tab will be overridden by any language-specific font configurations.

  • Face Select the typeface of the font from the drop-down list. You can choose either "Fixed-width" or "Proportional".
  • Size Select the size of the font from the drop-down list.
  • Bold If you want the default font to be displayed in bold, click the "B".
  • Italic If you want the default font to be displayed in italics, click the "I".
  • Font Color Set the font color by clicking on the foreground color box. Select the desired color from the color picker dialog, or click the small arrow button to select a color from the system color palette.
  • Background Color Set the background color for the Editor Pane by clicking on the background color box. Select the desired color from the color picker dialog, or click the small arrow button to select a color from the system color palette.
  • Reset Click this button to return the font and color preferences to Komodo's original, default settings.

Language-Specific Coloring

The colors configured on the Language-Specific Coloring tab will apply to elements that appear in a specific language. Select a language from the Language drop-down list and an element from the Element Type drop-down list, then use the controls described below to set the font characteristics.

  • Face Select the typeface of the font from the drop-down list. You can choose either "Fixed-width" or "Proportional".
  • Size Select the size of the font from the drop-down list.
  • Bold If you want the default font to be displayed in bold, click the "B".
  • Italic If you want the default font to be displayed in italics, click the "I".
  • Font Color Set the font color by clicking on the foreground color box. Select the desired color from the color picker dialog, or click the small arrow button to select a color from the system color palette.
  • Background Color Set the background color for the Editor Pane by clicking on the background color box. Select the desired color from the color picker dialog, or click the small arrow button to select a color from the system color palette.
  • Reset Click this button to return the font and color preferences to Komodo's original, default settings.
Top

GUI Builder

When you use the GUI Builder to create graphical dialogs, you may choose from several supported languages. To set the default language, select it from the drop-down list. To have Komodo prompt you for a language each time you create a new dialog, select Ask each time.

Komodo communicates with the GUI Builder using the port indicated in the TCP/IP Port used field. If you want to use that port for another application, you can reassign the port that Komodo uses.

Top

Customizing International Encodings

Language encodings provide support for files containing content in languages other than English.

Encodings are determined in the following order:

  1. File Preference: If a specific encoding has been assigned to a file via the file's Properties and Settings context menu, the assigned encoding will always be used when that file is opened.
  2. Auto-Detect: If the Auto-Detect File Encoding when Opened box is checked, Komodo will analyze the existing encoding of the file by first looking for a Byte Order Marker (BOM), then by checking for an XML declaration, and then by performing heuristic analysis on the file's contents. If an encoding can be determined, it will be used.
  3. Language-specific Default Encoding: Specific encodings can be assigned to programming languages. (Komodo determines the programming language of a file based on the File Association preferences.) If an encoding is associated with a programming language, that encoding will be used. Check Signature (BOM) to embed a Byte Order Marker (BOM) at the beginning of the file. If the specified encoding is set to the default encoding, the System Encoding or Custom Encoding will be used.
  4. System Encoding or Custom Encoding: If the Use Encoding Defined in Environment box is checked, Komodo will use the encoding specified in the operating system. The following system variables are checked:
    • Windows: The Control Panel's "Regional Settings" (Windows 98, ME, and NT); "Regional Options" (Windows 2000); "Regional and Language Options" (Windows XP).
    • UNIX: LC_CTYPE, LANG and LANGUAGE.
    To use a different encoding, uncheck this box and select the desired encoding from the Custom Encoding drop-down list.

When you create a new file, only the third and fourth methods described above are used to set the file's encoding.

The following settings will override all other encoding settings except the File Preference setting.

  • Allow XML Declaration to Override Auto-Detection: Komodo will always use the XML encoding declaration contained in the XML file when opening XML files (if applicable).
  • Allow HTML META tag to Override Auto-Detection: Komodo will use the charset setting defined in META tags in HTML documents.
  • Allow 'coding:' tag to Override Auto-Detection: If the file contains a "coding: <encoding_name>" directive within the first two lines, that encoding will be used.

The Date & Time format determines the display format of the date and time for items listed on the Start Page, and for the Current File settings display.

Top

Language Help Settings

Use the Language Help page in Komodo Preferences (Edit|Preferences|Language Help) to configure context-sensitive language look-up.

