Right Justifying Paragraphs

hoji afzal · Oct 26, 2018, 3:31 PM

I wish Notepad++ had this feature.
CodeWright used to have it and was very useful in organizing code.

This is what it could do:

Suppose you wrote these code lines:
int argument1 = 1;
int multiplier = 100;
double weight = 200.345;
Using this feature you end up with this:
int argument1 = 1;
int multiplier = 100;
double weight = 200.345;

To do it:
a. Select the entire paragraph and use right justify from the context menu.
b. Enter random number of spaces just before the = signs.
c. Select the paragraph again and this time left justify it.
d. Only select the = sign and every to the right of it and select left justify.
that’s all

PeterJones · Oct 26, 2018, 4:03 PM

Unfortunately, you didn’t Markdown your your example data quite right (you need to keep a blank line between the outline row and the indented data; also, you would have to have double the indentation to make it render as embedded text to account for the first level of indenting for outline, and the second for preformatted-text). You can see “exactly” how it will render by looking at the preview pane to the right of the edit frame. (“exactly” in quotes, because it doesn’t render @-mentions, and I’ve seen it occasionally stop rendering right on large posts). More on formatting at this help-with-markdown post

Regarding your problem, if I understand correctly, you don’t actually want to right-justfiy – what it sounds like is that you want to align a second column based on the = character. ie, changing:

int argument1 = 1;
int multiplier = 100;
double weight = 200.345;

to

int argument1   = 1;
int multiplier  = 100;
double weight   = 200.345;

(though I may have missed a secondary justification in there)

If that’s a correct interpretation, then the discussion in this thread, which is about aligning a column to a specific character. (In the old days, on 32bit, you could use the TextFX plugin; but that plugin has fallen by the wayside in terms of support, and doesn’t (i believe) have a 64bit version.) So if you have 32bit, you can install TextFX and use the Line up multiple lines by …. Otherwise, you can try to make the PythonScript alternatives work for you.

dinkumoil · Oct 26, 2018, 6:32 PM

There is a plugin called “Code alignment” which is available as 64 bit version too. Have a look into Plugin Manager. It’s a tiny useful thing.

hoji afzal · Oct 26, 2018, 7:25 PM

@hoji-afzal

Hi, thanks for your attention. I did notice the formatting in my original post and tried to go back and edit it, but the site doesn’t seem to allow you to edit a post once it has been published.

Thanks for the clarification.

I tried to download “Code alignment” as suggested by dinkumoil, but I got a server error. I will try it again later.

For the alignment action I was talking about, all you need is the mouse and the context menu. No other settings would be needed. I could send the steps in an illustration, but I can’t because the site does not allow attachments. Actually I never thought of plug ins, and maybe someone has already done it. I am waiting for the next update to Notepad++ to see if I could get PlugIn Manager, as I don’t have it now.

Thanks very much.

PeterJones · Oct 26, 2018, 7:46 PM

The site allows editing for up to 3 minutes after you submit your post.

If the results I posted weren’t right, and it was too late to edit your original post, you could have tried posting the data again in your reply, following the advice I gave you.

Screenshots: This forum doesn’t host images, but it is perfectly capable of displaying them. Upload your image to imgur.com or other similar site, and follow the image-embed instructions found in the help with markdown link I already pointed you to.

You can get plugin manager here: download, unzip, and put the DLL in your plugins subdirectory of the notepad++ program directory (as it says on that page)

Once you get plugin manager, you can easily grab both “Code Alignment” and “TextFX”, and see if either one works for you.

Scott Sumner · Oct 26, 2018, 7:53 PM

@PeterJones said:

The site allows editing for up to 3 minutes after you submit your post.

The thing that gets me is there’s a damn preview pane right there as you are composing…what, do people think that when they hit Submit that things are somehow magically gonna look different from the Preview? If it doesn’t look like you intend then there must be a reason. Stop…and figure out why. (Grumpy week for me??)

dinkumoil · Oct 27, 2018, 4:28 PM

@Scott-Sumner said:

Grumpy week for me??

