Scribbles Documentation

Complete reference guide for Scribbles — a feature-rich text editor built with .NET 8 for Windows.

Command-Line Arguments

Scribbles supports a variety of command-line arguments for automation, scripting, and customization.

Basic Usage

Scribbles.exe [options] [file]

Help & Version

File Options

Window Options

Appearance Options

Advanced Options

Examples

# Open a file
Scribbles.exe document.txt

# Open with dark theme and specific font
Scribbles.exe --theme dark --font "Cascadia Code" document.txt

# Jump to specific line and column
Scribbles.exe --line 100 --column 20 myfile.cs

# Compare two files
Scribbles.exe --diff file1.txt file2.txt

# Start maximized with stay-on-top
Scribbles.exe --new-instance --maximized --stay-on-top

# Portable mode for USB drive
Scribbles.exe --portable --no-splash

File Management

Editing

Insert Menu

The Insert menu provides quick insertion of dates, GUIDs, random numbers, encoding operations, special characters, and file information.

Date/Time

Insert various date and time formats: ISO date (yyyy-MM-dd), US date, EU date, long date, 24h time, 12h time, ISO 8601, RFC, UTC, Unix timestamps (seconds & milliseconds).

GUID/UUID

Generate and insert GUIDs in different formats: lowercase, UPPERCASE, no hyphens, braces, parentheses, or empty GUID.

Random Numbers

Insert random integers (0-100, 0-1000, 0-1000000), random decimals, percentages, and sequences (1-10, 1-100).

Encoding/Hashing

Inline operations on selected text: Base64 encode/decode, URL encode/decode, MD5/SHA1/SHA256 hash.

Special Characters

Insert special characters: Tab, LF, CRLF, Em Dash, En Dash, Bullet, Copyright, Registered, Trademark, Degree, Plus/Minus, Arrows, Check Mark, Cross Mark.

File Info

Insert file metadata: Current File Path, File Name, Directory, User Name, Machine Name, OS Version.

View Options

Themes

Scribbles includes 18 built-in themes plus System and Custom theme support:

• Light — Clean white theme with blue accents
• Dark — Modern dark theme easy on the eyes
• Monokai — Popular dark theme with vibrant colors
• Solarized Dark — Low contrast dark theme
• Nord — Arctic, bluish color palette
• Ocean — Deep blue ocean-inspired palette
• Matrix — Green-on-black hacker aesthetic
• Sakura — Soft pink cherry blossom theme
• Rustic — Warm earthy tones
• Sepia — Classic aged paper look
• Midnight — Deep midnight blue
• Forest — Natural green forest palette
• Amber — Warm amber/orange tones
• Teal — Cool teal and cyan colors
• Terminal — Classic green terminal style
• Cosmic — Deep purple space-inspired theme
• Techy — Modern tech-inspired dark theme
• Low Contrast — Reduced contrast for eye comfort
• High Contrast — Maximum contrast for accessibility
• System — Follows Windows system theme

Custom Themes

Create your own theme via View → Theme → Customize...

Pick custom colors for background, foreground, menus, tabs, status bar, editor, and accent.

Syntax Highlighting

Automatic syntax highlighting for 25 languages:

Text Analysis

The Text Analysis menu provides tools for examining and transforming text.

Case Conversion

Convert selected text to: UPPER CASE, lower case, Title Case, camelCase, snake_case.

Line Operations

• Sort Ascending/Descending — sort lines alphabetically
• Sort by Length — sort lines by character count
• Shuffle — randomize line order
• Deduplicate — remove duplicate lines

Analysis Tools

Macros

Macros let you automate repetitive tasks by recording your keystrokes and mouse actions, then replaying them on demand. No coding required — just press record, perform your actions, and stop. For script-based automation, see Plugins.

