Navigation
Navigating Within a File Using the Outline View
When you open a file in the IDL Editor, all functions and procedures defined in that file are listed in the The Outline view.
Select a procedure or function from the Outline list to highlight that procedure or function in the Editor. This is especially useful for navigating large program files containing multiple procedures and functions.
Next Previous Navigation
Use this feature to navigate to the next or previous element, depending on the context of search, errors, or comparisons. For example, Next/Previous navigates to the next search item if you have just done a search and the Search View is active. If you are viewing a list of errors, you can navigate to the next or previous error.
Ctrl+. is the shortcut key for Navigate → Next and Ctrl+, is the shortcut for Navigate → Previous.
Go to Last Edit Location
Use this feature to find your latest edits. Ctrl+Q or the toolbar button 
highlights the last change you made.
Executing Blocks of Code
You can quickly execute code contained in an editor window in the following ways:
- If the editor window contains one or more complete routines, by pressing F8 or by selecting Run filename (where filename is the file's name) from the Run menu.
- By selecting one or more lines of code in the editor window and pressing Shift+F8 or by selecting Run Selected Text from either the Run menu or the editor's context menu.
- By selecting one ore more lines of code in the editor window and dragging them to the Command Line view.
See Execute Code from the Editor for additional details.
Commenting Blocks of Code
The IDL Workbench provides methods to quickly comment and uncomment single or multiple lines of code. Select the lines you want to comment or uncomment (or simply place the cursor somewhere on the desired line) and use one of the following methods:
Code Templates
Code Templates are snippets of code that can be inserted into an editor window using Content Assist. The IDL Workbench provides a set of templates for common code structures including loop constructs like FOR and WHILE, branching constructs like IF and CASE, and function and procedure definitions. You can also define your own code templates and insert them using Content Assist.
To insert a code template, press Ctrl+Space, select the template from the Content Assist window, and press Enter.
Some templates "wrap" the selected lines in the template code. For example, suppose you have selected the following line in an editor window:
Press Ctrl+Space and select FOR - Iterate over the selected code from the Content Assist window. The editor now contains:
The two selected items — index and length — represent IDL variables you must supply.
See Templates for additional information.
Tip
Code templates that consist of a single line can also be inserted into the Command Line view. See Inserting a Template into the Command Line View for additional details.
Searching Within a File
Search within the current editor using the Find/Replace dialog (Edit → Find or Ctrl-F). This mechanism allows you to locate and optionally replace text within a single file.
Finding a String Incrementally
Use Incremental Find to quickly find a string. To use this feature, press Ctrl+J and begin typing the search string. The Editor will highlight the first occurrence of the string (based on where your cursor is placed). To find the next occurrence, press Ctrl+J again. To find the previous occurrence, press Ctrl+Shift+J. Press Enter or Esc to exit Incremental Find mode.
Highlighting Matches
Use Highlight Selected Words to mark all instances of a selected word or words in the current editor. Position the cursor within a word to highlight other instances of that word, or select two or more complete words to highlight matching strings.
The Highlight Selected Words feature is disabled by default. To enable the feature, open the Preferences → IDL → Editor preferences page and check the Highlight other occurrences of the currently selected word or words checkbox. To change the look of the highlighting, click the Configure highlighting... link to display the Annotations preference page, then select Occurrences from the list of Annotation types.
Searching a Workspace
Search multiple files using the Search dialog (Search → Search... or Ctrl+H). This mechanism allows you to search for text strings within multiple files contained in your workspace directory, displaying results in the Search view.
