Dynamic, real-time code documentation on IntelliJ with Predlab
Tags: intellij, predlab, teamworks, documentation
Published: 2020-06-28 12:58:49

Hello fellow devs!

The struggle we face as developer - in different extents :) - :

I always found it stressful to join existing/legacy projects, tracking down overrides, unused code snippets (especially UI-related methods), and switching between my editor and countless PDFs/links to look for documentations/diagrams/mockups.

[Predlab Plugin](https://predlab.com/) is probably handy for you if one (or many) of these sound familiar:

* “It has been a while since I have worked on this project, I have no idea what this piece of code does”
* “This code base is a mess, what was the person who wrote it thinking?”
* “Hey *colleague’s name*, is this method still needed?”
* “I think I modified the wrong line/file, my changes do not appear when I run”
* “Can someone send me the mockup again?”

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Here is the approach I took to make knowledge transfer and documentation a tad easier by creating this Plugin.

# A richer, integrated documentation

Predlab makes documentation **richer** with the ability to document code with links, images, videos, mainly any markdown-supported content, and third party integration.

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/6qwfn6s26ikf0e2fmg7p.png)

By integrating the annotations into the IDE, the different parts of code will make a lot more sense with less effort! Also, as they say, an image is a worth a thousand words. 


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# Dynamic and Real-time

Updating comments requires checking out the source code and pushing the changes so it can be available for the rest of the team. Or having the permission to access/modify the file if we are talking about a diagram/mockup.

What if we make it that a bit easier?

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/mqsn228da8kop5c46d3e.png)

The annotations of are synchronized in real-time to everyone in the team.



![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/b8g3wlmk9hwrxsj2ye0g.png)

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# Collaborative and Accessible

The documentation is always available and can be synced to the different work stations/machines.

It is easy to also get invited to join a an existing workspace to get instant access to team mates annotations and activity!


![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/5tpzjxppbfb7dj6ehkn9.png)

No access to an IDE, not a programmer, no access to VCS? no problem. Predlab Web Console allows all team members to update and manage their workspaces from any web browser.



![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/8arztnvljb88kb94t2l2.png)


Predlab Web Console features can be [found Here](https://support.predlab.com/console/introducing-predlab-web-console/).


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# Privacy

**Private workspace access**

With Predlab, developers can create "workspaces" for their projects and invite team mates to join them. The annotations are only visible to the added team members.


![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/sav00i9rbl2ybucwqsi7.png)



**Sandbox Mode**

For those who want to keep it to themselves, or don't want their documentation to be synced with a server. No worries! Predlab has Sandbox Mode where documentation is saved in a local database and can be shared with team mates via VCS like any other file!

![Alt Text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/eyaotplg7mv6thdz3slx.png)



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# You can discover More features on [Predlab website](https://predlab.com/) and [Features Guide](https://predlab.com/guide/)