How to use Specador Documentation Generator in DVT Eclipse IDE

Overview

Using Specador from DVT IDE streamlines documentation creation and maintenance. Not only can you generate documentation straight from the IDE, but you also get an instant preview of how it looks like for various project elements.

Details

Specador, the HTML and PDF documentation generator, integrates with the DVT Eclipse IDE. Not only can you generate documentation straight from the IDE, but you also get an instant preview of how the generated documentation looks like for various project elements.

Generating Documentation

From the main menu, go to Specador and choose Generate Documentation.

In the Common tab of the wizard, you can customize the documentation:

  • title
  • author
  • copyright notice
  • output format

By default, the documentation is generated in the specador_docs directory, located within the project root.

In the Advanced tab, you can:

  • Specify a custom table of contents
  • Link extra documentation content in RST or Markdown format
  • Configure how comments are collected from source code
  • Define filters, for example, to skip third-party APIs

Select the libraries or packages you want to export in the API Selection tab.

And finally, specify what types of diagrams should be included in the documentation.

Specador Preferences XML File

All these customizations are serialized in .dvt/specador_preferences.xml and will be automatically loaded the next time you start the wizard. Alternatively, right-click on any Specador preferences XML file and go to Specador > Generate Documentation.

Previewing Documentation

To quickly get a preview of how the generated documentation looks like for the class, module, or entity you are currently working on, simply choose Show > Specador Preview from the Editor context menu. The preview is shown in a dedicated view and automatically gets updated for any new changes. For example, let's update some port description in a comment and insert a WaveDrom Timing Diagram.

You can set different preferences for the preview. For example, let's see how it looks like with a block diagram included.

Note: By using DVT IDE and Specador, you can simplify and speed up the process of creating and maintaining documentation for your project.