Recording a Macro

1. Start Recording: Ctrl+Shift+M or Tools → Macros → Start Recording
2. Perform Actions: Type text, navigate, select, edit — all actions are captured
3. Stop Recording: Tools → Macros → Stop Recording
4. Save Prompt: You'll be asked to save the macro with a name

What Gets Recorded

• Text input — All characters you type
• Special keys — Enter, Tab, Backspace, Delete, arrows, Home, End, Page Up/Down
• Mouse clicks — Single, double, and triple clicks with cursor position
• Selections — Text selections made with mouse or keyboard

Playing a Macro

• Quick Play: Ctrl+M or Tools → Macros → Play Macro
• With Repeat: Open Macro Manager, set repeat count (1-1000), click Play

Managing Macros

Open Tools → Macros → Manage Macros... to view, play, save, or delete macros. Macros are stored in %AppData%\Scribbles\macros.json.

Snippets

Save and quickly insert reusable code fragments.

Creating a Snippet

Open Tools → Snippets, click New, and enter:

• Name: Descriptive name (e.g., "Console Log")
• Shortcut: Quick trigger text (e.g., "clog")
• Category: Organize by language/purpose
• Content: The actual snippet text

Snippet Variables

Bookmarks

Mark important lines for quick navigation.

Bookmarked lines show a red circle in the line number gutter and persist during the session.

Sessions

Save and restore your workspace across restarts.

What Gets Saved

• All open tabs with their file paths
• Unsaved content in untitled documents
• Cursor position and scroll position in each file
• Which tab was active

Session Commands

File Templates

Create new files from predefined templates via File → New from Template.

Tools & Extensibility Overview

Scribbles organizes its functionality into six distinct categories, each with its own top-level menu:

How They Differ

• Tools and Developer are built-in features that ship with Scribbles. Tools are everyday utilities (converters, browser, Kanban board); Developer tools target software engineers (regex, HTTP testing, database queries, network scanning).
• Macros record and replay your keystrokes and mouse actions — no coding required.
• Plugins are small scripts that take selected text as input, transform it, and return the result. They run headless with no UI.
• Extensions are C# scripts that create their own visual interface (forms, buttons, sliders). They can open as a Tab or a floating Dialog.
• Modules are compiled .NET DLLs that implement IScribblesPlugin from the Scribbles SDK. They offer the most power and can access the full .NET ecosystem.

Choosing the Right Approach

Tools Menu

The Tools menu provides general-purpose utilities for everyday tasks. For developer-focused tools, see the Developer Menu.

Utilities

Internet & Media

Productivity

Sysinternals Suite

Tools → Sysinternals — Download and launch Microsoft Sysinternals tools directly. 70+ utilities with auto-updates from official Microsoft servers.

Windows Tools

Tools → Windows Tools — Launch 50+ Windows system tools organized by category:

• System Information — System Info, Windows Version, System Properties, DirectX Diagnostics
• Device & Hardware — Device Manager, Disk Management, Display Settings, Sound Settings
• Network — Network Connections, Firewall, Network Statistics, MAC Addresses
• System Management — Services, System Configuration, Control Panel, Programs and Features
• Disk & Storage — Disk Cleanup, Disk Usage, ISO Burner
• Utilities — Character Map, Steps Recorder, Folder Tree

External Tools

Tools → External Tools — Configure and launch custom external tools with arguments and working directories.

Developer Menu

The Developer menu provides 33 specialized tools for software development. For general-purpose utilities, see the Tools Menu.

Web & API Tools

Data & Query Tools

Encoding & Conversion Tools

Network Tools

File & System Tools

Development Tools

Plugins

Plugins are lightweight scripts that process selected text. Select text, run a plugin, and the result replaces your selection — no UI, no forms, just text in → text out. Unlike Extensions (which have GUI) or Modules (which are compiled DLLs), Plugins are simple script files you can edit in any text editor.

Built-in Plugins

Plugin Types

Scribbles supports plugins written in four languages:

Plugin Manager

Open Plugins → Manage Plugins to create, edit, and delete custom plugins. Plugins are stored in %AppData%\Scribbles\Plugins\.