:-)

Sometimes we need to relax from PEBCAK…

hoji afzal · Nov 21, 2018, 2:18 PM

@dinkumoil
I finally got it. It can align easily using the = sign. But I am still trying to get it to align on space.
Thanks a lot!

hoji afzal · Nov 21, 2018, 3:46 PM

@Scott-Sumner
Didn’t know it was that big a deal :)

Scott Sumner · Nov 21, 2018, 3:58 PM

@hoji-afzal said:

Didn’t know it was that big a deal

It’s not a big deal to express yourself in a clear and understandable manner, especially when you are asking for something in a feature request? Hmmm. :-)

hoji afzal · Nov 21, 2018, 4:11 PM

@PeterJones

In fact this is how I format my columns to separate different fields like a table does.

Before:

public byte PUSH = 1;
private const int STOP = 0;
public const double SECS_TO_START = 10;
public int SEPARATOR = 21;

After:

public  byte         PUSH            =  1;
private const int    STOP            =  0;
public  const double SECS_TO_START   = 10;
public  int          SEPARATOR       = 21;

Once I figure out “align by space” I will create keyboard shortcuts for it since Notepad++ generously allows that.

Thanks.

hoji afzal · Nov 22, 2018, 2:40 PM

@Scott-Sumner

PeterJones understood what i said! Instead of complaining he showed me how to do it, which I appreciate.

PeterJones · Nov 24, 2018, 1:14 AM

To line up by a space, you would copy a space into the clipboard, then use TextFX > Edit > Line up … by (Clipboard Character). Oh, that seems to not work… and wouldn’t probably align things right anyway.

You might want to do a multi-step process:

RegEx FIND= (?=\w+ = \d+;), REPLACE= | (space, vertical bar)
Copy Vertical bar charcter
Line up by clipbboard character
RegEx FIND=\|, REPLACE= (space)
Line up by =
In your example data, it made SECS_TO_START= 10, which might not be what you want, so:
RegEx FIND== (just equal sign), REPLACE= = (space then equal sign)

chcg · Nov 24, 2018, 10:04 AM

If it is just about how the visual aspect, maybe you want to try https://github.com/dail8859/ElasticTabstops (further explanation here http://nickgravgaard.com/elastic-tabstops/)

dinkumoil · Nov 25, 2018, 7:31 PM

@hoji-afzal

Seems like you are an “extreme aligner”… ;-)

I wrote a VBScript that does the job. To get it to work you need to install the Pork2Sausage plugin of @donho and two tiny companion scripts.

This is the VBScript, save it as CodeAlign.vbs:

Option Explicit

Const LVALUE = 0
Const RVALUE = 1

Dim strCode, arrCode, arrInLine, arrLValueTokens, strRValueTokens, intPrevMaxIdx
Dim arrLine, arrMaxTokenLen, intLineIdx, intTokenIdx, intMaxRValueLen
Dim intCnt, strLine, strToken, strOutput

If Not WScript.StdIn.AtEndOfStream Then
  strCode = WScript.StdIn.ReadAll

  arrCode         = Split(strCode, vbNewLine)
  intMaxRValueLen = 0
  arrMaxTokenLen  = Array()
  arrLine         = Array()
  strOutput       = ""

  For intLineIdx = 0 To UBound(arrCode)
    If arrCode(intLineIdx) <> "" Then
      arrInLine       = Split(arrCode(intLineIdx), "=")
      arrLValueTokens = Split(Trim(arrInLine(0)), " ")
      strRValueTokens = Trim(arrInLine(1))

      If Len(strRValueTokens) > intMaxRValueLen Then
        intMaxRValueLen = Len(strRValueTokens)
      End If

      If UBound(arrLValueTokens) > UBound(arrMaxTokenLen) Then
        intPrevMaxIdx = UBound(arrMaxTokenLen)
        ReDim Preserve arrMaxTokenLen(UBound(arrLValueTokens))

        If intPrevMaxIdx < 0 Then
          arrMaxTokenLen(UBound(arrMaxTokenLen)) = 0
        Else
          arrMaxTokenLen(UBound(arrMaxTokenLen)) = arrMaxTokenLen(intPrevMaxIdx)

          For intCnt = intPrevMaxIdx To UBound(arrMaxTokenLen) - 1
            arrMaxTokenLen(intCnt) = 0
          Next
        End If
      End If

      For intCnt = 0 To UBound(arrLValueTokens)
        If intCnt < UBound(arrLValueTokens) Then
          If Len(arrLValueTokens(intCnt)) > arrMaxTokenLen(intCnt) Then
            arrMaxTokenLen(intCnt) = Len(arrLValueTokens(intCnt))
          End If
        Else
          If Len(arrLValueTokens(intCnt)) > arrMaxTokenLen(UBound(arrMaxTokenLen)) Then
            arrMaxTokenLen(UBound(arrMaxTokenLen)) = Len(arrLValueTokens(intCnt))
          End If
        End If
      Next

