What's New in GhostDoc v2019

GhostDoc > Release Notes

What's new in v2019.x

If are you are a licensed user with a current subscription, you can retrieve your permanent v2019 license code using the MyAccount page.

See this article for the Visual Editor details - Visual Editing for XML Comments

  • Visual Studio v2019 support
  • Visual Editing for XML Comments
  • New menu - Open Comment Editor - to open Visual Editor for XML Comment
  • New Visual Editor commands - Insert Image, Add/Remove Hyperlink, Add/Remove Note, Add/Remove Table
  • Visual Editing for source code samples in XML Comment
  • New documentation output format - VS IntelliSense file
  • Support for C# 8 and VB 2017 syntax
  • Support for Code Contracts when generating help documentation
  • Visual Studio integration - migrated to Async support with background load enabled. This minimizes the GhostDoc load on Visual Studio startup.
  • Support for the <inheritdoc> tag - in the XML Comments as well as the generated help documentation
  • Added VS IntelliSense file documentation output option
  • Added support for regular expression support in Dictionaries - Summary Override - enables for flexible summary generation
  • New menu and VS command - Document Project - now can generate XML Comment templates for a whole project
  • New menu and VS command - Document File Header - allows to generate/update the file header without having to re-document the file
  • Improved performance of the Document File/Type batch actions
  • Introduced the Bug Bounty program - earn a license for helping us discover and fix bugs. Learn more
  • The base web help documentation themes are now frameless. Original frame-based themes still shipped under new names
  • Retired MS Help 2 documentation output format
  • GhostDoc Community edition now requires a one-time free Community License activation after 30 days of use. Learn more
  • There are now two GhostDoc EULAs - Commercial License and Community License

Detailed changes by build:

