• The ability to automatically generate XML comment headers in the VB .NET editor similar to what the C# editor automatically generates.
• The generation of the XML comment file to go along with your VB assemblies at build time.

How do I use the VBCommenter?

• To automatically generate the XML comment header above an item (class, method, property, etc) put the curser above the item and type " ''' " (three apostrophes) followed by a return.  The tool will then generate the comment header for you to fill in.
• To see the comments later in the object browser or IntelliSense popups you must enable XML comments to be built with your assembly.  You can set them to build with your project by using the options for the VBCommenter from the tools menu.  Please note that this activation is not stored so you have to reactivate it when re-opening the project later.  In the current version of VBCommentor you will only see the comments in the Object Browser or IntelliSense for VB.NET projects that you have a file reference to.  In a later version of VBCommentor you will also get it for the current project and VB.NET projects you have a project reference to.
• To access settings such as what comment prefix to use, whether you want the XML generated with each build, or if you want them entered into the source automatically please use the Tools-> VBCommenter Options command.

What else should I know about the VBCommenter?

• The XML comment file is written to the obj\debug or obj\release, in addition to the bin folder of your project.
• You can use the generated XML comment file with the Custom Help Builder PowerToy or NDoc to generate help packages or HTML documentation to go along with your assembly.
• For instructions on documenting your code with XML comments check out this MSDN Topic.
• The Build Comment Web Pages on the tools menu does not work with VBCommentor.  Use one of the previously mentioned tools instead to generate HTML documentation or help files.
• After building your project, there will also be a file called VBCommenterLog.txt in the obj\debug or obj\release folder of your project, which contains a list of files that were parsed, along with error messages for invalid comments that were detected.  You can also open the .xml output file in notepad and verify that the xml has proper indentation.  If it isn't, examine the first method that has improper indentation and look for improper xml tags, such as an open tag without a closed tag.
• There is a known issue (with several tracking bugs in the workspace) that causes issues with inserting HTML or XML within known XML comment tags.  This will cause several issues with the resulting XML.  In other words, don't expect anything but raw text within your comment XML to work. See bugs 131, 119, 117, 104,

GotDotNet License Agreement

1. Not to remove any copyright notices from the Software.
2. That if you distribute the Software in source code form you do so only under this License (i.e. you must include a complete copy of this License with your distribution), and if you distribute the Software solely in object form you only do so under a license that complies with this License.
3. That the Software comes "as is", with no warranties. None whatsoever. This means no express, implied or statutory warranty, including without limitation, warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or any warranty of noninfringement. Also, you must pass this disclaimer on whenever you distribute the Software.
4. That neither Microsoft nor any contributor to the Software will be liable for any of those types of damages known as indirect, special, consequential, or incidental related to the Software or this License, to the maximum extent the law permits, no matter what legal theory it’s based on. Also, you must pass this limitation of liability on whenever you distribute the Software.
5. That if you sue anyone over patents that you think may apply to the Software for a person's use of the Software, your license to the Software ends automatically.
6. That the patent rights, if any, licensed hereunder only apply to the Software, not to any derivative works you make.
7. That your rights under this License end automatically if you breach it in any way.

Release History

See Also

     VBCommenter Workspace | VBCommenter Bug Tracker | Custom Help Builder Workspace | PowerToys for Visual Studio .NET 2003 Homepage | PowerToys for Visual Studio .NET 2003 Discussions