Visual Studio Code

VS Code is a source code editor available for download on Windows, Linux, and macOS. The editor is fully customizable with keyboard shortcuts and extensions for different programming languages (including Python and PHP); VS Code also supports integrated source control, and has an option to automatically commit changes to a Git repository. 

The Massachusetts Archives downloaded VS Code on January 23, 2018 as part of a larger investigation into software that enables bulk editing of XML files. VS Code has an option to find and replace text strings across multiple files in the same folder. For example, Archives staff have been using this function to replace outdated fields in our descriptive metadata, such as changes to citations, within hundreds of XML documents simultaneously. Changes are made to descriptive metadata files that are then packaged with digital materials and ingested as SIPs in our Preservica digital repository.