Configuring Reference Locations

The Language Lookup Commands section of the Language Help page displays the default browser and URL used to get help for languages in Komodo. If you press Shift+F1, Komodo will open a browser window and look up the address of the sites specified here. The site is selected according to the type of file currently active in the Editor Pane. (To configure file association, see File Associations.)

On Windows systems, the "start" command invokes the default browser. Therefore, language reference URLs are prefaced by "start".

The General Help field is used to specify a help location that does not specifically apply to a language (or applies to a language not available in the above list).

To reset any of the help settings to their original value, click Reset beside the pertinent field.

Using Language Help

In the Editor Pane, double-click to select the keyword that you want to look up. Then, press Shift+F1 to invoke a browser window and look up the keyword on the site configured in the Preferences. Press Ctrl+F1 to perform the lookup using the site configured in the General Help field on the Language Help page.

Top

Language Configuration

To configure the languages supported by Komodo, select Edit|Preferences|Languages, then click the button for the language that you want to configure. Alternatively, select Edit|Preferences and click the desired language in the Category list.

Customizing Perl

Use the Preferences dialog to specify the Perl interpreter Komodo uses to debug and run Perl programs. From the Edit menu, select Preferences, then click Perl.

You can select one of the Perl interpreters found on your system, or you may specify an alternate interpreter. If you do not specify an interpreter, Komodo will use the system's default interpreter.

To specify a default Perl interpreter:

  1. Select an interpreter from the list.
    This populates the Use this interpreter field.
  2. Click OK.

To specify a Perl interpreter that does not appear on the list:

  • In the Use this Interpreter field, enter the path and the file name.
    or
  • Click Browse, navigate to the desired file, click Open, and click OK.
Top

Customizing PHP

Use the Preferences dialog to specify the PHP interpreter Komodo uses to debug and run PHP programs. You can also specify where Komodo can find the PHP.INI configuration file, used for local PHP debugging. From the Edit menu, select Preferences, then click PHP.

If PHP is not configured for debugging or if you have changed your primary php.ini file, you can configure or reconfigure PHP quickly and easily by clicking Debugger Configuration Wizard. The PHP Configuration Wizard will guide you through the entire configuration process.

You can also customize PHP using the options available in PHP Preferences. Select one of the PHP interpreters found on your system, or specify an alternate interpreter. If you do not specify an interpreter, Komodo will use the system's default interpreter.

To specify a default PHP interpreter:

  1. Select an interpreter from the list.
    This populates the Use this interpreter field.
  2. Click OK.

To specify a PHP interpreter that does not appear on the list:

  • In the Use this Interpreter field, enter the path and the file name.
    or
  • Click Browse, navigate to the desired file, click Open, and click OK.

To specify the folder containing the PHP INI configuration file:

  1. From the Edit menu, select Preferences.
  2. In the Preferences dialog, click PHP.
  3. In the PHP INI area, enter the path to your INI file or click Browse to locate the folder containing your INI file.
  4. Click OK.

Note - Ensure your php.ini configuration file is located in your operating system directory. If you used the PHP Windows installer, your php.ini file should be in the correct location. To verify, on Windows 2000/NT your php.ini file should be in \winnt; on Windows 98/Me your php.ini file should be in \windows. On Windows XP, the system directory will be either \winnt or \windows, depending on whether XP was a native installation or was an upgrade from a previous Windows version.

Top

Customizing Python

Use the Preferences dialog to specify the Python interpreter Komodo uses to debug and run Python programs. From the Edit menu, select Preferences, then click Python.

You can select one of the Python interpreters found on your system, or you may specify an alternate interpreter. If you do not specify an interpreter, Komodo will use the system's default interpreter.

To specify a default Python interpreter:

  1. Select an interpreter from the list.
    This populates the "Use this interpreter" field.
  2. Click OK.

To specify a Python interpreter that does not appear on the list:

  • In the "Use this Interpreter" field, enter the path and the file name.
    or
  • Click Browse, navigate to the desired file, click Open, and click OK.
Top

Customizing Tcl

Komodo provides the ability to interact with both the standard Tcl interpreter ("Tclsh") and the Tcl interpreter that supports the Tk widget library ("Wish"). Extended Tcl editing support and the Tcl debugging libraries are included with a subscription to ASPN Tcl.

Use the Preferences dialog to specify the Tcl interpreters used by Komodo to debug and run Tcl programs. From the Edit menu, select Preferences, then click Tcl.

Select one of the Tcl interpreters found on your system, or specify an alternate interpreter.

