Multi-Cursor Editing in VS Code

What is Multi-Cursor Editing?

Multi-Cursor Editing is a feature in Visual Studio Code (VS Code) that allows you to create and manipulate multiple cursors at once. This powerful capability enhances productivity, especially when performing repetitive tasks or editing similar lines of code simultaneously.

How to Create Multiple Cursors

There are several ways to create multiple cursors in VS Code:

1. Mouse Clicks

Hold down the Alt key (or Option on macOS) and click at the locations where you want to place additional cursors.

2. Keyboard Shortcuts

You can also use keyboard shortcuts to add cursors above or below the current line:

Editing with Multiple Cursors

Once you have multiple cursors active, any text you type will appear at each cursor location. This makes it easy to change variable names, add the same comment to multiple lines, or perform other similar operations.

Example:

let variableOne = 1;
let variableTwo = 2;
let variableThree = 3;

If you want to rename variableOne to variableX, place a cursor at each instance of variableOne and type:

let variableX = 1;
let variableTwo = 2;
let variableThree = 3;

Using Multi-Cursor for Selection

You can also use multi-cursors to select text across multiple lines:

Example:

Suppose you have the following lines:

console.log('Hello');
console.log('World');
console.log('!');

If you want to change all the 'console.log' to 'print', you can place cursors on each console.log and replace it:

print('Hello');
print('World');
print('!');

Advanced Multi-Cursor Techniques

Multi-cursor editing can be combined with other features for even greater efficiency:

1. Column Selection

Hold down Shift + Alt (or Shift + Option on macOS) and drag the mouse to create a vertical selection. This allows you to edit a block of text vertically.

2. Inline Cursors

By using Ctrl + D (or Command + D on macOS), you can select the next instance of the word under the cursor and create a new cursor for each selection.

Conclusion

Multi-Cursor Editing in VS Code is a robust feature that can significantly speed up your coding process. By mastering this functionality, you can handle repetitive tasks with ease, streamline your editing workflow, and enhance your overall productivity.