CodeSmith Generator delivers strong integration within Visual Studio and ActiveSnippets are a driver toward increasing developer productivity. ActiveSnippets, at a high level, are CodeSmith Generator templates with exposure to the entire .Net Framework which you can utilize with a few keystrokes inside of Visual Studio. The output of your ActiveSnippet will be rendered right where you expanded on the code editor.
You can watch this video tutorial for more information:
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Expanding an ActiveSnippet
Attempts to execute the ActiveSnippet using the context of the current line with focus. If there is an ActiveSnippet configured and no errors, CodeSmith Generator will attempt to find the ActiveSnippet by Alias or by Name. If the ActiveSnippet is found, CodeSmith Generator will compile the template if not compiled, and then execute the template with the given arguments. The template output of the ActiveSnippet will be placed on the editor control of Visual Studio.
Syntax
Calling an ActiveSnippet is easy. Once configured, you simply have to enter the alias or name along with any argument parameters. Once you have defined the active snippet you want to expand, you just need to select the Expand ActiveSnippet menu item or press CTRL-E, CTRL-E.
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