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Editor Experience Release (November-2024, V-3.10) is now Live

ยท 2 min read
Arun Bose
Maintainer of Phoenix and Brackets code editors
Charly P Abraham
Maintainer of Phoenix and Brackets code editors
Devansh Agarwal
Phoenix Code Developer
Phoenix Code Bot
Our little elf who keeps the whole place together

November release(3.10) of Phoenix Code is now available for download at phcode.io.

This month's core theme is Editor UI improvements. We have fine-tuned the editing experience for better performance and visual feedback. We've also made substantial improvements to docs.phcode.dev to better support extension developers.

Indent Guide Linesโ€‹

Phoenix Code now supports indent guidelines to help you better visualize code structure. This feature can be toggled via View > Indent Guide Lines. Read more...

image

Customizable Editor Line Heightโ€‹

Theme Settings (View > Themes...) now has a new Line Height slider. Adjust the editor line height between 1x and 3x to find your perfect balance of readability and screen real estate. Read more...

Also added a Get More... button to the Themes dialog, linking directly to the themes section in Extension Manager.

image

Line:Col Indicator Relocationโ€‹

Moved to the right of the status bar, accommodating future status bar extensions. Click on the line:col section in the statusbar to jump to specific lines.

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Performance Tweaksโ€‹

Stability Improvementsโ€‹

Documentation Updatesโ€‹

Our documentation site - docs.phcode.dev has received a major overhaul:

All changesโ€‹

Please see this link for a full list of changes in GitHub.

A Request from the Phoenix Team:โ€‹

With gratitude,

The Phoenix Team

HTML Workflows and stability Release (September-2024, V-3.9) is now Live

ยท 3 min read
Arun Bose
Maintainer of Phoenix and Brackets code editors
Charly P Abraham
Maintainer of Phoenix and Brackets code editors
Kiran Bose
Community Contributor
Devansh Agarwal
Phoenix Code Developer
Jozsef
Community Contributor
acemi1
Community Contributor
Phoenix Code Bot
Our little elf who keeps the whole place together

September release(3.9) of Phoenix Code is now available for download at phcode.io.

This month's core theme is App robustness and stability improvements. We have also added several HTML and Text Editing workflow improvements.

Now Available on ChromeOSโ€‹

All new native ChromeOS app is now available on the Google Play Store. The ChromeOS app is a highly requested feature and is specially made for education and student use.

google play icon (1)

Auto rename start and end of HTML/XML/SVG tagsโ€‹

Automatically rename paired HTML/XML/SVG tags as you type at the start or end of the tag. Read more...

tag sync

Auto Tab and Spacing detectionโ€‹

Phoenix Code can now automatically detect and apply the indentation style (tabs or spaces) based on the existing code in the file. Read more...

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UX Improvementsโ€‹

Stability Improvementsโ€‹

Update on Release Scheduleโ€‹

In the past, we've released Phoenix Code updates on a monthly basis. However, last month we encountered an issue with our release that led to stability problems for our users.

To address this, we've taken a step back to reevaluate our release process and make improvements to ensure greater robustness and reliability going forward.

As a result, we've decided to slow down the desktop release schedule to once every two months. This will allow us to thoroughly test each update and deliver a more stable experience.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by the previous release and appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to improve the quality of Phoenix Code.

We look forward to bringing you new features and improvements in a more controlled and reliable manner.

A Request from the Phoenix Team:โ€‹

With gratitude,

The Phoenix Team

Critical Update + HTML Helpers Release (June-2024, V-3.8) is now Live

ยท 2 min read
Arun Bose
Maintainer of Phoenix and Brackets code editors
Charly P Abraham
Maintainer of Phoenix and Brackets code editors
Phoenix Code Bot
Our little elf who keeps the whole place together

June release(3.8) of Phoenix Code is now available for download at phcode.io.

This update addresses a critical issue where Phoenix Code crashes in M1 Macs at app start after a recent macOS update. Also fixes app start issues in some newer Linux distributions with latest webkitGTK.

This month's theme is all about HTML assistance, Drag and Drop and ESLint. We've also addressed numerous feature requests and bug reports, along with improving app UX and stability.