      ReDim Preserve arrLine(UBound(arrLine) + 1)
      arrLine(UBound(arrLine)) = Array(arrLValueTokens, strRValueTokens)
    End If
  Next

  For intLineIdx = 0 To UBound(arrLine)
    strLine  = ""
    strToken = arrLine(intLineIdx)(RVALUE)

    If IsNumeric(Left(strToken, Len(strToken) - 1)) Then
      strLine  = "= " & Right(String(intMaxRValueLen, " ") & strToken, intMaxRValueLen)
    Else
      strLine  = "= " & strToken
    End If

    For intTokenIdx = UBound(arrMaxTokenLen) To 0 Step -1
      If intTokenIdx = UBound(arrMaxTokenLen) Then
        strToken = arrLine(intLineIdx)(LVALUE)(UBound(arrLine(intLineIdx)(LVALUE)))
        strLine  = Left(strToken & String(arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx), " "), arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx)) & " " & strLine

      ElseIf UBound(arrLine(intLineIdx)(LVALUE)) > intTokenIdx Then
        strToken = arrLine(intLineIdx)(LVALUE)(intTokenIdx)
        strLine  = Left(strToken & String(arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx), " "), arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx)) & " " & strLine

      Else
        strLine = String(arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx), " ") & " " & strLine
      End If
    Next

    strOutput = strOutput & strLine & vbNewLine
  Next

  WScript.StdOut.Write strOutput
End If

At next you need a script that can retrieve the clipboard content and stream it to StdOut. It’s a one-liner in JavaScript, save it as pclip.js.

WSH.Echo(WSH.CreateObject('htmlfile').parentWindow.clipboardData.getData('text'));

At next you need a binding to PorkToSausage. It’s a Batch script, save it as CodeAlign.cmd.

@echo off

pushd "%~dp0"
cscript /nologo /e:JScript pclip.js | cscript /nologo "CodeAlign.vbs"
popd

Put the files CodeAlign.vbs, pclip.js and CodeAlign.cmd together in one directory and move it to <Notepad++-installation-directory>\plugins\Pork2Sausage\CodeAlign.

Finally you need to add the following to the config file of Pork2Sausage. The plugin provides the ability to load its own config file for editing.

[CodeAlign]
progPath=<Notepad++-installation-directory>\plugins\Pork2Sausage\CodeAlign\CodeAlign.cmd
progCmd=CodeAlign
workDir=<Notepad++-installation-directory>\plugins\Pork2Sausage\CodeAlign
replaceSelection=true

The Pork2Sausage plugin will add a menu entry named CodeAlign to its submenu of Plugins menu. You can assign a keyboard shortcut to this entry to simplify things.

Please note that you have to configure the right path of your Notepad++ installation directory. If you already use Notepad++ v7.6 you should put the directory with the three scripts to the new plugin folder under %UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Notepad++\plugins\PorkToSausage. Of course you have to change the paths in the Pork2Sausage config file accordingly.

To use the script select the code you want to align and copy it to the clipboard. Then press the keyboard shortcut you assigned to the script’s menu entry. It does its job and the result is automatically pasted to the selected block of lines in the Notepad++ window.

If you (or another person) is able to write Python scripts, you/(s)he can port the VBScript code to Python and you can use the Python plugin to execute it. This way you wouldn’t need so much script files.

dinkumoil · Nov 26, 2018, 1:25 AM

@hoji-afzal

Update: VBScript improved

Can handle and keep empty lines
Can handle and keep lines without equal sign
Code commented now

Option Explicit

Const LVALUE = 0
Const RVALUE = 1

Dim arrCode, arrInLine, arrLValueTokens, strRValueTokens, intPrevMaxIdx
Dim arrLine, arrMaxTokenLen, intLineIdx, intTokenIdx, intMaxRValueLen
Dim intCnt, strLine, strToken, strOutput

'Read input from StdIn
If Not WScript.StdIn.AtEndOfStream Then
  'Split input into lines and store them in array
  arrCode = Split(WScript.StdIn.ReadAll, vbNewLine)

