About Visual Studio Code (VS Code)

Visual Studio Code, or VS Code, is a free and open source editor maintained by Microsoft and primarily developed by Microsoft. It is clear that Microsoft has committed considerable resources to its development and maintenance with no indication that it plans to reduce that commitment any time soon. VS Code is widely used by developers and others around the world using a variety of programming languages and data formats.

Download and Install VS Code

1. In your browser navigate to the Visual Studio Code Download page.

2. Download the appropriate version and install it.

Open

Install PlantUML Extension

1. Launch VS Code.

2. In VS Code’s menu, click on View | Extensions.

3. In the Extensions search box, type PlantUML.

4. Click on the search result PlantUML by jebbs.

5. Click on the green Install button.

6. Close the Extension: PlantUML tab by clicking on the x.

Open

Open Folder in VS Code and Create File

1. Create a folder in your file system called diagrams. (You are welcome to call the folder something different, but this documentation will use “diagrams.”)

2. In VS Code’s menu, click on File | Add Folders to Workspace… and then select the folder you created in the previous step.

3. Create a new file with the filename first_diagram.pu by hovering over UNTITLED (WORKSPACE) and clicking on the file icon.