Issue #27 (Using JSON Settings)10/26/22
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The fact that VS Code allows you to use two different methods to view and edit your VS Code settings is pretty cool. For those who want a straightforward mostly-visual UI that's similar to changing settings in your device's operating system,
the default Settings UI is a good choice.
For those who are more into the 'hacking' aspect of changing settings in VS Code,
the JSON settings are the way to go. I know some of you might be hesitant to go the JSON route, but it's actually not that difficult to use. Some might say it's a little more intuitive.
One of the things you might like about the regular Settings UI is the fact that each setting has a nice description that tells you exactly what the setting does. It's also useful that you can hover over any setting option and you'll see a description of what that value does.
In the screenshot above, the "alt" option is selected by default for the Multi Cursor Modifier on Windows. I've hovered over the ctrlCmd option and the drop-down window offers a description of that option.
That's certainly useful to have all that info available as you adjust various settings. But what about the view in the JSON settings? Well, no need to fret because
you still get the same info on the left side of the JSON split view:
As shown above, the main description along with the description for each of the available options for that setting are inside code comments in the JSON. Of course, this isn't as neat and easy to read as the description in the Settings UI. But in a way it's a little better because the value descriptions are right there — no need to hover over them to see what they do.
The one way the JSON settings can come in handy, even for those who mainly use the Settings UI, is
when you want to see what settings have generally been changed. If you scroll through your Settings UI, you'll see that any settings that aren't set to their default value will have a blue stripe on the left, indicating that they've been changed.
One way you can see all your changed settings in a single place is by opening up the JSON settings split view. All your custom settings will be listed in the right pane. I should also point out that the JSON view will also include any settings you've explicitly entered that are set to the default.
Usefully, if you can't remember what a particular setting in the right pane was for, you can hover over it in the JSON view and you'll get the settings description in a tool tip.
In the above screenshot, I've hovered over the
editor.fontLigatures setting, which displays the same description that appears in the left pane or in the Settings UI.
And one final note: Probably the most efficient way to view all your modified settings (i.e. non-default values) is in the Settings UI. Type "@modified" in the search bar at the top and this will display all non-default settings (i.e. ones that have the blue stripe on the left).
