Text Editor Formatting Options

You can use the settings in Tools > Options > Text Editor > Micro Focus COBOL > Formatting and on the General page to configure features such as the Visual Studio Format Document command or some of the tooltips.

To change the format of a COBOL source file opened in the editor or of a selection of code, click Edit > Advanced > Format Document or Edit > Advanced > Format Selection.

Formatting when typing

Format sentence on period
Automatically formats the active section when you enter a period.
Format pasted code
Automatically formats the COBOL code you paste into the editor.
Automatic insertion of end-if
Automatically inserts an END-IF, after you have typed the first line of an IF statement and pressed ENTER.
Restriction: This feature is only supported for the Micro Focus COBOL dialect.
Automatic insertion of end-evaluate
Automatically inserts an END-EVALUATE, after you have typed the first line of an EVALUATE statement and pressed ENTER.
Automatic insertion of end-perform
Automatically inserts an END-PERFORM, after you have typed the first line of an PERFORM statement and pressed ENTER.
Automatic insertion of end-exec
Automatically inserts an END-EXEC, after you have typed the first line of an EXEC statement and pressed ENTER.
Automatic insertion of end-try
Automatically inserts an END-TRY, after you have typed the first line of an TRY statement and pressed ENTER.

General formatting

Base indent
Check this, if you want to change the base indent from the default one of eight spaces.
Preserve left margin
Preserves the text in the left margin when you format the source.
Right margin on line insert
Specifies your preference for the text in the right margin when the line wraps in the A/B area:
  • Pin - keeps the text on the same line
  • Duplicate - duplicates the text on any subsequent lines
  • Slide - moves the text on the same line
Preserve end of line comments
Preserves the end of line comments when you format the code.
Directive alignment
Specifies your preference for aligning directives:
  • Indicator - aligns directives to the Indicator area
  • Fixed - aligns directives to the column your specify
Wrap column
Specifies the column at which to wrap code.