Creating a Plugin

1. Open Plugins → Manage Plugins
2. Click New Plugin, choose a language and name
3. Write your script — it receives selected text via stdin and outputs the result via stdout
4. Save — the plugin appears in the Plugins menu immediately

Extensions

Extensions are C# scripts that create their own visual GUI panels. Unlike Plugins (text in → text out), Extensions build interactive forms with buttons, sliders, and input fields. Unlike Modules (compiled DLLs), Extensions are editable .csx script files — no compilation step required.

Built-in Extensions

Open Modes

Each extension can open in one of two modes:

• Tab — opens within the main editor tab area, like a document
• Dialog — opens as a floating window that can be moved independently

Extension Manager

Open Extensions → Manage Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+E) to view, enable/disable, and configure extensions. Extensions are stored in %AppData%\Scribbles\Extensions\.

Creating an Extension

1. Open Extensions → Manage Extensions
2. Click New Extension
3. Write C# code that builds a WinForms Control (panels, buttons, labels, etc.)
4. The extension appears in the Extensions menu and can be opened as a Tab or Dialog

Modules

Modules are the most powerful extensibility mechanism — compiled .NET DLLs that implement the Scribbles SDK. Unlike Plugins (scripts, text-only) and Extensions (scripts with UI), Modules are full .NET class libraries that can reference NuGet packages, use any .NET API, and ship as distributable DLLs.

Built-in Modules

External Modules

Place compiled DLL modules in the Modules/ folder alongside a JSON manifest file. Scribbles discovers and loads them automatically at startup.

Scribbles SDK

Modules implement the IScribblesPlugin interface from the Scribbles.SDK class library:

• Name — display name of the module
• Description — short description
• Version — module version
• Initialize(IScribblesHost host) — initialization with host services
• CreateUI() — returns a WinForms Control for the module’s UI
• Dispose() — cleanup

Module Manager

Open Modules → Manage Modules to view loaded modules, enable/disable them, and open the modules folder.

Creating a Module

1. Create a new .NET class library project and reference Scribbles.SDK
2. Implement the IScribblesPlugin interface
3. Build the DLL and place it in the Modules/ folder with a JSON manifest
4. Restart Scribbles — the module appears in the Modules menu

Example: Word Counter Module

1. Create a .NET class library project:

dotnet new classlib -n MyWordCounter -f net8.0-windows
cd MyWordCounter
dotnet add reference ../Scribbles.SDK/Scribbles.SDK.csproj

2. Implement IScribblesPlugin in WordCounterPlugin.cs:

using Scribbles.SDK;

namespace MyWordCounter;

public class WordCounterPlugin : IScribblesPlugin
{
    public string Id => "mod-word-counter";
    public string Name => "Word Counter";
    public string Description => "Counts words in pasted text";
    public string Version => "1.0.0";
    public string Author => "Your Name";

    public Control CreateUI(IScribblesHost host)
    {
        var panel = new Panel { Dock = DockStyle.Fill, Padding = new Padding(12) };

        var input = new TextBox
        {
            Multiline = true, Dock = DockStyle.Fill,
            ScrollBars = ScrollBars.Vertical,
            PlaceholderText = "Paste or type text here..."
        };

        var label = new Label
        {
            Dock = DockStyle.Bottom, Height = 30,
            TextAlign = ContentAlignment.MiddleLeft,
            Text = "Words: 0 | Characters: 0 | Lines: 0"
        };

        input.TextChanged += (s, e) =>
        {
            var text = input.Text;
            int words = string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(text) ? 0
                : text.Split((char[]?)null,
                    StringSplitOptions.RemoveEmptyEntries).Length;
            int chars = text.Length;
            int lines = text.Split('\n').Length;
            label.Text = $"Words: {words} | Characters: {chars} | Lines: {lines}";
        };

        panel.Controls.Add(input);
        panel.Controls.Add(label);
        return panel;
    }

    public void OnActivated() { }
    public void OnDeactivated() { }
    public void Dispose() { }
}

3. Create module.json next to the built DLL:

{
    "id": "mod-word-counter",
    "name": "Word Counter",
    "description": "Counts words in pasted text",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "author": "Your Name",
    "entryDll": "MyWordCounter.dll",
    "pluginClass": "MyWordCounter.WordCounterPlugin",
    "enabled": true
}

4. Build and deploy:

dotnet build -c Release

Copy MyWordCounter.dll and module.json into the Modules/ folder, then restart Scribbles. Your module will appear under Modules → Word Counter.