To specify Wish and Tclsh interpreters:

  1. In the respective sections of the preference page, select the interpreter from the list.
    The "Use this Wish / Tclsh interpreter" fields will be automatically populated.
  2. Click OK.

To specify a Tclsh or Wish interpreter that does not appear on the list:

  • In the "Use this Interpreter" field, enter the path and the file name.
    or
  • Click Browse, navigate to the desired file, click Open, and click OK.
Top

New Files

When you create a new file using the New button, Komodo, by default, opens a text file in the Editor Pane. Select from the drop-down lists on the New Files page in Preferences to determine the default file type, and the method by which line endings are indicated. Line endings determine the embedded character that indicates the end of a line. Standard EOL characters vary according to the operating system.

To view end-of-line (EOL) markers, select Edit|Preferences|Editor and check Show end-of-line characters.

To set the type of file that opens when you open a new file, and the method by which line endings are indicated:

  1. From the Edit menu, select Preferences.
  2. Click the New Files category.
  3. From the first drop-down list, select a language .
  4. From the second drop-down list, select the character to be used as the end-of-line indicator.
  5. Click OK.

If you open a file in the Komodo editor that has no line endings, Komodo will use the value specified in this preference for subsequent line endings. Otherwise, it will use the line ending already in use in the file.

The Komodo templates used to create new files (File|New|New File) support the same Interpolation Shortcuts codes as snippets and commands. Prior to Komodo Version 2.5, a set of variables could be used to embed the current date and time in files created from custom templates. The Interpolation Shortcuts are more powerful but are backward-incompatible.

If you select the first check box under Templates in New File Preferences, Komodo will display a warning prompt whenever you attempt to create a new file using a template containing the old type of template code.

Enter a number in the Number of recent templates to remember check box to specify how many recent filenames appear on the submenu that is displayed when you select File|New.

Top

Printing

  • Print Line Numbers: Check this box to print the line numbers.
  • Print in Color: To print in the colors displayed in the Editor Pane, check this box.
Top

Projects and Workspace

Set Workspace and Default Project Preferences to change the way Komodo manages the workspace and your projects, and to specify how files are imported to projects.

Workspace

From the When starting Komodo drop-down list, choose how Komodo manages the opening of the workspace. Select Ask me what to do to always display a prompt asking if you want to open recent files and projects. Or, Restore last workspace to display the workspace exactly as it was when you last quit Komodo. You can also choose to Open no files or projects.

Opening and Closing Projects

When opening a project, you can set Komodo to:

  • Ask me what to do
  • Open recent files
  • Open no files

When closing a project, you set Komodo to:

  • Ask me what to do
  • Close all open files in project
  • Close no files

File Information Updates in Project Manager

When the Update file status automatically option is selected, Komodo will periodically refresh the information displayed on the Projects tab. Set the interval at which Komodo should check the file status in the field below.

Import From Disk

You can specify which file types to import to projects and how they are imported.

  • Enter the Filenames to include. If you leave this field empty, all the files on your hard disk will be imported.
  • Enter the Filenames to exclude. If you leave this field empty, none of the files on your hard disk will be excluded.
  • Select the Import Subdirectories Recursively check box to import directories and the files contained in those directories.
  • When importing files you can choose to:

    • Import directory structure
    • Make a folder per language
    • Make one flat list
Top

Configuring a Proxy

The Komodo Help system accesses content from the Internet. If your system is behind a proxy, you must configure the proxy's IP address and port number in order to access this content.

  1. Go to the Edit menu and select Preferences.
  2. Click Proxies.
  3. Select Manual proxy configuration option button.
  4. In the HTTP Proxy field, enter the IP address of your network's proxy server.
  5. In the Port field, enter the port number on the proxy server that is configured to access the Internet.
  6. You may exclude specific domains from being routed through the proxy. Enter the desired domain names in the No Proxy for field. If there are multiple domains you wish to exclude, separate the domain names with a comma.
Top

Configuring Servers

Use the Servers page to configure FTP servers and accounts for remote file access. To access the Servers page, select Edit|Preferences|Servers. Note that you can also manually connect to a server when opening or saving remote files.

For information about opening remote files, see Opening Remote Files.

To add a new FTP server configuration:

To add a new FTP configuration, enter details in the fields provided and then click the Add button to the right of the Account Name field.

