After splitting the editor within the group, clicking this button will delete the text annotation information at the top and some other places in the user's settings.json file, which is very frustrating. . .

[zhouxinghong]

Issue Type: Bug

After splitting the editor within the group, clicking this button will delete the text annotation information at the top and some other places in the user's settings.json file, which is very frustrating. . .
version: Vscode 1.61
system: Windows 10 2004

VS Code version: Code - Insiders 1.61.0-insider (2dc8b95, 2021-10-06T08:22:53.147Z)
OS version: Windows_NT x64 10.0.19041
Restricted Mode: No

System Info

Item	Value
CPUs	Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3210M CPU @ 2.50GHz (4 x 2494)
GPU Status	2d_canvas: unavailable_software gpu_compositing: disabled_software multiple_raster_threads: enabled_on oop_rasterization: disabled_off opengl: disabled_off rasterization: disabled_software skia_renderer: enabled_on video_decode: disabled_software vulkan: disabled_off webgl: unavailable_software webgl2: unavailable_software
Load (avg)	undefined
Memory (System)	9.59GB (4.68GB free)
Process Argv
Screen Reader	no
VM	67%

[zhouxinghong]

Please confirm the problem and fix it in time. thank you very much!

[ArturoDent]

Which extension is contributing that button? Have you filed an issue on that extension?

[gjsjohnmurray]

@ArturoDent I think that button is part of a new 1.61 feature added by @bpasero

@zhouxinghong please add screenshots of your settings.json header before and after.

[zhouxinghong]

It is right that the new features of 1.61, please watch the demo video as follows:

Video_2021-10-08_203444.mp4

[bpasero]

This is just calling into the configuration service:

vscode/src/vs/workbench/browser/parts/editor/editorCommands.ts

Line 1118 in 5952668

return configurationService.updateValue(SideBySideEditor.SIDE_BY_SIDE_LAYOUT_SETTING, newSetting);

[sandy081]

Is it possible to provide the settings.json content to reproduce?

[zhouxinghong]

The same setting.json does not have this problem in versions before 1.60 and 1.60. If there is no way to fix it, can you provide a setting to hide the Split in Group command operation in the right-click tab menu, so as to avoid misuse and cause the content of setting.json to be cleared. . .
You can also try it out by following the video operation method. . .

[gjsjohnmurray]

/confirm

@sandy081 here are my repro steps:

1. Run command "Preferences: Open Settings (JSON)"
2. Run command "View: Split Editor in Group". Unless you previously configured this to split vertically, you will now see two side-by-side copies of settings.json
3. Scroll one of these to the end and note your last setting (if any)
4. Click the "Toggle Layout" button:
   
5. Observe the new setting which the click added to the end of settings.json

	"workbench.editor.splitInGroupLayout": "vertical",
}

6. Move that setting to the top of the file, add a comment above the setting and a comment after it which is intended to describe the next setting in your file e.g.

{
	// comment before
	"workbench.editor.splitInGroupLayout": "vertical",
	// comment after
	"search.showLineNumbers": true,

7. Save the changed settings.json
8. Click the "Toggle Layout" button again. The two copies are correctly side-by-side again (correct) but the top of the file is now

{
	"search.showLineNumbers": true,

I assume it is by design that @bpasero's updateValue call causes the splitInGroupLayout setting to disappear (because it was updated to its default value of "horizontal"), and it is probably justifiable that the comment above that setting also get removed. But it is surely a bug that the comments after the removed setting also disappear.

Interestingly, this only happens if the splitInGroupLayout setting is at the start of the file. If I add another setting before it and its comment, e.g.

{
	"editor.minimap.enabled": false,
	// comment before
	"workbench.editor.splitInGroupLayout": "vertical",
	// comment after
	"search.showLineNumbers": true,

then toggle layout to horizontal using the button, I get this (correct):

{
	"editor.minimap.enabled": false,
	// comment after
	"search.showLineNumbers": true,

[gjsjohnmurray]

This is just calling into the configuration service:

vscode/src/vs/workbench/browser/parts/editor/editorCommands.ts

Line 1118 in 5952668

return configurationService.updateValue(SideBySideEditor.SIDE_BY_SIDE_LAYOUT_SETTING, newSetting);

@bpasero it seems that if you were to explicitly pass ConfigurationTarget.USER as a third argument to updateValue you could suppress configuration service's removal of the setting and any of its comments in the case where you are updating it to the default ('horizontal'). What do you think of this suggestion?

The unexpected removal of comments after a defaulted setting when that setting was first in settings.json still deserves investigation by @sandy081

[bpasero]

I am quite sure we did a push not long ago to never set the target explicitly.

As for a setting getting removed when the default is set, this was imho an explicit design decision and is unlikely to change.