MarkdownTableEditor
From idea to product

Markdown Table Editor Product Timeline

A concise path from the first Tab-to-align scenario to three published plugins, a public site, SEO, Marketplace approval, Plugin List flow, and final installation checks.

Summary

What the process produced

Markdown Table Editor became a complete product package: three platforms, a shared behavior contract, release checks, public installation channels, and a repeatable launch process.

3 plugins JetBrains IDEs, Notepad++, and VS Code with the same user model.
Core parity Java, C++, and TypeScript behavior locked by tests and golden fixtures.
Publication GitHub Releases, JetBrains Marketplace, Visual Studio Marketplace, and Notepad++ Plugin List flow.
Site and SEO A public product site, changelog, RU/EN pages, sitemap, and metadata.
Download for JetBrains Download for VS Code Download for Notepad++
Timeline

Completed steps

The condensed list below shows the main product and engineering milestones.

  1. Defined the product idea: edit Markdown tables directly in the editor.
  2. Chose the first user scenario: place the caret inside a table, press Tab, get aligned columns.
  3. Built the first JetBrains plugin and Java core for parsing and formatting Markdown pipe tables.
  4. Connected IntelliJ Platform actions through Tools, editor context menu, and search actions.
  5. Added row editing, column editing, sorting, cell navigation, table creation, and CSV/TSV conversion.
  6. Built the Notepad++ plugin and C++ core.
  7. Introduced the parity rule: Java and C++ core behavior must stay equivalent.
  8. Created shared golden fixtures and CI checks for edge cases such as escaped pipes, CJK width, emoji, and malformed tables.
  9. Added Gradle packaging for JetBrains and MSBuild packaging for Notepad++ x86, x64, and ARM64.
  10. Designed a keyboard model around Tab and Ctrl+Alt+Shift shortcuts.
  11. Ran keyboard-only, UI automation, and real-window smoke checks in JetBrains IDEs and Notepad++.
  12. Prepared README, marketplace assets, compliance files, icons, and GIF demos.
  13. Built the public site with real product visuals, download links, changelog, responsive layout, sitemap, robots, and structured metadata.
  14. Localized public materials and plugin UI for popular languages.
  15. Published GitHub Releases, uploaded the JetBrains Marketplace package, and submitted the Notepad++ Plugin List update.
  16. Verified fresh installation from JetBrains Install Plugin from Disk... and Notepad++ packaged ZIP.
  17. Re-tested Tab alignment, menu actions, CSV/TSV conversion, sorting, and shortcuts after installation.
  18. Documented the release process and maintenance rules in the project documentation.
  19. Built the third product: a Visual Studio Code extension with a TypeScript core verified against the same golden fixtures as the Java and C++ implementations.
  20. Ported the contextual Tab behavior, registered the commands in the Command Palette, and kept the shared Ctrl+Alt+Shift shortcut scheme.
  21. Confirmed that the extension runs in untrusted and virtual workspaces with no telemetry and no network calls.
  22. Prepared RU/EN documentation, a real GIF demo, a VSIX package with checksums, and GitHub build attestations.
  23. Published the extension in Visual Studio Marketplace as Markdown Table Editor Plus, since Marketplace requires a globally unique display name and the plain one was taken.
  24. Added the third edition to the site: product card, documentation, changelog, and SEO metadata.