Mastering Multi-Cursor Editing in Visual Studio Code

Unleash Your Editing Speed with Multi-Cursor in VS Code

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a powerful and popular code editor. One of its standout features is the ability to create and manipulate multiple cursors simultaneously. This can dramatically speed up repetitive tasks like renaming variables, making consistent changes across multiple lines, or performing the same edit in several places at once. This tutorial will guide you through the various methods for creating and managing multiple cursors in VS Code, enabling you to become a more efficient and productive coder.

Understanding the Basics

Multi-cursor editing allows you to place multiple insertion points within your code file. Any changes you make will be reflected at all cursor locations simultaneously. This is a game-changer for tasks that would otherwise require manual repetition.

Methods for Creating Multiple Cursors

VS Code provides a rich set of methods for creating multiple cursors, catering to different editing scenarios.

1. Click & Drag (or Ctrl/Cmd + Click):

The simplest way to add cursors is to use your mouse.

• Windows/Linux: Hold down Ctrl and click with your mouse at each desired location.
• macOS: Hold down Cmd (Command key) and click to add cursors.

You can also drag your mouse while holding Ctrl/Cmd to create a rectangular selection, which will create a cursor at the beginning of each selected line.

Configuration: VS Code lets you customize the modifier key used for creating multiple cursors with click. You can change the modifier key (between Ctrl/Cmd and Alt) within the VS Code settings (editor.multiCursorModifier).

2. Select Next Occurrence (Ctrl/Cmd + D):

This is an excellent method for making the same change to multiple instances of a word or phrase.

1. Select the word or phrase you want to modify.
2. Press Ctrl+D (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+D (macOS). This will select the next occurrence of the selected text and add a cursor there.
3. Continue pressing Ctrl+D or Cmd+D to add cursors to subsequent occurrences.

3. Select All Occurrences (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + L):

This is a quick way to select all instances of the currently selected word in the entire file.

1. Select the word you want to modify.
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+L (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+L (macOS). This will select all instances, adding a cursor at each one.

4. Column (Box) Selection:

This is helpful for making changes to a specific column or block of text.

1. Hold down Alt and Shift keys and drag your mouse.
2. A rectangular selection will be created, and a cursor will be placed at the beginning of each selected line.

5. Up/Down Multi-Line Selection:

Use this for quickly extending selection to the lines above or below:

1. Select the text to start with.
2. Press Ctrl+Alt+Down (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Alt+Shift+Down (macOS) to extend selection downwards one line at a time.
3. Press Ctrl+Alt+Up (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Alt+Shift+Up (macOS) to extend selection upwards.

Managing and Removing Cursors

Undo Last Cursor Action (Ctrl/Cmd + U):

If you accidentally add too many cursors or place one incorrectly, you can easily undo the last cursor addition with Ctrl+U (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+U (macOS).

Removing Individual Cursors:

Clicking on an existing cursor position will remove that specific cursor. This provides granular control over cursor placement. You can also click on any text without holding a modifier key to remove all cursors and return to a single cursor mode.

Troubleshooting

Linux Window Dragging Conflicts:

On some Linux distributions (like Ubuntu), the Alt key is used for window dragging. This can conflict with VS Code’s multi-cursor features. You can resolve this by:

• Changing the OS keybindings (using gsettings) to use a different modifier key for window dragging.
• Configuring VS Code to use Ctrl + Click instead of Alt + Click for creating multiple cursors.

Customizing Keybindings:

VS Code allows you to customize keybindings for any command. You can modify the keys used for adding, removing, or manipulating cursors to suit your preferences.

By mastering these techniques, you can significantly enhance your coding efficiency and tackle complex editing tasks with ease in VS Code.