HTML Validationโ€‹

We have added HTML Validator to help you find errors like duplicate IDs, unrecognized tags, and more. Read more here.

HTML validate

Drag and Drop Files and Folders in Desktop Apps - Experimentalโ€‹

Drag files from Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) and drop them into Phoenix Code to open individual files. Drop a folder to open it as a project.

Note: This feature is currently disabled on Linux due to UI issues in some Linux distributions. To enable it, select menu Debug -> Experimental Features -> Drag And Drop Files.

This feature is not yet available in the browser version @ phcode.dev

drag and drop

ESLint Supportโ€‹

All new and simplified ESLint experience that displays all ESLint errors in a file. Fix one or all errors with a single click. To enable, open a project that uses ESLint in Phoenix Code. Read more here.

image

UX Improvementsโ€‹

  • Non-Intrusive Automatic Updates: Updates are now installed in the background with no more distracting dialogs when an update is available.
  • Case-Sensitive File Renaming: Renaming files to a different case, such as a.txt to A.TXT, is now supported.
  • File > New Project is now renamed to Start Project.
  • Increased stability and app startup experience.

A Request from the Phoenix Team:โ€‹

With gratitude,

The Phoenix Team

Little Things Release (May-2024, V-3.7) is now Live

ยท 2 min read
Arun Bose
Maintainer of Phoenix and Brackets code editors
Charly P Abraham
Maintainer of Phoenix and Brackets code editors
Phoenix Code Bot
Our little elf who keeps the whole place together

May release(3.7) of Phoenix Code is now available for download at phcode.io.

This month's release is all about Live previews and the little things that make your work just a bit easier. We've also addressed numerous feature requests and UX bug reports, along with improving app UX and stability.

Live CSS Class and Style Code Hintsโ€‹

Interactively edit CSS styles and classes using the up/down arrow keys in code hints. This is available in CSS files and inline CSS styles/class names in HTML files. This provides an instant boost to your HTML and CSS workflows.

classLiveHints

CSS/HTML Code Hints improvementsโ€‹

Improved relevance of suggestions in CSS and HTML code hints. For E.g., typing b in a CSS file will prioritize background-color. Typing between will bring up relevant CSS property-value combinations like align-content: space-between; (see image below), so you don't have to remember which value is under which CSS property.

image

Move to trash/bin when deleting filesโ€‹

Deleting files from the files panel in desktop apps will move the file/folder to trash/recycle bin instead of permanently deleting it.

UX Improvementsโ€‹

  • Deleting the Phoenix Code folder in user Documents directory is now supported.
  • Increased stability and app startup experience.
  • Copy Error Message button is now available in the problems panel.

image

A Request from the Phoenix Team:โ€‹

With gratitude,

The Phoenix Team

April-2024 Release (V-3.6) is now Live

ยท 2 min read
Arun Bose
Maintainer of Phoenix and Brackets code editors
Charly P Abraham
Maintainer of Phoenix and Brackets code editors
Andrew Young
Community Contributor
Faizan Bhagat
Community Contributor
Phoenix Code Bot
Our little elf who keeps the whole place together

April release(3.6) of Phoenix Code is now available for download at phcode.io.

This month's upgrade is big! with a lot of features you asked for - PHP/Custom live preview servers, advanced CSS/LESS/SCSS/HTML code intelligence and tooling, UX and app stability improvements.

Custom Live Preview Serversโ€‹

Preview PHP, React, and other dynamically rendered files with the new server settings dialog. Read more at Live Preview Settings Docs.

Screenshot from 2024-04-12 13-08-34

HTML Code Intelligenceโ€‹

CSS class hints are now shown within the HTML file's class attribute.

image

Advanced CSS Toolingโ€‹

Support for the latest CSS/LESS/SCSS syntax. Code intelligence and error detection for CSS, SCSS, and LESS files.

image

Reverse CSS Highlightingโ€‹

Clicking an element in the live preview now highlights its selector in the source CSS file editor.

Reverse CSS Highlighting gif

Editor Rulersโ€‹

Add multiple, color-customizable rulers in the editor to better visualize line lengths. Read more...

