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Signature Help & Hover Documentation

← Back to Documentation Home

Get instant documentation and parameter hints for Clarion functions and methods.

Overview

The Clarion Extension provides two main documentation features:

  • Signature Help - Parameter hints when calling functions/methods
  • Hover Documentation - Information when hovering over symbols

Signature Help (Parameter Hints)

What It Does

Shows parameter information when you type an opening parenthesis:

SUB(  ← Type opening parenthesis

Pop-up shows:

SUB(string, start, <length>)

Returns a substring from a string.

Parameters:
  string - Source string
  start  - Starting position (1-based)
  length - Number of characters (optional)

When It Appears

Signature help triggers when you:

  1. Type ( after a function/method name
  2. Type , to move to next parameter
  3. Press Ctrl+Shift+Space manually

It appears for:

  • Built-in Clarion functions (310 functions)
  • Custom procedure calls
  • Class method calls (with overload support)

Built-in Functions Supported

310 Clarion built-in functions documented:

String Functions

  • SUB(string, start, <length>) - Extract substring
  • CLIP(string) - Remove trailing spaces
  • UPPER(string) - Convert to uppercase
  • LOWER(string) - Convert to lowercase
  • LEN(string) - Get string length
  • INSTRING(pattern, source, <case>, <start>) - Find substring
  • LEFT(string) - Left trim spaces
  • RIGHT(string) - Right justify
  • CENTER(string) - Center string
  • ALL(string, length) - Repeat string
  • DEFORMAT(string, picture) - Remove formatting
  • FORMAT(value, picture) - Apply formatting

Numeric Functions

  • ABS(number) - Absolute value
  • INT(number) - Integer portion
  • ROUND(number, decimals) - Round to decimals
  • SQRT(number) - Square root
  • NUMERIC(string) - Convert string to number
  • VAL(string) - String to number
  • SIN(angle), COS(angle), TAN(angle) - Trigonometry
  • LOG(number), EXP(number) - Logarithms

Date/Time Functions

  • TODAY() - Current date
  • CLOCK() - Current time
  • DATE(month, day, year) - Create date
  • DAY(date) - Extract day
  • MONTH(date) - Extract month
  • YEAR(date) - Extract year
  • AGE(date, <basedate>) - Calculate age

File I/O Functions

  • RECORDS(file) - Get record count
  • POINTER(file) - Get current position
  • EOF(file) - Check end of file
  • ERROR() - Get last error
  • ERRORCODE() - Detailed error code
  • CONTENTS(variable) - Variable address

See complete function list →

Method Overload Support

For methods with multiple signatures:

MyObj.Process(  ← Multiple overloads available

Shows:

1 of 3  ↑↓ use arrows

Process(STRING value)
Process(*STRING reference)  
Process(<STRING optional>)

Features:

  • Cycle through overloads with arrow keys
  • Shows parameter count: 1 of 3
  • Highlights current parameter
  • Automatically resolves to correct overload based on parameters

Overload Narrowing by Argument Type

When calling a function like OPEN(Window), hover shows only the overloads relevant to a WINDOW argument — not all 8 signatures. The extension infers the structureType (FILE, VIEW, WINDOW, REPORT, etc.) from the argument label and filters signatures accordingly.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Show/Hide Signature Help:

  • Ctrl+Shift+Space - Manually trigger signature help
  • Escape - Close signature help

Navigate Parameters:

  • Type , - Move to next parameter
  • Signature help updates automatically

Navigate Overloads:

  • ↑ ↓ Arrow keys - Cycle through method overloads

Hover Documentation

What It Does

Shows information when you hover mouse over a symbol:

  • Hover over procedure name → See declaration and implementation preview
  • Hover over variable → See type, scope, and location
  • Hover over built-in function → See full documentation
  • Hover over INCLUDE → Preview file contents
  • Hover over method → See signature and implementation

PROP: / PROPPRINT: / EVENT: Hover

  • Hover over any PROP: runtime property equate (e.g. PROP:Enabled) shows description, read-only badge, and usage example. Covers 336 PROP: entries and 25 PROPPRINT: entries.
  • Hover over any EVENT: equate shows category (Field-Specific / Field-Independent / DDE) and description. 63 events covered including EVENT:User.

Context-Aware Hover

HIDE, DISABLE, and TYPE show different documentation depending on context:

  • Inside a WINDOW/REPORT structure: shows the control attribute usage and PROP: equate
  • Outside: shows the statement/function usage

Hover Over Functions

Example: Hover over SUB

Shows:

SUB(string, start, <length>): STRING

Returns a substring from a string.

Parameters:
  string - Source string
  start  - Starting position (1-based)
  length - Number of characters (optional, defaults to end)

Returns:
  STRING - The extracted substring

Example:
  Result = SUB('Hello World', 7, 5)  ! Returns 'World'

Hover Over Variables

Shows variable information:

MyVar  STRING(100)  ! ← Hover here

Shows:
---
Local procedure variable: MyVar
Type: STRING(100)
Declared: Line 45
Scope: Procedure-local
---

Scope-aware:

  • Distinguishes local vs global variables
  • Shows correct scope (procedure, routine, module, global)

Hover Over Procedures

Shows both declaration and implementation:

MyProc()  ! ← Hover here

Shows:
---
MAP Declaration:
  MyProc PROCEDURE(STRING param)

Implementation: (first 10 lines)
MyProc PROCEDURE(STRING param)
CODE
  x = 10
  ! ... more lines ...
  
File: MyApp.clw (Line 234)
---

Hover Over Includes

Shows file preview:

INCLUDE('MyFile.inc')  ! ← Hover shows first 20 lines

INCLUDE('MyFile.inc', 'MySection')  ! ← Hover shows only MySection

What This Extension Does NOT Have

❌ No Auto-Complete Dropdown

This extension does NOT show:

  • Dropdown list as you type
  • Function/variable suggestions while typing
  • Auto-complete for half-typed words

Why: The extension doesn't have a CompletionProvider. It only provides documentation for functions you're already calling.

✅ What You DO Get Instead

Snippets for code structures:

  • Type IF then Tab → Full IF/THEN/END structure
  • Type VS then Tab → String variable declaration
  • 50+ code snippets available

See Snippets →

Tips & Tricks

Getting Parameter Hints

  1. Start typing function name: SUB
  2. Type opening parenthesis: (
  3. Signature help appears automatically
  4. Type parameters, use , to move to next

Quick Function Lookup

  1. Type function name (from memory or docs)
  2. Type (
  3. Read parameter hints
  4. Fill in parameters

Exploring Function Documentation

  1. Hover over any function call
  2. Read full documentation
  3. See examples and return types
  4. Press Escape to close

Remember Function Names

The extension assumes you know function names. Use:

  • Clarion Language Reference
  • Online documentation
  • Code examples

Then use signature help to remember parameters.

Troubleshooting

Signature Help Not Appearing

Check:

  1. You typed ( after function/method name
  2. Function is a recognized built-in or procedure
  3. Cursor is inside the parentheses

Try:

  • Press Ctrl+Shift+Space manually
  • Check you're in a CODE section
  • Reload window: Ctrl+Shift+P → "Developer: Reload Window"

Wrong Signature Shown

Possible causes:

  1. Function name spelled incorrectly
  2. Multiple overloads (use arrow keys to cycle)
  3. Custom procedure not properly declared

Hover Not Working

Check:

  1. You're hovering over a valid symbol
  2. Symbol is declared in scope
  3. File is part of solution

Try:

  • Hover longer (slight delay)
  • Check symbol is spelled correctly
  • Verify F12 works (same resolution system)

Related Features