  • Build 2019.3.19260 (September 17, 2019) (Maintenance release)
    • Added: Rule Template editor now includes Search dialog
    • Added: Help & Support\Show Extension Path menu opens the extension folder
    • Added: Help & Support\Show Settings Path menu opens the Settings folder
    • Added: Modified Constructor, Indexer, Event, Method, Property T4 templates to add "GroupSimilarExceptions" option to group (or not) exceptions when generating XML Comment
    • Fixed: Issue rendering tool windows in VS2019
    • Fixed: Tags TODO/<autogenerate /> no longer added when updating existing comment
    • Fixed: Issue when re-documenting Class after <seealso> is removed
    • Fixed: Issue documenting in VS2013 when VS2015 is installed
    • Fixed: Batch actions (Document Type, Document File) now skip methogs that have <exclude /> or <inheritdoc /> in XML comment
    • Fixed: Issue adding method parameter multiple times when re-documenting a VB property
    • Fixed: Issue with the comment previews when parentheses added to the property or field in a <see> link
  • Build 2019.2.19200 (July 19, 2019) (minor feature release)
    • Added: Support for C# 8 syntax
    • Fixed: Resolved inconsistency of rendering cref between Preview and generated docs
    • Fixed: Issue of attempting to document a .html file while using the Document Project command
    • Fixed: Incorrectly documenting an interface property when the signature is extended in the implementation
    • Fixed: Incorrectly documenting an Async method with Task return type that should be considered as void
  • Build 2019.1.19150 (May 30, 2019) (maintenance release)
    • Added: TempFolderPath setting (%TEMP% by default) to the solution config/global - changing the setting moves the temp folder when GhostDoc builds help documentation
    • Fixed: Enterprise edition registration command line tool failed to register correctly under certain circumstances
    • Fixed: Parsing issue related to Tuples in the C# syntax
    • Fixed: Issue in the older iFrame themes in MS Edge on high zoom ratios
    • Fixed: Issue with image padding in MS Help Viewer
    • Fixed: Issue with image path macro in Visual Editor
    • Fixed: Issue with image path in MS Help Viewer
    • Fixed: Issue in the Community edition resulting in Macros custom text not added in Visual Editor
    • Fixed: Issue in the Community edition - Enter key in Custom text textbox in Marcos options closing the Options dialog
    • Fixed: Issue loading configuration define constants in .NET Core project
    • Fixed: Error when invoking IntelliSense in the rule T4 template editor in VS2019
    • Fixed: Issue with Document This in VS2012
    • Fixed: Spelling error when documenting method with name Max
    • Fixed: Overriding Global settings within the Solution properties
  • Build 2019.1.19100 (Apr 10, 2019) (v2019 release)
    • Added: Support for Visual Studio 2019
    • Added: Options -> Solution -> Settings Override - New feature allowing to override any global setting at the solution level and introduce new custom solution settings that can be used in the rule templates
    • Fixed: Issue with adding notes in the Visual Editor
    • Fixed: Issue of Get/Set property overriding base XML comment
    • Fixed: Issue resulting in duplicating header XML comment
    • Fixed: Improved the Options -> Dictionaries -> " ^To(?-<pattern->.*)"
    • Fixed: Community edition property "Last word triggers an 'of the' reordering" rule where "Flag: Use value tag template?" flag wasn't working
    • Fixed: Incorrect exception summary with interpolated string as a message
    • Fixed: Parsing issue related to async local functions
  • Build 2018.2.19060 (Mar 1, 2019) (maintenance release)
    • Fixed: Visual Studio Async integration - resolved error loading GhostDoc in some versions of Visual Studio.
  • Build 2018.2.19030 (Jan 30, 2019) - minor feature release
    • Added: Visual Studio integration - migrated to Async support with background load enabled. This minimizes the GhostDoc load on Visual Studio startup.
    • Added: <inheritdoc /> tag - added Options -> Solution Options -> General -> "Use <inheritdoc /> tag for inherited comments" setting. When checked, GhostDoc will insert the <inheritdoc /> tag instead of copying the base member documentation.Note: When using the <inheritdoc /> remember it is a custom tag and you must use GhostDoc to generate help documentation and VS Intellisense files.
    • Added: <inheritdoc /> tag - modified Properties, Methods, Indexer, Event and Constructor T4 templates to insert the <inheritdoc /> tag instead of copying the base member documentation - when UseInheritdocTag setting is True.
    • Added: Encryptions within GhostDoc are now FIPS compliant.
    • Added: Abbreviations dictionary now allows abbreviations with an empty value. This enables skipping abbreviations and word parts like prefix, suffix etc.
    • Added: New XML Comment template is generated when Visual Editor opens using Ctrl-Shift-D for the member that does not have XML Comment.
    • Fixed: Improved license related error messages for clarity in Registration and Cmd utilities.
    • Fixed: Fixed parser issues in the particular Async use scenarios
    • Fixed: Issue when re-assigning shortcut to DocumentThis.
    • Fixed: Issue no scrollbar appearing in Visual Editor on high resolutions and high DPI fonts.
    • Fixed: Issue the Visual Editor inserting extra <p> tag
    • Fixed: Resolved tab indentation problem after using Autogenerate in Visual Editor.
    • Fixed: Visual Editor no longer adds extra indentation in the <code> section
    • Fixed: Visual Editor - adding Notes was not working correctly
    • Fixed: Issue with Options -> Dictionaries -> "^To(?<pattern>.*)" pattern being "greedy"
    • Fixed: Issue in GhostDoc Community with property "Last word triggers an 'of the' reordering" and "Flag: Use value tag template?"