  'Delete empty trailing line
  If arrCode(UBound(arrCode)) = "" Then
    ReDim Preserve arrCode(UBound(arrCode) - 1)
  End If
  
  arrLine         = Array()
  arrMaxTokenLen  = Array()
  intMaxRValueLen = 0
  strOutput       = ""

  'Process all lines
  For intLineIdx = 0 To UBound(arrCode)
    'If current line is empty create empty variables for LValue and RValue
    If arrCode(intLineIdx) = "" Then
      arrLValueTokens = Array("")
      strRValueTokens = ""
    Else
      'Split line in LValue and RValue, delete preceding and trailing space
      'characters and split LValue in tokens
      arrInLine       = Split(arrCode(intLineIdx), "=")
      arrLValueTokens = Split(Trim(arrInLine(0)), " ")
      
      'RValue could be empty
      If UBound(arrInLine) > 0 Then
        strRValueTokens = Trim(arrInLine(1))
      Else
        strRValueTokens = ""
      End IF

      'Remember maximum length of all RValues
      If Len(strRValueTokens) > intMaxRValueLen Then
        intMaxRValueLen = Len(strRValueTokens)
      End If

      'Build array with a table containing the maximum length of all tokens
      'in the same column.

      'If the number of tokens of the current LValue is greater than the number
      'of columns of the table it has to be enlarged.
      If UBound(arrLValueTokens) > UBound(arrMaxTokenLen) Then
        'Remember index of currently last table cell and enlarge it
        intPrevMaxIdx = UBound(arrMaxTokenLen)
        ReDim Preserve arrMaxTokenLen(UBound(arrLValueTokens))

        'Shift the value of the last table cell before enlargement
        'to the last cell after enlargement
        If intPrevMaxIdx < 0 Then
          'If the table had been empty before enlargement set the new element to 0
          arrMaxTokenLen(UBound(arrMaxTokenLen)) = 0
        Else
          'Set the currently last cell of the table to the value
          'of the previously last cell
          arrMaxTokenLen(UBound(arrMaxTokenLen)) = arrMaxTokenLen(intPrevMaxIdx)

          'Set the newly added cells to 0
          For intCnt = intPrevMaxIdx To UBound(arrMaxTokenLen) - 1
            arrMaxTokenLen(intCnt) = 0
          Next
        End If
      End If

      'If the current line contains longer tokens in any column than the lines
      'processed before remember the greater length
      For intCnt = 0 To UBound(arrLValueTokens)
        'If we do not inspect the last table cell compare the same columns of
        'the LValue tokens and the maximum token length table
        If intCnt < UBound(arrLValueTokens) Then
          If Len(arrLValueTokens(intCnt)) > arrMaxTokenLen(intCnt) Then
            arrMaxTokenLen(intCnt) = Len(arrLValueTokens(intCnt))
          End If
        'I we inspect the last LValue token alway compare it with the last cell
        'of the maximum token length table
        Else
          If Len(arrLValueTokens(intCnt)) > arrMaxTokenLen(UBound(arrMaxTokenLen)) Then
            arrMaxTokenLen(UBound(arrMaxTokenLen)) = Len(arrLValueTokens(intCnt))
          End If
        End If
      Next
    End If

    'Enlarge ouput array and store array with LValue tokens and RValue string
    ReDim Preserve arrLine(UBound(arrLine) + 1)
    arrLine(UBound(arrLine)) = Array(arrLValueTokens, strRValueTokens)
  Next
  
  'Iterate over output array of loop above and build up an output line from
  'LValue tokens and the RValue. The output line gets assembled from right to left.
  For intLineIdx = 0 To UBound(arrLine)
    strLine  = ""
    
    'Get RValue of current line
    strToken = arrLine(intLineIdx)(RVALUE)

    'Add equal sign and RValue only to the output line if RValue is not empty
    If strToken <> "" Then
      'If the RValue is a number right align it otherwise take it as is
      If IsNumeric(Left(strToken, Len(strToken) - 1)) Then
        strLine = "= " & Right(String(intMaxRValueLen, " ") & strToken, intMaxRValueLen)
      Else
        strLine = "= " & strToken
      End If
    End If
    
    'Iterate over the maximum token length table starting with last column
    For intTokenIdx = UBound(arrMaxTokenLen) To 0 Step -1
      'When processing the last column, take the last LValue token of the
      'current line, right-pad it with space characters to bring it to the
      'lenght of the longest token in this column and prepend it to output line
      If intTokenIdx = UBound(arrMaxTokenLen) Then
        strToken = arrLine(intLineIdx)(LVALUE)(UBound(arrLine(intLineIdx)(LVALUE)))
        strLine  = Left(strToken & String(arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx), " "), arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx)) & " " & strLine

