diff --git a/src/extensions/default/HTMLCodeHints/html-lint.js b/src/extensions/default/HTMLCodeHints/html-lint.js
index aa10ec1d80..f858fe57f6 100644
--- a/src/extensions/default/HTMLCodeHints/html-lint.js
+++ b/src/extensions/default/HTMLCodeHints/html-lint.js
@@ -92,17 +92,24 @@ define(function (require, exports, module) {
                 configID,
                 config: projectSpecificOptions
             }).then(lintResult =>{
-                const editor = EditorManager.getCurrentFullEditor();
+                let editor = EditorManager.getCurrentFullEditor();
                 if(!editor || editor.document.file.fullPath !== fullPath) {
-                    reject(new Error("Lint failed as  "+ ProjectManager.getProjectRelativeOrDisplayPath(fullPath)
-                        + " is not active."));
-                    return;
+                    // this is not the active editor the lint is about. so the html validate api sends the startPos of
+                    // the error, but doesn't send the end pos, instead it sends the end offset. We need end line:ch pos
+                    //to highlight error properly, and computing that needs an editor(or we need to impl that logic)
+                    // so for now, we use the active editor if there is one to properly underline errors, and if we
+                    // cant find the active editor, we will do an approximation on the current line
+                    editor = null;
                 }
                 if (lintResult && lintResult.length) {
                     lintResult = lintResult.map(function (lintError) {
                         return {
-                            pos: editor.posFromIndex(lintError.start),
-                            endPos: editor.posFromIndex(lintError.end),
+                            pos: editor ? editor.posFromIndex(lintError.start) : lintError.startPos,
+                            endPos: editor ?  editor.posFromIndex(lintError.end): {
+                                line: lintError.startPos.line,
+                                // highlightOffset can span multiple lines, so this is at best an approximation
+                                ch: lintError.startPos.ch + lintError.highlightOffset
+                            },
                             message: `${lintError.message} (${lintError.ruleId})`,
                             type: getTypeFromSeverity(lintError.severity),
                             moreInfoURL: lintError.ruleUrl
diff --git a/src/extensions/default/HTMLCodeHints/worker/html-worker.js b/src/extensions/default/HTMLCodeHints/worker/html-worker.js
index 9a6a275698..371d753bd7 100644
--- a/src/extensions/default/HTMLCodeHints/worker/html-worker.js
+++ b/src/extensions/default/HTMLCodeHints/worker/html-worker.js
@@ -68,6 +68,11 @@
             if(result.messages && result.messages.length) {
                 for(let message of result.messages){
                     errors.push({
+                        // The starting position of the error (0-based line and column index)
+                        startPos: {line: (message.line || 1) - 1, ch: (message.column || 1) - 1},
+                        // The length (in characters) of the error from the starting position. this is an offset
+                        // than can span multiple lines.
+                        highlightOffset: (message.size || 1),
                         start: message.offset,
                         end: message.offset + (message.size || 1) - 1,
                         severity: message.severity,
diff --git a/test/spec/Extn-HTMLCodeHints-Lint-integ-test.js b/test/spec/Extn-HTMLCodeHints-Lint-integ-test.js
index 96d10710c5..c09f9ddea0 100644
--- a/test/spec/Extn-HTMLCodeHints-Lint-integ-test.js
+++ b/test/spec/Extn-HTMLCodeHints-Lint-integ-test.js
@@ -195,5 +195,14 @@ define(function (require, exports, module) {
                 await SpecRunnerUtils.deletePathAsync(testProjectsFolder + testFile, true, FileSystem);
             }, 5000);
         }
+
+        it(`should lint non active html files`, async function () {
+            const htmlPath = path.join(testProjectsFolder, "simple1.html");
+            const codeInspectionResults = await jsPromise(
+                CodeInspection.inspectFile(FileSystem.getFileForPath(htmlPath)));
+            expect(codeInspectionResults[0].result.errors.length).toBe(1);
+            expect(codeInspectionResults[0].result.errors[0].pos).toEql({line: 1, ch: 1});
+            expect(codeInspectionResults[0].result.errors[0].endPos).toEql({line: 1, ch: 5});
+        }, 5000);
     });
 });