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# Syntax highlighting

Configure syntax highlighting in Remote Desktop Manager terminal sessions to color and emphasize keywords using regex or simple text matching rules.

Syntax highlighting is a feature found in text editors, commonly used for programming, scripting, and markup languages like HTML. It displays text, particularly source code, in various colors and fonts to differentiate and emphasize different categories of terms.

In Remote Desktop Manager, syntax highlighting applies to SSH Shell sessions. Highlighting rules are grouped in profiles. A profile is a named set of rules that can be stored locally, in the system settings of the workspace, or in an entry.

## Configure syntax highlighting profiles

Profiles can be configured in the following locations:

* Local settings: ***File – Settings – Entry types – Sessions – Terminal – Syntax highlighting***.
* System settings of the workspace: ***Administration – System settings – Application – Type settings***, in the ***Terminal - Syntax highlighting*** section.

To create a profile:

1. Open one of the locations above.
2. Click ***Add***.
3. Enter a ***Name*** and a ***Description*** for the profile.
4. Click ***Add*** to create a highlighting rule.
5. Configure the rule options, then click ***Save***.
6. Click ***Save*** to save the profile.
7. Optional: Select the profile in the ***Default profile*** list.

Profiles can be duplicated, and exported or imported in XML format with the ***Export*** and ***Import*** buttons.

## Configure syntax highlighting in an entry

In the properties of an SSH Shell entry, go to ***Terminal – Display*** and select a ***Syntax highlighting mode***.

| Mode                                  | Description                                                                         |
| ------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Default profile (local configuration) | Uses the default profile of the local settings.                                     |
| Default profile (system settings)     | Uses the default profile of the system settings.                                    |
| Linked (system settings)              | Uses the profile selected in the ***Profile*** list, from the system settings.      |
| Custom                                | Uses a profile specific to the entry. Click ***Customize*** to configure its rules. |

The entry uses only the rules of the selected profile. Rules from different profiles are not combined.

## Highlighting rule options

### General

| Option               | Description                                                                         |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Name                 | The name displayed in the rules list. If empty, the keywords are displayed instead. |
| Keyword              | The text to match. Enter one keyword per line.                                      |
| Highlighting enabled | Enable to apply the rule.                                                           |

### Style

| Option           | Description                                                                              |
| ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Background color | The color behind the text: one of the 16 ANSI colors, ***Custom*** or ***Transparent***. |
| Foreground color | The color of the text: one of the 16 ANSI colors, ***Custom*** or ***Transparent***.     |
| Bold             | Enable to display the match in bold.                                                     |
| Underlined       | Enable to underline the match.                                                           |

### Advanced

| Option               | Description                                                                               |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Use regex comparison | Enable to match the keywords as regular expressions.                                      |
| Case sensitive       | Enable to make the match case sensitive.                                                  |
| Complete word        | Enable to match whole words only. Unavailable when ***Use regex comparison*** is enabled. |

The order of the rules in the list determines their priority. Use ***Move up***, ***Move down***, ***Move to top*** and ***Move to the bottom*** to change the order.


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