      'When processing a column where the current LValue has a token, right-pad
      'it with space characters to bring it to the lenght of the longest token
      'in this column and prepend it to output line
      ElseIf UBound(arrLine(intLineIdx)(LVALUE)) > intTokenIdx Then
        strToken = arrLine(intLineIdx)(LVALUE)(intTokenIdx)
        strLine  = Left(strToken & String(arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx), " "), arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx)) & " " & strLine

      'When processing a column where the current LValue has no token, pad with
      'space characters to bring it to the lenght of the longest token in this
      'column and prepend it to output line
      Else
        strLine = String(arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx), " ") & " " & strLine
      End If
    Next

    'Avoid appending of lines which contain solely space characters
    If Trim(strLine) = "" Then strLine = Trim(strLine)
    
    'Append output line to output string
    strOutput = strOutput & strLine

    'Dont terminate last line with EOL because it's added automatically
    If intLineIdx < UBound(arrLine) Then
      strOutput = strOutput & vbNewLine
    End If
  Next

  'Stream output string to StdOut
  WScript.StdOut.Write strOutput
End If

hoji afzal · Nov 26, 2018, 5:12 PM

Oh man, thanks so much guys for your input!
I will try these once my manager stops with his “so how much progress did you make?” :)

I am a fanatic aligner, just bordering having a disease. But usually don’t have time to go that “extreme”. And by extreme I am sure you refer to my right aligning the whole numbers hahaha

Thanks.

dinkumoil · Nov 26, 2018, 6:05 PM

@hoji-afzal said:

I will try these once my manager stops with his “so how much progress did you make?” :)

Oh yeah, the managers…

Since you seem interested I have another update of the VBScript for you:

Improved handling of aligning lines containing no assignment operator
Delimiter and assignment operator configurable by constant in script
Keeps indentation
Improved detection of empty lines
Avoiding superfluous output lines and output lines filled solely with space characters

Option Explicit

Const LVALUE   = 0
Const RVALUE   = 1
Const DelimChr = " "
Const AssignOp = "="

Dim arrCode, arrInLine, arrLValueTokens, strRValueTokens, intPrevMaxIdx
Dim arrLine, arrMaxTokenLen, intLineIdx, intTokenIdx, intMaxRValueLen
Dim intCnt, strLine, strToken, strOutput

'Read input from StdIn
If Not WScript.StdIn.AtEndOfStream Then
  'Split input into lines and store them in array
  arrCode = Split(WScript.StdIn.ReadAll, vbNewLine)

  'Delete empty trailing line
  If arrCode(UBound(arrCode)) = "" Then
    ReDim Preserve arrCode(UBound(arrCode) - 1)
  End If
  
  arrLine         = Array()
  arrMaxTokenLen  = Array()
  intMaxRValueLen = 0
  strOutput       = ""

  'Process all lines
  For intLineIdx = 0 To UBound(arrCode)
    'If current line is empty create empty variables for LValue and RValue
    If Trim(arrCode(intLineIdx)) = "" Then
      arrLValueTokens = Array("")
      strRValueTokens = ""
    Else
      'Split line in LValue and RValue, keep indentation of LValue but delete
      'preceding and trailing space characters of RValue and split LValue in
      'tokens
      arrInLine       = Split(arrCode(intLineIdx), AssignOp)
      arrLValueTokens = Split(RTrim(arrInLine(0)), DelimChr)
      
      'There could be no RValue
      If UBound(arrInLine) > 0 Then
        strRValueTokens = Trim(arrInLine(1))
      Else
        strRValueTokens = ""
      End IF

      'Remember maximum length of all RValues
      If Len(strRValueTokens) > intMaxRValueLen Then
        intMaxRValueLen = Len(strRValueTokens)
      End If

      'Build a maximum token length table containing the maximum length of all
      'LValue tokens in the same column

      'If the number of tokens of the current LValue is greater than the number
      'of columns of the table it has to be enlarged.
      If UBound(arrLValueTokens) > UBound(arrMaxTokenLen) Then
        'Remember index of currently last table cell and enlarge table
        intPrevMaxIdx = UBound(arrMaxTokenLen)
        ReDim Preserve arrMaxTokenLen(UBound(arrLValueTokens))

