VSCodeVim / VSCodeVim/Vim

Have command line use InputBox

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#3,602 3 comments 16 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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area/commandline kind/discussion kind/enhancement
Dominant language
TypeScript
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Forks
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Avg merge
3d 18h
Merged PRs (30d)
6

Description

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
When I press : to enter ex-mode and start typing a command, it takes a while for my eyes to scan for the location of the command. I've been using VSCodeVim for several weeks and this doesn't seem to be improving. The status bar is too small and too out of the way and the visual change is not strong enough to draw my eyes to it.

Furthermore, the cursor position is emulated in the status bar. It just looks weird and has been the subject of a few bugs.

Describe the solution you'd like
I'd like it to be way more obvious that I'm typing a command. The input for command palette is ideal; it's large, appears at the top, has borders, is an intuitive place to look. It's also modal, so cannot be affected by other plugins listening to key events.

Vim's command input was actually below the status bar, so it's not like VSCodeVim is properly emulating it anyway (though understandably so). Although I think something better should be the default, I also realise I'm fairly strongly opinionated, so would happily accept an option to change it.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by locating the existing ex-mode command input and reviewing how the extension currently renders it in the status bar. Compare that flow with the VS Code command palette/InputBox behavior described in the issue, then define the replacement or configuration option and verify that command entry is modal and visually prominent.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript, vscode
Domain
frontend
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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