Stock comments

Hotkey: A

This command allows the user to manage the so-called "stock comments" (creating, deleting, and editing them), and apply them to the listing.

Stock comments are repetitive comments that the user wishes to apply multiple times without re-typing them every time. For example, when reverse engineering C++ binaries, one expects to see the same inlined functions repeatedly: C++ binaries frequently create, destroy, and perform operations on std::string objects, and these operations are often inlined. It is useful to set comments on these inlined blocks to document their functionality and remind oneself that they have seen that code in the past, but the tedium of setting the same comments repeatedly can naturally dissuade the user from entering them. The Stock Comments feature is designed to address this tedium.

When the user brings up the Stock Comments dialog in the pseudocode (either via its hotkey, or its right-click menu item), they are initially presented with an empty dialog. They can use the Insert shortcut (or right-click menu item) to create a new comment. They can also use the Edit shortcut to change existing entries, or the Delete shortcut to remove unwanted entries. (Note that editing a comment, and then deleting the contents and saving, is treated the same as deleting the comment.)

The user can use the arrow keys to select a stock comment, and press either Enter or OK to choose it. Once chosen, it will be applied as a block comment above the current construct in the pseudocode.

Upon choosing a selection, the comment will be moved to the top of the chooser dialog, such that it will be easy to select the next time they open the dialog. The most recently-used comments are always at the top, saving the user time in navigating to them, and adapting to their usage over time.

This functionality attempts to respond intelligently if it detects that the database storage for the stock comments has become corrupted. In that case, it will display a warning message, and then attempt to recover any existing stock comments, so the user should not lose many of their existing comments. (Hopefully, this will never happen.)

See also: Edit block comment | Interactive operation