        'Shift the value of the last table cell before enlargement
        'to the last cell after enlargement
        If intPrevMaxIdx < 0 Or strRValueTokens = "" Then
          'If the table had been empty before enlargement set new cell to 0
          arrMaxTokenLen(UBound(arrMaxTokenLen)) = 0
        Else
          'Set the currently last cell of the table to the value of the
          'previously last cell
          arrMaxTokenLen(UBound(arrMaxTokenLen)) = arrMaxTokenLen(intPrevMaxIdx)

          'Set the newly added cells to 0
          For intCnt = intPrevMaxIdx To UBound(arrMaxTokenLen) - 1
            arrMaxTokenLen(intCnt) = 0
          Next
        End If
      End If

      'If the current line contains longer tokens in any column than the lines
      'processed before, remember the greater length
      For intCnt = 0 To UBound(arrLValueTokens)
        'If we do not inspect the last table cell, compare the same columns of
        'the LValue tokens and the maximum token length table
        If intCnt < UBound(arrLValueTokens) Or strRValueTokens = "" Then
          If Len(arrLValueTokens(intCnt)) > arrMaxTokenLen(intCnt) Then
            arrMaxTokenLen(intCnt) = Len(arrLValueTokens(intCnt))
          End If
        'I we inspect the last LValue token, always compare it with the last cell
        'of the maximum token length table
        Else
          If Len(arrLValueTokens(intCnt)) > arrMaxTokenLen(UBound(arrMaxTokenLen)) Then
            arrMaxTokenLen(UBound(arrMaxTokenLen)) = Len(arrLValueTokens(intCnt))
          End If
        End If
      Next
    End If

    'Enlarge ouput array and store array with LValue tokens and RValue string
    ReDim Preserve arrLine(UBound(arrLine) + 1)
    arrLine(UBound(arrLine)) = Array(arrLValueTokens, strRValueTokens)
  Next
  
  'Iterate over output array of loop above and build up an output line from
  'LValue tokens and the RValue. The output line gets assembled from right to left.
  For intLineIdx = 0 To UBound(arrLine)
    strLine  = ""
    
    'Get RValue of current line
    strToken = arrLine(intLineIdx)(RVALUE)

    'Add assignment operator and RValue to output line only if RValue is not empty
    If strToken <> "" Then
      'If the RValue is a number right align it otherwise take it as is
      If IsNumeric(Left(strToken, Len(strToken) - 1)) Then
        strLine = AssignOp & " " & Right(String(intMaxRValueLen, " ") & strToken, intMaxRValueLen)
      Else
        strLine = AssignOp & " " & strToken
      End If
    End If
    
    'Iterate over the maximum token length table starting with last column
    For intTokenIdx = UBound(arrMaxTokenLen) To 0 Step -1
      'When processing the last column, take the last LValue token of the
      'current line, right-pad it with space characters to bring it to the
      'lenght of the longest token in this column and prepend it to output line
      If intTokenIdx = UBound(arrMaxTokenLen) And arrLine(intLineIdx)(RVALUE) <> "" Then
        strToken = arrLine(intLineIdx)(LVALUE)(UBound(arrLine(intLineIdx)(LVALUE)))
        strLine  = Left(strToken & String(arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx), " "), arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx)) & DelimChr & strLine

      'When processing a column where the current LValue has a token, right-pad
      'it with space characters to bring it to the lenght of the longest token
      'in this column and prepend it to output line
      ElseIf (UBound(arrLine(intLineIdx)(LVALUE)) > intTokenIdx) Or _
             (UBound(arrLine(intLineIdx)(LVALUE)) = intTokenIdx And arrLine(intLineIdx)(RVALUE) = "") Then
        strToken = arrLine(intLineIdx)(LVALUE)(intTokenIdx)
        
        If intTokenIdx = UBound(arrMaxTokenLen) And arrLine(intLineIdx)(RVALUE) = "" Then
          strLine  = Left(strToken & String(arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx), " "), arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx))
        Else
          strLine  = Left(strToken & String(arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx), " "), arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx)) & DelimChr & strLine
        End If

