Writing ReSharper 4.5.x Macros

While working on the MVC Marathon, I decided to try out ReSharper and write some good templates to make my time unit testing in ASP.NET MVC a little quicker. I soon realized that I needed a macro that would turn the unit test class name (HomeControllerTests) into the name of the controller being tested (HomeController).

Since ReSharper only has a few macros that will make copies of other template variables, I started scouring the internet for clues and found this post. It’s a little outdate for ReSharper for 4.5, so here’s what I had to do to make my custom macro.

You can download the source or fork your own on GitHub.

Creating the Macro

1. Create a new C# class library project.


2. Add references to the following dlls:
   

   JetBrains.Platform.ReSharper.UI.dll
   
   JetBrains.ReSharper.Feature.Services.dll

3. Add a new class to your project and mark it with the Macro attribute and implement the IMacro interface:
   

   using System;
   
   using System.Collections.Generic;
   
   using System.Text.RegularExpressions;
   
   using JetBrains.ReSharper.Feature.Services.LiveTemplates.Macros;
   
   using JetBrains.ReSharper.Feature.Services.LiveTemplates.Hotspots;
   
   
   
   namespace ChrisLaco.ReSharper.Macros
   
   {
   
       // {#0:pattern}, etc are arguments that are passed to EvaluateQuickResult arguments[]
   
       [Macro(“applyRegex”, ShortDescription = “Replace string matching {#0:pattern} with {#1:string} in {#2:variable}”, LongDescription = “Applies regex to replace value in another template variable.”)]
   
       class ApplyRegexMacro : IMacro
   
       {
   
           #region IMacro Members
   
   
   
           public string EvaluateQuickResult(IHotspotContext context, IList<string> arguments)
   
           {
   
               if (arguments.Count != 3)
   
               {
   
                   return null;
   
               }
   
               else
   
               {
   
                   try
   
                   {
   
                       // Using the regex argument, replate the value of the specified template variable with the specified string
   
                       var result = Regex.Replace(arguments2, arguments0, arguments1, RegexOptions.IgnoreCase);
   
   
   
                       return result;
   
                   }
   
                   catch (Exception e)
   
                   {
   
                       return “<” + e.Message + “>”;
   
                   }
   
               }
   
           }
   
   
   
           public HotspotItems GetLookupItems(IHotspotContext context, IList<string> arguments)
   
           {
   
               return null;
   
           }
   
   
   
           public string GetPlaceholder()
   
           {
   
               return “a”;
   
           }
   
   
   
           public bool HandleExpansion(IHotspotContext context, IList<string> arguments)
   
           {
   
               return false;
   
           }
   
   
   
           // Must return the same # of parameters declared in the Macro
   
           public ParameterInfo[] Parameters
   
           {
   
               get
   
               {
   
                   return new[] { new ParameterInfo(ParameterType.String), new ParameterInfo(ParameterType.String), new ParameterInfo(ParameterType.VariableReference) };
   
               }
   
           }
   
   
   
           #endregion
   
       }
   
   }

4. In AssemblyInfo.cs, apply assembly attributes for the ReSharper plugin manager:
   

   using System.Reflection;
   
   using System.Runtime.InteropServices;
   
   using JetBrains.UI.Application.PluginSupport;
   
   
   
   [assembly: PluginTitle(“ChrisLaco.ReSharper.Macros”)]
   
   [assembly: PluginDescription(“Provides additional template macros: ApplyRegexMacro.”)]
   
   [assembly: PluginVendor(“Christopher H. Laco”)]

   
   This information will be displayed in the ReSharper -> Plugins dialag:
   
   
5. To install plugin, simply copy the compiled dll into one of the follow directories:
   

   C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\JetBrains\ReSharper\v4.5\vs9.0\Plugins
   
   C:\Program Files\JetBrains\ReSharper\v4.5\Bin\Plugins

Using the Macro

1. Select the macro from the list of available macros:
2. Click on the macro variables to set them:
3. Finish up the template text and savr your changes: