Split Screen and Code Mini Map

Subject: Feature Requests for Anvil Works: Split Screen and Code Mini Map

Dear Anvil Works Team,

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing as a devoted user of the Anvil platform to express my appreciation for the exceptional coding experience your product provides. I believe that Anvil Works has immense potential to become even more powerful and user-friendly with the addition of a couple of key features. Therefore, I would like to submit the following feature requests:

  1. Split Screen between Multiple Coding Windows:

    The ability to split the coding interface into multiple windows would greatly enhance productivity and streamline the development process. By allowing users to view and edit different parts of their codebase side by side, this feature would enable us to write code, refer to documentation, or analyze different sections of our projects simultaneously. This split screen functionality would promote a more efficient workflow and significantly reduce the time spent switching between different parts of the code.

  2. Code Mini Map:

    A code mini map is a valuable feature that provides a bird's-eye view of the entire code file, displaying a miniature representation of the code structure alongside the main code editor. This visual overview allows developers to navigate and scroll through their code more easily. By providing a compact and interactive representation of the codebase, the code mini map would enable users to quickly identify and jump to specific sections, making it particularly useful for large files or projects with complex hierarchies.

It would be great if these features could be included in a settings menu to reduce clutter in the main interface. This would allow users to customize their coding environment and enable/disable these features as per their preference.

By incorporating these two features into Anvil Works and including them in a settings menu, you would significantly enhance the coding experience and empower developers to write code more efficiently, resulting in increased productivity and overall satisfaction with the platform.

Thank you for your attention to these feature requests. I truly appreciate the dedication and hard work your team puts into continuously improving Anvil Works. I look forward to seeing these enhancements in future updates and to continue being a part of the Anvil Works community.

Best regards,
CoenD


TL;DR:

I'm a devoted user of Anvil Works and would like to suggest two feature requests. Firstly, the ability to split the coding interface into multiple windows, allowing us to view and edit different parts of the codebase side by side, enhancing productivity. Secondly, a code mini map that provides a bird's-eye view of the code file, enabling easier navigation and identification of specific sections. It would be great if these features could be included in a settings menu to reduce clutter. These enhancements would greatly improve the coding experience in Anvil Works, leading to increased productivity and user satisfaction.

6 Likes

I second these requests. When I need something similar, I git pull the source code, and open it in Notepad++, and use its built-in split-screen feature. It has a code mini-map (though I find the Function List pane much more readable and useful). I lose Anvil’s code completion, but sometimes there’s just no substitute for seeing two pieces of source code side by side.

3 Likes

I sometimes am too lazy to do this and I open two tabs side by side :woozy_face: But that only works when I’m equipped with a large enough screen.

1 Like

Yeah I do this as well, but the problem with this is you can only edit one and then you have to reload the other tab because the code will be out dated.

2 Likes

I second this request too.

I always work with PyCharm on a 40" monitor with 3-4 windows open, and having only one in Anvil really feels a big waste of real estate.

I mitigate the problem by:

  • using alt+pgup and alt+pgdown (after ordering the tabs by dragging them)
  • using ctrl+shift+f and typing "def " or other texts that find what I’m looking for
  • but mostly by cloning all the apps to my pc and working on them with PyCharm. It doesn’t understand some of the form code and I need to struggle a little with the imports, but ctrl+f12, shift-shift and ctrl+shift+f just to name a few shortcuts work beautifully.

This not only does help during the editing, it also allows me to test 100% of the server code and 90% of the client code with the exception of the forms, which is not a big problem when you learn to pull all the logic out of the form and put it in modules that can be tested inside PyCharm.

But I digress. I would love to be able to open two or more editors on different modules or on the same module too.

2 Likes

Glad to see more people seconding my request, and I can only hope it gets seen by anvil staff!!

Refresh your IDE, and look at a Module’s extreme right… :wink:

11 Likes

WOOOO. Now all I want is the split screen for code. :open_mouth:

1 Like

I also second the request for split screens.

1 Like

We do genuinely look at the number of likes a feature request gets, so while a comment might bump the issue not liking a feature request you want implemented is a cardinal sin :smile:

2 Likes