C# 2.0 has Surround With command that enables you to wrap the selected code inside a if, for, foreach, while, #if (and a few mode) blocks. Some of the options are virtually useless - for example, I'd never wrap a piece of code in a class, interface, or enum block - but all in all it's a very handy command. Actually, it is so convenient that I decided to create a set of Visual Studio macros that add the same functionality to Visual Basic (both 2003 and 2005 editions) and C# 2003.

To install and use the macros listed below, add the following module to the Macro IDE, go back to Visual Studio, select a piece of code, open the WrappingMacros element in the Macro Explorer window, and double-click the macro you want to apply. In some cases, after applying the macro you'll also need to edit the generated code, for example to insert a condition in the If statement or the name of the #region you've created. Also, if you are working with C# you should manually reformat the selected code (by typing Ctrl+K, Ctrl+F), because for some reason the Edit.FormatSelection command works only in Visual Basic.

Even better, you should associate the macros you like most with a keyboard shortcut, so that you can apply the macro without opening the Macro Explorer window. If you need to list which shortcuts are available, have a look at yesterday's post.

Imports System
Imports EnvDTE

Public Module WrappinglMacros

   ' --------------------------------------------------------------------
   ' Wrap the selected code inside IF, TRY, etc.
   ' --------------------------------------------------------------------

   Public Sub WrapIf()
      WrapCode("WrapIf", "If True Then\n$sel$End If\n", "if ( true )\n{\n\t$sel$}\n")
   End Sub

   Public Sub WrapIfElse()
      WrapCode("WrapIfElse", "If True Then\n$sel$Else\n\nEnd If\n", "if ( true )\n{\n\t$sel$}\nelse\n{\n}\n")
   End Sub

   Public Sub WrapTryCatch()
      WrapCode("WrapTryCatch", "Try\n$sel$Catch ex As Exception\n\nEnd Try", _
         "try\n{\n$sel$}\ncatch (Exception ex)\n{\n}\n")
   End Sub

   Public Sub WrapTryFinally()
      WrapCode("WrapTryFinally", "Try\n$sel$Finally\n\nEnd Try", "try\n{\n$sel$}\nfinally\n{\n}\n")
   End Sub

   Public Sub WrapTryCatchFinally()
      WrapCode("WrapTryCatchFinally", "Try\n$sel$Catch ex As Exception\n\nFinally\n\nEnd Try", _
         "try\n{\n$sel$}\ncatch (Exception ex)\n{\n}\nfinally\n{\n}\n")
   End Sub

   Public Sub WrapRegion()
      WrapCode("WrapRegion", "#Region ""RegionName""\n\n$sel$\n#End Region", _
         "#region RegionaName\n\n$sel$\n#endregion")
   End Sub

   Public Sub WrapSharpIf()
      WrapCode("WrapSharpIf", "#IF True Then\n\n$sel$\n#End If", "#if true\n\n$sel$\n#endif")
   End Sub

   Public Sub WrapFor()
      WrapCode("WrapFor", "For index As Integer = startIndex To endIndex\n$sel$Next", _
         "for (int index = startIndex; i <= endIndex; index++)\n{\n$sel$}\n")
   End Sub

   Public Sub WrapForEach()
      WrapCode("WrapForEach", "For Each obj As Object In collection\n$sel$Next", _
         "foreach (object obj in collection)\n{\n$sel$}\n")
   End Sub

   Public Sub WrapWhile()
      WrapCode("WrapWhile", "Do While True\n$sel$Loop", "while (true)\n{\n$sel$}\n")
   End Sub

   Public Sub WrapDoWhile()
      WrapCode("WrapDoWhile", "Do\n$sel$Loop While True", "do\n{\n$sel$} while ( true );\n")
   End Sub

   Public Sub WrapNamespace()
      WrapCode("WrapNamespace", "Namespace NamespaceName\n$sel$End Namespace", _
         "namespace NamespaceName\n{\n$sel$} // end of namespace")
   End Sub

   Public Sub WrapSelect()
      WrapCode("WrapSelect", "Select Case expression\nCase 0\n$sel$Case 1\nCase Else\nEnd Select\n", _
         "switch ( expression )\n{\n\tcase 0:\n\t\tbreak;\n\tcase 1:\n\t\tbreak;\n\tdefault:\n\t\tbreak;\n}\n")
   End Sub

   Public Sub WrapSyncLock()
      WrapCode("WrapIf", "SyncLock lockObject\n$sel$End SyncLock\n", "lock ( lockObject )\n{\n\t$sel$}\n")
   End Sub

   ' Helper method that replaces the selection with the specified templated text.
   ' The template can include $sel$ (the selected code) and escape sequences such as \r\n, \t
   Private Sub WrapCode(ByVal cmdName As String, ByVal vbTemplate As String, ByVal csTemplate As String)
      ' Determine the current language by looking at the extension of the current document.
      Dim doc As Document = DTE.ActiveDocument
      If doc Is Nothing Then Exit Sub
      Dim docName As String = doc.Name.ToLower()
      Dim sel As TextSelection = DirectCast(DTE.ActiveDocument.Selection, TextSelection)
      If sel Is Nothing Then Exit Sub

      ' Open an undo context.
      DTE.UndoContext.Open(cmdName)
      ' Retrieve the selected text, append a newline if necessary.
      Dim selText As String = sel.Text
      If Not selText.EndsWith(ControlChars.NewLine) Then selText &= ControlChars.NewLine

      ' Wrap the selected text, using either the VB or the C# command
      Dim template As String
      If docName.EndsWith(".vb") Then
         template = vbTemplate
      ElseIf docName.EndsWith(".cs") Then
         template = csTemplate
      End If

      ' Replace CR-LF, tabs, and the selected text
      Dim newText As String = Regex.Unescape(template).Replace("$sel$", selText)
      ' Reselect the text just added and format it. (Doesn't work in C#.)
      Dim ep As EditPoint = sel.TopPoint.CreateEditPoint()
      sel.Text = newText
      sel.MoveToPoint(ep, True)
      DTE.ExecuteCommand("Edit.FormatSelection")
      ' Close the undo context.
      DTE.UndoContext.Close()
   End Sub

End Module