      'When processing a column where the current LValue has no token, pad with
      'space characters to bring it to the lenght of the longest token in this
      'column and prepend it to output line
      Else
        If intTokenIdx = UBound(arrMaxTokenLen) And arrLine(intLineIdx)(RVALUE) = "" Then
          strLine = String(arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx), " ")
        Else
          strLine = String(arrMaxTokenLen(intTokenIdx), " ") & DelimChr & strLine
        End If
      End If
    Next

    'Avoid appending of lines which contain solely space characters
    If Trim(strLine) = "" Then strLine = ""
    
    'Append output line to output string
    strOutput = strOutput & strLine

    'Dont terminate last line with EOL because it is added automatically
    If intLineIdx < UBound(arrLine) Then
      strOutput = strOutput & vbNewLine
    End If
  Next

  'Stream output string to StdOut
  WScript.StdOut.Write strOutput
End If

Unfortunately the Pork2Sausage plugin currently has a bug, it streams at maximum 1024 bytes/characters back to Notepad++. I’ve already created a pull request with a fix, let’s see if and when it will be published.

hoji afzal · Nov 30, 2018, 5:28 PM

Thanks for the code. But I’m sorry I still haven’t had a chance to try it. Plus, I am not very experienced with scripts.

However, I did try TextFX and find its tool useful. I have set up a shortcut for it which I have been using. It’s TextFX > TextFX Edit > E: Line up multiple lines by (Clipboard Character). Unfortunately it doesn’t accept either space (perhaps the most useful character) or a pattern of characters. But still it’s Okay.
Having said that, that menu is nowhere near as powerful or useful as a context menu to select a block and set it either right or left justified.

Hoji

guy038 · Dec 3, 2018, 3:53 PM

Hello @hoji-afzal @peterjones, @dinkumoil, @scott-sumner, @chcg and All,

I’ve found out a solution to line up with the space character :-)) Nevertheless, it’s just a work-around which could be rather tedious, if you want to line up a lot of small blocks of text :-(( Just have a try !

It does not imply any script, just the TextFX plugin of course, and the native N++ Search/Replacement feature ;-))

Here are, below, the different steps to follow :

First, anywhere in a file, on an empty location, hold down the ALT key and type, successively, on keys 0, 3 and 1, of the numeric keypad, then release the ALT key

=> A control character US, with code-point = \x1F, should be displayed, in reverse video !

Copy this single character in the clipboard
Select all the ( not aligned ) text of your previous example

public byte PUSH = 1;
private const int STOP = 0;
public const double SECS_TO_START = 10;
public int SEPARATOR = 21;

Now, open the Replace dialog ( Ctrl + H )
SEARCH \x20+
REPLACE \x1f
Check the In selection option, ( on the left of the Replace All button ) IMPORTANT
Select the Regular expression search mode
Click on the Replace All button

=> At once, all range of consecutive space characters, in the selection, are replaced with the control character US

Then, click on the TextFX menu, leaving the Replace dialog in the background
Select the option TextFX > TextFX Edit > Line up multiple lines by (Clipboard Character)

=> Now, most of the US characters should be aligned !

Click back on the Replace dialog ( Note that your text is still selected )
SEARCH \x1f
REPLACE \x20
Keep the same options as above
Click on the Replace All button

=> You should get the result, below :

public  byte  PUSH      =             1;
private const int       STOP          = 0;
public  const double    SECS_TO_START = 10;
public  int   SEPARATOR =             21;

At first sight, we remark that some words are quite aligned, but not exactly in the way you would !:-(( The problem comes from the expressions Const int and Const double that you consider as single entities whereas the TextFX plugin considers, logically, that there are two consecutive words, separated with a space char !

So, regarding your very simple block of code, I would say that the rule is : when a space character, is located after the word const, in lower-case, it should not be replaced with the US control char

Thus, if you re-execute all the previous steps, replacing the first search regex \x20+ with the regex (?-i)(?<!\bconst)\x20+, you should be left with the expected text, below :

public  byte         PUSH          = 1;
private const int    STOP          = 0;
public  const double SECS_TO_START = 10;
public  int          SEPARATOR     = 21;

Nice, isn’t it ? Note you still have to align the numbers, at the end of the lines !

REMEMBER : When using the line up feature, the TextFX plugin does not consider any ,, = or clipboard character which are between two double quotes "........" nor between two simple quotes '........' !

If you are interested to go further on, @hoji-afzal, just tell me all the multi-words expressions which need to be considered as a single word and I’ll try to get the appropriate regex, which preserves space characters, in these expressions :-))

Best Regards,

guy038