Voice Features

Read Aloud (Text-to-Speech)

View → Read Aloud — Have your documents read to you with selectable voices, adjustable speed (0.2x–2x), play/pause/stop controls, and a draggable floating panel.

Dictate (Speech-to-Text)

View → Dictate — Convert speech to text with real-time transcription using Windows speech recognition. Preview text before inserting.

Preview Pane

For Markdown and HTML files, view rendered content alongside source.

• Toggle: Ctrl+Shift+V or View → Preview Pane
• Live Updates: Preview refreshes as you type (500ms debounce)
• Theme Aware: Matches your current theme
• Markdown: Headers, bold, italic, links, images, code blocks, blockquotes, lists, tables, and horizontal rules

Folder Explorer

Windows Explorer-style navigation panel. Toggle via toolbar folder icon or View → Folder View.

• Quick Access: Pin frequently used folders
• This PC: Browse all drives
• Tree Navigation: Expand/collapse folders
• Context Menu: Right-click for file operations

Integrated Terminal

Built-in PowerShell terminal. Toggle with Ctrl+` or View → Terminal.

• Full PowerShell integration
• Command history
• Resizable panel
• Theme-matched colors
• Output scrollback

Data File Viewers

Parquet Viewer

Open Apache Parquet files with data displayed in an HTML table. Shows schema information, limited to 1000 rows for performance.

Bond File Reader

View Microsoft Bond files: schema files (.bond) displayed directly, hex dump for binary Bond files with Compact Binary protocol detection.

Clipboard Viewer

Edit → Clipboard Viewer or Ctrl+Shift+V — Access last 20 clipboard entries with preview. Click to paste.

Hex Editor

Tools → Hex Editor — View binary files with side-by-side hex and ASCII display. See Hex Editor section for details.

OpenAPI / Swagger Viewer

Tools → OpenAPI / Swagger Viewer — Parse and browse API specifications. See OpenAPI Viewer section for details.

Protobuf / gRPC Viewer

Tools → Protobuf / gRPC Viewer — Visualize .proto definitions. See Protobuf Viewer section for details.

Keyboard Shortcuts

File Operations

Editing

Macros

Bookmarks

View

Navigation

Tools

Developer Tools

Screen Saver

Scribbles includes built-in full-screen screen savers with four visual effects. Access via Settings → Screen Saver.

Features

• Full-screen rendering with double-buffered graphics for smooth animation
• Prevents Windows idle/sleep using SetThreadExecutionState API
• Elapsed timer displayed at the bottom-right corner
• Exit anytime by pressing Escape, clicking the mouse, or moving the mouse

Settings

Access via Settings menu:

Auto-Save & Backup

Auto-Save

• Interval: Every 30 seconds
• Location: Documents/Scribbles folder
• Toggle: Settings → Auto-save

Auto Backup

• Configurable interval
• Stored in %AppData%\Scribbles\backups
• Automatic cleanup of old backups

System Requirements

• OS: Windows 10 or later
• Runtime: .NET 8.0
• RAM: 4GB minimum recommended
• Disk: 100MB for application

Localization

Scribbles supports 12 languages. Language is auto-detected from Windows settings.

• English (default)
• Arabic (العربية)
• Chinese (中文)
• French (Français)
• German (Deutsch)
• Hindi (हिन्दी)
• Japanese (日本語)
• Korean (한국어)
• Portuguese (Português)
• Russian (Русский)
• Spanish (Español)
• Urdu (اردو)

License

MIT License — See LICENSE file for details.