  • Server Type the server type is "FTP".
  • Name enter a name for the account. The value in this field will be displayed in the "Remote Accounts" drop down list box, and will be used as the Server name in the Remote File dialog.
  • Hostname enter the name of the FTP server. The name may be in the format "ftp.server.com", or may be the name of a machine within the local domain.
  • Port by default, FTP uses port 21.
  • User Name if you require an account to use the FTP server, enter the user name in this field. If access to the FTP server is anonymous, enter "anonymous".
  • Password if you require an account to use the FTP server, enter the account password in this field. If access to the FTP server is anonymous, the password is usually an email address (such as "user@host.com").
  • Default Path to specify the directory that displays when you connect to the server, enter the path in this field.
  • Anonymous Login If the server allows anonymous login, check this box.

To alter an existing FTP server configuration:

  1. From the Remote Accounts drop down list, select the account you wish to change.
  2. Make the desired changes in the account setup fields. (See the section above for a description of each field.)
  3. Click the Update button to save the changes.

To delete an existing FTP server configuration:

  1. From the Remote Accounts drop down list, select the account you wish to change.
  2. Click the Delete button to the right of the Account Name field.
Top

Configuring Source Code Control

Using Komodo's Source Code Control integration, you can perform the most common SCC repository tasks from within Komodo, including checking files out, comparing them to the repository version, and checking files back in. See Source Code Control for information about using SCC functions within Komodo. Select Edit|Preferences|Source Code Control to access the general source control preferences.

  • Show SCC Output Tab on Commands: Select an option from the drop-down list to specify whether focus shifts to the SCC Output tab anytime you execute a Source Code Control command that produces output.
  • Method used to display 'diff' output: select from this drop-down list to choose whether the output from the diff command should be displayed in a separate window, or within the Komodo Editor Pane.

In order to use SCC integration, you must configure the following options:

CVS Integration

If you are using CVS as your SCC repository, configure this section.

  • CVS Integration: check this box if you are using a CVS source code repository.
  • CVS executable used: Choose the path to the desired CVS executable file from the drop-down list, or click Browse to navigate to the file location.
  • Check for status changes from outside of Komodo: if this box is checked, Komodo will check to see if the status of files that are open in the editor has changed from the status they had at the last check. Specify the interval at which Komodo should check the file status in the field below.
  • Do recursive status checks: when checking the CVS status of files in a project, check this box to recurse the directories. If this box is not checked, only the status of files in the current directory will be checked.
  • Diff options: when you use the option Diff (Compare Files), the comparison will be performed according to the style specified here. Any CVS diff options may be specified. For a complete list of options, refer to the CVS Manual.
  • Do not warn about CVS external protocols (CVS_RSH) at startup: if you are using an external protocol (such as RSH) to connect to the CVS repository, check this box if you do not want a warning displayed when you start Komodo.

Perforce Integration

If you are using Perforce as your SCC repository, configure this section.

  • Perforce Integration: check this box if you are using a Perforce source code repository.
  • Check for status changes from outside of Komodo: if this box is checked, Komodo will check to see if the status of files that are open in the editor has changed from the status it had at the last check. Specify the interval at which Komodo should check the file status in the field below.
  • Do recursive status checks: when checking the CVS status of files in a project, check this box to recurse the directories. If this box is not checked, only the status of files in the current directory will be checked.
  • Show diff in Komodo: when you use the option Diff (Compare Files), the comparison will be performed according to the style specified here. Refer to the Perforce Manual for a complete description of the options. (Alternatively, on the command line, enter p4 help diff.)
  • Use external diff tool If you want to use a diff tool other than Perforce, it must be specified in this field. The location of the diff tool must also be included in your system's PATH environment variable.
  • Automatically open files for edit before save: Select an option from the drop-down list to determine what Komodo will do if you attempt to save a that has not been checked out of Perforce.
Top

Configuring Web Browser Features

To configure the default web browser, or to delete your ASPN login information, select Edit|Preferences|Web.

Web Browser

Specify the browser that Komodo should launch when you invoke a web-based language query or use Komodo's Web Browser Preview.

Select the desired browser from the list, or use the Browse button to navigate to the desired browser. If you do not specify any browser, Komodo will use your system's default browser.

Web Browser Preview

Choose the method Komodo will use to preview code in the selected Web browser. You can display the browser preview in a separate window, or in the Komodo Editor Pane.