  • Build 2018.1.18330 (Nov 26, 2018) - maintenance release
    • Added: Solution Ignore List patterns now apply to folders/path as well
    • Added: Visual Editor improvement - when add a new section (e.g. <remarks>) the focus is set inside the new tag edit field
    • Fixed: Improved performance loading solutions with node_modules by ignoring these
    • Fixed: Occasional progress indicator ("Loading...") after closing Visual Editor
    • Fixed: Issue in C++ code when using Document This with Visual Editor enabled
    • Fixed: Issue of Visual Editor ignoring the "Keep single line under X characters" option value
  • Build 2018.1.18320 (Nov 16, 2018) - maintenance update
    • Fixed: Improved GhostDoc Community edition performance
  • Build 2018.1.18310 (Nov 6, 2018) - maintenance update
    • Fixed: Improved performance and usability of the Visual Editor dialog
  • Build 2018.1.18300 (Oct 27, 2018) - maintenance release
    • Fixed: Resolved the issue of the Visual Editor not opening in GhostDoc Community in some cases
    • Fixed: No longer duplicating <summary> when running the Document Project command
    • Fixed: Issue with Visual Editor not rendering <see> or <seealso> tags correctly
    • Fixed: Updated the To{pattern} and New{pattern} entries in Options -> Dictionaries -> Summary Override - these now won't look for the pattern in the middle of the name
    • Fixed: Added "inheritdoc" into built-in dictionary - it will no longer be flagged as a misspelling
    • Fixed: Issue when adding <example> tag with a "title" attribute in Visual Editor
    • Fixed: Web documentation Classic scheme now generates correct table of content
    • Fixed: Long delays when documenting classes without a namespace (JavaScript)
    • Fixed: Issue with Document File Header command not executing for some users
    • Fixed: Issue in Visual Editor not refreshing after switching between tabs in under certain circumstances
  • Build 2018.1.18250 (Sep 7, 2018) - v2018 Release
    • Added: New documentation output format - VS IntelliSense file
    • Added: Submit Bug Bounty Report menu item
    • Added: Support for regular expression support in Dictionaries - Summary Override - enables for flexible summary generation
    • Added: Support for documenting Visual Basic event parameters
    • Added: "Document This" in the Peek Definition (Alt-F12) window
    • Added: Attributes collection to the T4.Context
    • Added: Documenting test methods and classes based on the attributes
    • Added: "Obsolete" note in the generated help documentation, preview and Visual Editor for deprecated methods (marked with the Obsolete attribute)
    • Added: Revised support/help/feedback menu structure
    • Added: Support for <ddue:linkTarget> in the *.tokens files which enables using "target="_blank"" type of links in conceptual content
    • Added: Display documentation generation progress while populating reflection.xml file - the process does not look like it "hung" on large projects
    • Added: Log error message when file declared in MediaContent.xml does not exist
    • Changed: We retired the MS Help 2 documentation output format and replaced with it the VS IntelliSense format
    • Changed: Build Help Documentation window "Clean Up" button now shows a warning when the folder to be cleaned up is a System folder
    • Changed: Replaced the "No APIs found..." message with an improved message
    • Changed: Revised Build Help File to include "protected internal" when either "Protected" or "Internal" scope is selected
    • Fixed: Resolved VS2017 Update 15.8 compatibility issue - the VS freezing when comparing two versions of a source code file
    • Fixed: Context.HasExistingTagText and Context.GetInheritedTagText are now working with custom tags
    • Fixed: Issue when parsing string interpolation
    • Fixed: Issue with spell checker in string interpolation expressions
    • Fixed: Problem documenting with a custom rule for a constructor when the caret is set on an empty line inside constructor body
    • Fixed: Tab key now navigates between cells in Options -> Acronyms
    • Fixed: Issue with Document Project generating namespace comments when Namespace Template is unchecked in GhostDoc Options -> Rules
    • Fixed: Spelling Report toolwindow lock up
    • Fixed: Modified the File Header template to use the current file name (when renamed)
  • Build 2018.1.18150 RC (May 30, 2018) - Release Candidate
    • Added: Visual Editor is now included with the free/community version of GhostDoc as well
    • Added: Introduced the Bug Bounty program - earn a license for helping us discover and fix bugs. Learn more
    • Added: The base web help documentation themes are now frameless. Original frame-based themes still shipped under new names
    • Added: Added search button in all help documentation themes
    • Added: Now prompt with guidance info when web help documentation search feature not on a server
    • Added: GhostDoc Community edition now requires a one-time free Community License activation after 30 days of use. Learn more
    • Added: Support for C# 7.2 and VB 2017 syntax
    • Changed: GhostDoc EULA has been split into Commercial License and Community License
    • Changed: Made changes to Community edition and license terms to clarify the personal use and eligibility. Learn more
    • Changed: Modified class summary template to include the "Implements" details when the class implements an interface
    • Fixed: Issue in GhostDoc Enterprise not building help documentation from command line in some cases
    • Fixed: Issue in GhostDoc Enterprise when building help file with conceptual content
    • Fixed: Issues for users with EN-NL code page in Windows
    • Fixed: "Badly formed XML comment" issue when inserting a table in the Visual Editor
  • Build 2018.0.18070 Beta 3 (Mar 9, 2018) - Compatibility Release

