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Prevent vscode from inserting new lines in the middle of my code on format.
I am cleaning up java code in vscode to make it more readable. When I format my document there are instances when vscode inserts new line character when I don't want it. Here I show 2 examples of when it does that.
I write:
if(a == 1) b = true;
When I format document vscode inserts new line before "b" like so:
if(a == 1)
b = true;
When I have a function with a lot of parameters which makes it very long (more than 120 characters, maybe?) it inserts new line in between parameters. Say I write:
a = abc(this_, function, takes, very1, very2, very3, very5, many, parameters);
and vscode formats it like so:
a = abc(this_, function, takes, very1, very2, very3,
very5, many, parameters);
How can I stop vscode from insert all of these new lines that I didn't ask for?
1 answer
It sounds like you have a Java formatter configured (by default?) and VSC is applying it to your code automatically (on save?).
How code is formatted
If your only gripe is these specific stylistic choices, but you do want auto-formatting for other things, you must figure out what formatter is being used, how it's configured, and what features it supports for customizing the style.
The example you give for if is very common across languages. I agree with you that it's silly, but most authors of code formatters are very opinionated on this and refuse to allow single-line if conditionals because supposedly they reduce readability. As you aptly show, the opposite is often the case. Hopefully your formatter supports disabling it.
The second example probably has to do with the formatters "max line length" setting. This is generally a good idea, but you can usually disable it or set to a higher limit.
To find the settings, open the settings UI (you can find it in the command palette) and search for "java" in the top bar. You should see some formatting related hits, probably in a section called Extensions -> Java (each language gets its own extension in VSC).
You can also try to use a different Java formatter, I'm sure there's several (VSC should have a "formatter path" config key).
When formatting is applied
VSC can apply formatting on demand (see command palette) or automatically on save. For the latter, look in preferences for Format On Save.
Keep in mind that VSC auto-saves as you type by default, so if you're surprised why it keeps reformatting without you pressing Ctrl+s, this is why.
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