So a few days ago, I began a quest to find a good XML syntax highlighter for FlexBuilder.  Up until now I have been content to limp by using Eclipse’s standard text viewer for XML files, but if I am trying to debug a huge ant script or configuration XML file, the non-colored code just doesn’t work well for me.   I am aware that there is an XML viewer built into Eclipse as well, but I hate the XML tree node viewers with a passion, so that wasn’t an option.

Finally, after screwing up a build-config.xml file because I didn’t notice a line was commented out when it shouldn’t have been, I went on a hunt for an XML syntax highlighter.  So, I got on Eclipse’s plugin site and started searching.

XMLBuddy for Eclipse

After trying a couple out, I found one that was compatible and had the features I was looking for… drum roll please… XMLBuddy!  This little buddy supports user configurable syntax highlighting for all sorts of XML tags.  It also offers XML code complete that is driven by the DTD or current document contents.  It also has a tree outline view that you can use and it even lets you generate a DTD from an example XML document.

To get it working with FlexBuilder, first go to XMLBuddy.com and select download.  Accept the agreement and choose XMLBuddy (there is also a professional version with even more features that you can pay for if you want — I decided to use the free one).  There are a few different versions of the plugin that you can use based on your version of Eclipse.  I found that 2.0.9 worked great with Flex Builder 3.  To install it, go to your FB install directory (Program Files/Adobe/FlexBuilder for PC or Applications/Adobe/FlexBuilder on Mac).  Then unzip the XMLBuddy files unto your plugins directory.

After you have installed XMLBuddy, restart Flex Builder if it is running.  Then try to open an XML file.  If it is highlighted, you are done.  If it isn’t, go to Window –> Preferences and search for “File Associations”.  Make sure that all *.xml or *.dtd files have XMLBuddy associated with them and that XMLBuddy is the default editor for these file types.  If you want to configure XMLBuddy, you can find it in Window –> Preferences –> XMLBuddy.