OpenEdge ABL Formatter [](https://github.com/BalticAmadeus/AblFormatter/actions/workflows/main.yml)

March 19, 2026 · View on GitHub

VSCode extension for Progress OpenEdge ABL code formatting.

This extension uses tree-sitter-abl implementation.

Current status

The OpenEdge ABL Formatter is now available in the VS Code Extension Marketplace.

Note:

We currently recommend not using the formatter with the on save trigger.

Use formatting cautiously, especially when working with existing code that is difficult to test.

Formatter in action

Features

At the moment we implemented formatting logic for these language features:

Assign
block
body
case
enum
find
for
functionParameter
if
ifFunction
procedureParameter
property
tempTable
using
variableDefinition

Installation

Download the extension from VSCode Marketplace and install on your machine. There are no additional dependencies needed to launch this extension.

We implemented extensive settings configuration to allow users to easily tailor the experience to their needs. This might not be the case in the future. You can access the settings via VS Code settings or clicking ABL Formatter icon at the far right of an ABL files editor title bar. You can also access settings UI via the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) by typing "Formatter Settings Preview"

Settings

Property Name	Type	Default	Values list	Description
assign formatting	boolean	true	true, false	Enable/disable ASSIGN statement formatting.
assign formatting assign location	string	New	New, Same	Should first assignment be located on a new line or the same line as the ASSIGN keyword
assign formatting align right expression	string	Yes	Yes, No	Should right expression be aligned by longest one
assign formatting end dot location	string	New aligned	New, New aligned, Same	Should end dot be located on a new line or the same line as the ASSIGN keyword
find formatting	boolean	true	true,false	Enable FIND formatting
for formatting	boolean	true	true,false	Enable FOR formatting
case formatting	boolean	true	true,false	Enable CASE formatting
case formatting then location	string	Same	New, Same	Should THEN clause be on a new line or the same line as the CASE keyword?
case formatting do location	string	Same	New, Same	Should DO block be on a new line or the same line as the THEN keyword
case formatting statement location	string	New	New, Same	Should the first statement in a WHEN block be on a new line or the same line
block formatting	boolean	true	true,false	Enable block formatting
if formatting	boolean	true	true,false	Enable IF formatting
if formatting then location	string	Same	New, Same	Should THEN clause be on a new line or the same line as the IF keyword
if formatting do location	string	Same	New, Same	Should DO block be on a new line or the same line as the THEN keyword
if formatting statement location	string	Same	New, Same	Should the first statement in an IF block be on a new line or the same line
temptable formatting	boolean	true	true,false	Enable TEMP-TABLE formatting
temptable formatting end dot location	string	Same	New, Same	Should end dot be located on a new line or the same line as the last TEMP-TABLE line
using formatting	boolean	true	true,false	Enable USING formatting
using formatting from propath	string	DoNothing	DoNothing, add, remove	Should 'from propath' be added or removed in USING statements automatically
body formatting	boolean	true	true,false	Enable BODY formatting
property formatting	boolean	true	true,false	Enable property formatting
if function formatting	boolean	true	true,false	Enable IF FUNCTION formatting
if function formatting add parentheses	string	No	Yes, No	Add parentheses around the expression
if function formatting else location	string	Same	New, Same	Should ELSE clause be on a new line or the same line as the IF FUNCTION keyword
enum formatting	boolean	true	true,false	Enable ENUM formatting
enum formatting end dot location	string	Same	New, Same	Should end dot be located on a new line or the same line
variable definition formatting	boolean	true	true,false	Enable DEFINE VARIABLE formatting
procedure parameter formatting	boolean	true	true,false	Enable PROCEDURE PARAMETER formatting
function parameter formatting	boolean	true	true,false	Enable FUNCTION PARAMETER formatting
function parameter formatting align parameter types	string	Yes	Yes, No	Align parameter types
array access formatting	boolean	true	true,false	Enable ARRAY ACCESS formatting
array access formatting add space after comma	string	Yes	Yes, No	Add space after comma
expression formatting	boolean	true	true,false	Enable EXPRESSION formatting
expression formatting logical location	string	New	New, Same	Should logical operators be on a new line or the same line as the expression
statement formatting	boolean	true	true,false	Enable STATEMENT formatting
show tree info on hover	boolean	true	true,false	Enable table view with tree info on hover

Usage

Use default VSCode formatting commands:

Format Document: Formats the entire ABL document. SHIFT+ALT+F
Format Selection: Formats only the selected lines of code. CTRL+K CTRL+F

Also, you can enable or disable formatting on save:

"editor.formatOnSave": true

Allowed file extensions:

.p
.cls
.i
.w

Overriding Settings:

For development reasons, we implemented a mechanism to override formatting settings for a specific file. You can also use this feature by adding a leading comment in your code file:

Example:

/* formatterSettingsOverride */
/* {
"AblFormatter.blockFormatting": true,
"AblFormatter.assignFormatting": true
} */
def var a as integer no-undo init 1.

repeat while true:
    assign
    a = 10.
    message a.
end.

For more examples you can check out our test directory

Debugging

We implemented debug mode for looking into tree-sitter issues. You can also enable it:

First you have to format the document.
Then you can enable debug mode by pressing Abl Formater button in the Status Bar.
Hover on highlighted parts of code to get more information and see the tree view.

Debug Mode