Controlling Word Wrap in Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a powerful and versatile code editor. When working with files, especially those containing long lines like Markdown files, managing line wrapping is crucial for readability and avoiding horizontal scrolling. This tutorial will guide you through the methods to enable, disable, and customize word wrap within VS Code.

What is Word Wrap?

Word wrap (also known as soft wrap) is a feature that automatically breaks long lines of text at word boundaries to fit within the visible width of the editor. This prevents horizontal scrolling, making the code or text easier to read. Without word wrap, long lines will extend beyond the visible area, requiring the user to scroll horizontally to view the entire line.

Enabling and Disabling Word Wrap

VS Code offers several ways to toggle word wrap:

• Using the Menu: Navigate to View in the menu bar and select Toggle Word Wrap. This is the most direct approach.
• Using the Command Palette: Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows/Linux or Cmd+Shift+P on macOS). Type "Toggle Word Wrap" and select the command from the list.
• Using Keyboard Shortcuts: The default keyboard shortcut for toggling word wrap is Alt+Z (Windows/Linux) or Option+Z (macOS).
• Through Settings: You can permanently enable or disable word wrap by modifying the VS Code settings. Open the settings (File > Preferences > Settings, or Ctrl+, / Cmd+,). Search for “editor.wordWrap”. You can set it to:
  • "off": Disables word wrap.
  • "on": Enables word wrap.
  • "wordWrapColumn": Enables word wrap at a specific column number. This option is less common now.
  • "bounded": Wraps lines at the viewport width.

Customizing Word Wrap Behavior

VS Code provides options to further customize the word wrap behavior:

• editor.wordWrapColumn: While less commonly used in favor of the simpler "on" setting, you can specify a column number at which lines should wrap. If set to 0, VS Code will use the viewport width.
• editor.wrappingIndent: This setting controls how the wrapped lines are indented. The default setting is generally suitable, but you can adjust it if needed for specific formatting requirements.

Using Settings.json

For advanced customization, you can directly edit the settings.json file. This file allows you to define all VS Code settings in a structured format. To open settings.json, open Settings (File > Preferences > Settings) and click "Open Settings (JSON)" in the top-right corner. Then, add or modify the following lines:

{
    "editor.wordWrap": "on",
    "editor.wrappingIndent": "none" // or "same" or a number of spaces
}

Benefits of Using Word Wrap

• Improved Readability: Eliminates horizontal scrolling, making code and text easier to scan and understand.
• Increased Productivity: Reduces eye strain and allows you to focus on the content rather than constantly scrolling.
• Better Code Review: Makes it easier to review code changes without getting lost in long lines.

By mastering these methods, you can tailor VS Code’s word wrap functionality to suit your coding style and preferences, resulting in a more efficient and enjoyable coding experience.