A list of bugs and desired features for NetBeans that we may decide to report/request at some point.
=Bug=
==Box-cursor typing bug==
`Control`+`Shift`+`R` to create a tall and zero-character-width text cursor types in "reverse".
Starting text:
```
example
text
et cetera
```
Press `Control`+`Shift`+`R` and then drag the mouse to select the beginning of the first three lines such that the box-cursor is 0 characters wide (the `|` below represents the cursor):
```
|example
|text
|et cetera
```
Type `1` and then `2`.
Expected final text:
```
12example
12text
12et cetera
```
Actual final text:
```
21example
21text
21et cetera
```
I see why this is happening but I view this as counterintuitive.
==Inconsistent white space==
In C++ code when typing `/**` then pressing enter will automatically create a comment block and populate it with parameters if you're documenting a method.
*Bug*: The white space generated is incorrectly using spaces when it should be using tabs. See the following:
This is produced:
```
/**
*
* @param node blah blah
*/
```
That is:
```
TABS/**
TABS+ONE_SPACE*
SPACES* @param node
SPACES*/
```
Expected:
```
TABS/**
TABS*
TABS+ONE_SPACE* @param node
TABS+ONE_SPACE*/
```
**Note:** The settings are set to use tabs and not spaces for tabs.
The NetBeans issue is here: https://netbeans.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=254739
=Desired Features=
==Ability to show whitespace (tabs and spaces) but not other non-printing characters==
The NetBeans issue is here: https://netbeans.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=254740
==Script in run command==
The run command seems to only be a one liner at the moment. It would be good if you could enter a full script here. The way we work around it at the moment is to write a script and execute it in the run command via a "./InstallAndRun.sh" script.
==Marked local settings and option to switch settings==
There are two `configurations.xml` files that NetBeans loads. `nbproject/configurations.xml` and `nbproject/private/configurations.xml`. I assume the latter is designed for local only settings. We don't check in anything in the private folder to our VCS for this reason.
It seems that `nbproject/private/configurations.xml` contains the run command section in the private properties. This makes sense if each developer is to have a different environment they want to configure. However it does add overhead and make projects harder to maintain if a runtime parameter change needs to be made on all development machines. We have deliberately set our environments up so that the run commands do not need to be modified between developers.
I tried moving the run settings from `nbproject/private/configurations.xml` to `nbproject/configurations.xml` but it seems as though NetBeans doesn't load those settings in this case.
**Request 1:** It would be good if project configurations that are local only are marked as such in the configuration window. This would have saved us a lot frustration trying to determine why settings weren't being transferred between developers.
**Request 2:** Make it possible to choose where settings are configured if they were originally intended to be local only. For example - the run command. If a slider (or check box) on the left of the option allowed us to switch whether the setting is stored in shared or local settings.
==Shared configuration files==
Like visual studio property sheets. A project configuration should be able to inherit settings from a set of other configuration files. This will allow for easy mass updating of project configurations.
**Request:** Add shared configuration support.
==Pre-build and post-build scripts per configuration==
At the moment pre and post build scripts need to be executed in the Makefile. If you need a configuration specific post build script to be executed you need to check the configuration name. This is cumbersome as can be trying to write a script in the Makefile.
**Request:** Allow a script to be entered in the configuration window for pre and post build events, including support for the configuration to contain the script.