  • Preview in Komodo tab, other tab group: Splits the Editor Pane to display the browser preview in a separate pane.
  • Preview in Komodo tab, same tab group: Displays the browser preview in the Editor Pane.
  • Preview in external browser: Opens the default browser (specified in the Web and Browser Preferences drop-down list) in a separate window.
Top

Configuring Web Services

Perl Web Services Module

Specify the Perl package you wish to use for Web service support. WebService is an optional package that can be downloaded using ActivePerl's Package Manager. Soap::Lite is included in the ActivePerl distribution.

Web Services Proxy Configuration

When using Web services with Perl, you can create Web service "proxies" from the Web service WSDL. This causes the Web service to run more quickly.

For generated Web services proxies, you can choose to Save to Current Project Directory, or Save to custom directory. If you select the custom directory option, you must then specify a directory. Check Add to Current Project to automatically add the Web service proxy to the current active project.

Web Services Setup

The Web Services Setup Wizard installs the required Web service modules for the selected language (Perl, Python, or PHP). To install Web service support modules, click the button labeled with the language of your choice.

Choose Installation

The language to set up will default. As desired, select a different language from the drop down list.

If multiple instances of the language are found on your system, you will be able to select the installation for which you want to install Web service support. To select an installation that does not appear in the list, click the Browse button.

Choose Module Directory (PHP Only)

When installing Web service support for PHP, you may specify the directory where the modules are installed. Directories in your PHP include_path variable will be listed; select a directory from the list, or specify a different directory by using the Browse button.

After the modules are installed, a confirmation message and the setup log will be displayed in a dialog. Click Finish to exit.

Top

Windows Integration

Use the Windows Integration preferences to set system-wide file associations. By assigning file associations, you can make Komodo the default editor for specific file types. Once Komodo has been made the default editor for a specific file type, the file will launch within Komodo when you double-click it in a Windows directory. You can also choose which file types can opened for edit. If a specific file type has been given an "Edit with Komodo" association, you can right-click a file in a Windows directory and open it using the Windows pop-up menu.

To configure file associations:

  1. Select Edit|Preferences|Windows Integration.
  2. Click Configure common associations. The Setup Common Komodo File Associations dialog box will open.
  3. Select the appropriate check boxes to choose the "Edit" and "Edit with Komodo" file associations.
  4. Click OK.

    Alternatively, you can enter the file associations directly into the fields provided on the Windows Integration page, then Click Add.
Top

Current File Settings

To customize options for individual files, select Current File Settings from the Edit menu, or right-click in the Editor pane and select Properties and Settings from the Context Menu. The file you want to customize must be open in the Editor Pane before you can access Current File Settings.

Properties Tab

If a file is read/write, you can change its attribute by selecting the read-only check box. If a file is read-only, a small padlock icon will appear next to the filename on the Projects tab. If you change and save a file with read-only status, you will be given the option to "force save" the changes.

The language association for the current file is displayed in the Language drop-down list box. To change the language setting, select another language from the drop-down list. To restore the original language association, click Reset.

When saving changes to the file, you will be prompted with a message asking if you want to "Save As" or "Force Save." Click Save As to save the changes to a new file. Click Force Save to force changes to the file.

Encoding Preferences are described in Customizing International Encoding.

Line Endings are described in New Files. If you select Preserve existing line endings, new lines will be assigned the end-of-line character selected in the drop-down list, but existing lines will not be altered.

Note: The Preserve existing line endings setting applies only to the current file and the current editor session, and will be abandoned when you close the file or close Komodo. To change these preferences permanently, use the Preferences dialog.

Source Code Control

If Komodo is configured to work in conjunction with Perforce or CVS, the Source Code Control tab displays the current SCC status and settings.

Editing

The options on this tab are a subset of the Editor Preferences. See Customizing the Editor for information about each option.

Indentation

The options on this tab are also found in the Indentation settings section of Editor Preferences. See Customizing Indentation for information about each option.

Preview

In most cases, you will want the file currently open in the Editor Pane to be displayed when you use the Preview in Browser feature. However, it is sometimes useful to preview a file that includes the current file. For example, you may want to use an HTML file to preview a CSS file. The file or URL used when previewing the current file is displayed on the Preview tab. To preview with a different file or URL:

  1. Click Change. The Preview in Browser dialog box will be displayed.
  2. Select Preview with another file or URL.
  3. Enter the path for the file or URL in the field provided, or click Browse to navigate to the file location.
  4. Click OK.
Top