The Editor preferences pane collects a number of options having mostly to do with Script Debugger’s behavior as you type, as well as certain appearance settings in script windows and other windows.

Editing Options:

Auto indent. If checked, then when you create a new line in a script window by typing Return, its indentation will match the indentation of the preceding line. Otherwise, the new line will start at the left edge of the window. (AppleScript will indent properly in any case when the script is compiled.)

Auto-pair delimiters ([{" "}]). If checked, turns on Script Debugger’s auto-pairing feature.

Auto-close AppleScript blocks (end tell, etc.). If checked, turns on Script Debugger’s auto-closing feature.

Paste Object References as nested Tell blocks. If checked, then when pasting an object reference (such as you might obtain by copying from an explorer view), what’s pasted is a nest of tells. If unchecked, what’s pasted is a single line of ofs. Hold down the Option key as you choose Edit > Paste to reverse the behavior from your preference here.

Share Find string with other applications. Cocoa maintains a “Find panel pasteboard” where all applications can share their Search For text. This means that if you search for text in one application (say, Safari) and then switch to another application (say, TextEdit) and bring up the Find dialog, the very same search text is present. This behavior can be beneficial or annoying, so this checkbox lets you turn this feature on or off.

Synchronize split-view appearance. If checked, then changing a view setting in a split view pane changes the same setting for the other panes of the same script. Hold down the Option key as you change a view setting to reverse the behavior from your preference here.

Balance includes enclosing ([{ }]) delimiters. If checked, then the balance command selects everything including the delimiters surrounding the starting selection; otherwise, it selects everything enclosed by the delimiters surrounding the starting selection.

Auto-hilite opening ([{ when typing closing }]). If checked, then when you type a right delimiter, the corresponding left delimiter is momentarily highlighted (and if there isn’t one, Script Debugger beeps).

• Hilite delay. Sets the length of time during which the momentary highlighting is present.

• Scroll if necessary. If checked, Script Debugger will scroll backwards if necessary to reveal the highlighted left delimiter.

New Line Character:

Sets the line-end character that is typed in a script when you press the Return key.

Tab Width:

Sets the number of spaces to which a tab character should be equivalent. This is how far a nested block is indented in a compiled script, and how many spaces a tab character is converted to when you choose Edit > Entab.

Table Of Contents Options:

Sort table of contents menu alphabetically. If checked, the table of contents menu is sorted alphabetically. Otherwise, its order is the order in which things appear in the script. Hold down the Shift key while summoning the table of contents menu to see it sorted in the order opposite to your preference here.

Show navigation bar location when scrolling. If checked, then as you scroll a script window, a tooltip appears showing the line number of the line currently appearing at the top of the window, along with other navigation bar information about that line.

Edit > Comment Inserts:

Sets the string prefixed to the start of each selected line by the Edit > Comment command.

Background color:

Sets the background color for script windows, viewers, and the Apple Event Log window.

Cursor color:

Sets the color of the thin insertion point cursor for script windows, viewers, and the Apple Event Log window. (To set the color of a text selection comprising one or more characters, use System Preferences > Appearance > Highlight Color.)

AEPrint color:

Sets the color of AEPrint text in viewers and the Apple Event Log window (as well as a few types of Best text whose color is not set by the Fonts & Colors Preferences).

Highlight line containing insertion point. If checked, the entire line in a script window containing the insertion point is banded in yellow for greater visibility.

Highlight block when mouse hovers in gutter. Turns on or off the block highlighting feature.

Show compiled state in gutter. If checked, then a script that needs compilation has a stripy pattern in its gutter.

Font sizes:

Result/Logging. Sets the font size for viewers, explorers, the call stack, expressions, logging entries, and the browser at the top of the dictionary window. (The font size for script windows is a Fonts & Colors preference.)

Inspectors. Sets the font size for inspectors.