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Open Live Preview in any Browserโ€‹

Direct buttons to open live previews in Chrome, Edge, Safari, and Firefox.

image

Docusaurus Supportโ€‹

Live preview docusaurus.io based markdown documentation server.

UX Improvementsโ€‹

Increased stability and more predictable live preview behavior.

Community Contributionsโ€‹

  1. Changes to files and folders made externally are now automatically synced in the Browser version of Phoenix Code. (view change) - By Andrew Young, Faizan Bhagat

A Request from the Phoenix Team:โ€‹

With gratitude,

The Phoenix Team

March-2024 Release (V-3.5) is now Live

ยท One min read
Arun Bose
Maintainer of Phoenix and Brackets code editors
Charly P Abraham
Maintainer of Phoenix and Brackets code editors
Kiran Bose
Community Contributor
Phoenix Code Bot
Our little elf who keeps the whole place together

The March release(3.5) of Phoenix Code is now available for download at phcode.io. This month's update improves support for large projects, Find in Files, and app stability.

Inline HTML Number Dialsโ€‹

You can now use number dials in inline HTML styles, not just in CSS files.

image

Search Filters - Advanced Find in Filesโ€‹

All new search filters to find exactly what you want. Search in files or Exclude files matching the given pattern instantly.

new find in files

Other Improvementsโ€‹

  • Projects with very large number of files can now be opened.
  • Performance improvement when opening minified CSS/JS files and other formats with very long lines.
  • Added support for beautifying SCSS, SASS, LESS, TSX, and JSX files. The beautification feature now preserves the cursor position.
  • Improved startup speed and overall app stability.
  • Bug fixes and improvements to new project dialog.

A Request from the Phoenix Team:โ€‹

With gratitude,

The Phoenix Team

Introducing Phoenix Code Desktop- Now on Windows, Mac & Linux

ยท 3 min read
Arun Bose
Maintainer of Phoenix and Brackets code editors
Charly P Abraham
Maintainer of Phoenix and Brackets code editors
Kiran Bose
Community Contributor
Mathew Dennis
Quality Control & Social Media
Phoenix Code Bot
Our little elf who keeps the whole place together

We're thrilled to share a huge update with you all today - Phoenix Code native apps are officially here! ๐ŸŽ‰ . Get your copy from phcode.io !

We have been working hard over the last several months to make native apps possible. It took a lot of effort and perseverance with our limited resources to reach this far. We hope to have your support in doing more :)

With this update, Phoenix Code can now run almost anywhere! Native apps are available for Windows, Mac and most Linux distributions. For Chrome-OS and other platforms, simply use the web browser version; no install needed.

Looking Backโ€‹

The team building Phoenix Code started its history as some of the initial team members building Brackets at Adobe from 2014. Phoenix Code took over the full time development of Brackets in 2021. We had a mammoth task to bring Brackets up to date with the latest web technologies. The result was Phoenix Code- A Platform rewrite of Brackets that allowed it to run on any Web Browser. But our users were pretty clear that a desktop app was needed.

It was at this time that this hot new rust based tech called Tauri framework came into the picture and we finally had the missing piece to build a truly modern and light-weight desktop app. Fast forward to 2024 and Phoenix Code now runs almost anywhere(almost as we are one step short with touch and mobile screens).

Phoenix Code marks the first large-scale, truly independent release from the Brackets community. Entirely homegrown within the community, it is also the largest engineering effort put into Brackets since 2015 (including Adobe).

Acknowledgementsโ€‹

This release is made possible by the Phoenix Code Team- Arun, Charly and Mathew. Our shiny new website phcode.io is built by community contribution from Kiran.

We would also like to thank the S-tier community support provided by the Tauri development team, esp. Fabian.

Looking Aheadโ€‹

Our guiding principle is to make coding as intuitive and fun as playing a video game - for web developers, designers, and students.

With the native apps now available, we're starting the next phase of our journey. Beginning this month, there will be a new update of Phoenix Code released every month with all the features that you requested and more.

However, our ambitions come with costs, and it's your support that makes all the difference.

How You Can Support:โ€‹

We're grateful for the incredible support this community has shown us so far. Let's continue to make Phoenix Code even better, together.

With gratitude,

The Phoenix Team