Create live templates

Last modified: 29 June 2021

The following example procedure illustrates how to create a template for a TODO comment with the current date and user name.

  1. Press Ctrl+Alt+S to open IDE settings and select Editor | Live Templates.

  2. Select the template group where you want to create a new live template (for example, other).

    If you do not select a template group, the live template will be added to the user group.

  3. Click the Add button and select Live Template.

  4. In the Abbreviation field, specify the characters that will be used to expand the template. For example: todo.

  5. (Optional) In the Description field, describe the template for reference in the future.

    For example: Insert TODO comment with the current date and username

  6. In the Template text field, specify the body of the template with variables.

    For example: //TODO $DATE$ $USER$: $END$

  7. Click Edit variables to define the variables using functions:

    NameExpressionDefault valueSkip if defined
    DATEdate()NoneYes
    USERuser()NoneYes

    You can set a default value for cases when the expression fails to evaluate, although these particular functions should always return a valid value. You can also disable the Skip if defined option for a variable to highlight the expanded value and let the user modify it if necessary.

  8. Apply all your changes.

  9. In the editor, type todo and press Tab.

    Depending on the current system date and username, the template should expand to something like:

    //TODO 02.07.2019 jsmith:

Create a new template from a fragment of code

Copy an existing template