    VS2017 v15.6 compatibility update.

    • Fixed: Resolved VS2017 Update 15.6 compatibility issue - the "Visual Studio still loading the project." message
  • Build 2018.0.18045 Beta 3 (Feb 14, 2018) - Beta 3 refresh

    Fixed the issues reported after the initial Beta 3 release.

    • Fixed: Code Contracts XML Comment sections are now rendering in the Visual Editor and help documentation.
    • Fixed: Visual Editor improvements
      • Resolved the "Badly formed XML comment" error when regular comments are included with the <code> block in XML Comment.
      • Now properly format the line breaks forced with Shift + Enter.
  • Build 2018.0.18030 Beta 3 (Jan 30, 2018) - Beta 3 Release

    In the Beta 3, we are continuing to build out the Visual Editor features as well as improvements and fixes.

    • Added: Document Project feature - now can generate XML Comment templates for a whole project
    • Added: Support for the <inheritdoc> tag - for type members only in the XML Comments as well as the generated help documentation. This allows using the tag instead of copying the documentation from base members and synchronizing the changes.
    • Added: Visual Editor improvements
      • New command - Add Table
      • New command - Remove Table
      • New command - Add Note
      • New command - Remove Note
      • Now the tags not recognized by the Visual Editor are added back to the XML Comment when saving the edits
      • Now render the Code Contract section preview
      • A number of improvements that impact proper XML comment generation
    • Added: /cleanup switch for the command line tool - when used will delete all files and folders in the output directory before creating help documentation.
    • Added: Support for Code Contracts when generating help documentation
    • Added: Added Options -> General -> 'Keep solution properties file in the .vs folder' allowing to hide the solution properties file (<solution path>.GhostDoc.xml) in the solution's .vs folder.
    • Added: Now GhostDoc solution settings file will reload when modified externally or within another instance of Visual Studio
    • Changed: The Cleanup checkbox in the Build Help Documentation dialog has been changed to a button. Now the folder must be cleaned up manually - this is to prevent accidental file loss when the output folder picked at an incorrect location.
    • Changed: Default toolbar icon is now Build Help Documentation where previously was Comment Preview
    • Fixed: Issue with the command line tool when loading .NET Core projects in MSBuild v15.1
    • Fixed: The Enable Spell Checking command now turns on/off only the real-time spell checking
  • Build 2018.0.220 Beta 2 (Aug 8, 2017) - Beta 2 Release

    This update is recommended for VS2017 users.

    • Added: New menu item and command - Open Comment Editor - with shortcut Ctrl-Shift-E to open Visual Editor for XML Comment
    • Added: Visual Editor improvements
      • New command - Insert Image
      • New command - Add Hyperlink
      • New command - Remove Hyperlink
      • Editors for the <code> blocks with encoding for the relevant XML elements to preserve well-formed XML Comment.
      • New option to replace <p> to <para>
      • New option to keep single line if the text is less than N characters (default: 200 characters)
      • New option to replace hard space ( &nbsp;) with a regular space when the hard spaces are added by the Visual Editor
      • Resolved the issue breaking formatting of the XML Comment by adding leading tabs when using Visual Editor
      • Visual Editor is no longer showing security messages ("enable active content") when pasting from the Clipboard
      • When opening the Visual Editor now focus is in the Summary section
    • Added: New menu item and VS command - Document File Header - allows to generate/update the file header without having to re-document the file
    • Added: Progress indication for the Document File/Type batch actions with large number of the members to be documented
    • Added: Now .cshtml and .vbhtml file extensions are enabled for spell checking
    • Fixed: Improved performance of the Document File/Type batch actions
    • Fixed: Issue of missing readonly VB properties without get/set blocks when generating help documentation
    • Fixed: Issue related to the PathTooLongException when building help file - these now are attempted to get resolved automatically, and when fails GhostDoc shows a warning message
    • Fixed: No longer show Exception when previewing an empty member comment
  • Build 5.5.17181 Beta 1 (Jun 29, 2017) - v6 Beta 1 Release

    First public Beta if the new v6.x - our apologies for a bit of mess in versioning here.

Also see What's New in GhostDoc v5.x

Article ID: 60, , Modified: 3/12/2020 at 11:10 PM

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