CODEWITHSUNDEEP
sublimetext2sublimetext
user2136580
user2136580

Reputation: 2111

How can I select every other line with multiple cursors in Sublime Text?

In Sublime Text 2, is it possible to instantly select every other (or odd/even) line and place multiple cursors on those lines?

Thanks.

Upvotes: 201

Views: 91391

Answers (6)

extropy
extropy

Reputation: 1

If it's not a huge amount of lines, you can also of course just hold Ctrl (Cmd on Mac) and click on each line where you want a cursor.

For smaller numbers of lines, this is quicker and easier than running regex commands or adding plugins.

Upvotes: 0

KubiQ
KubiQ

Reputation: 131

I also wrote a plugin to do that, but I'm too lazy to publish it, so you can just create a SelectEveryNthLine.py file in Packages/User and put this code inside:

import sublime
import sublime_plugin

class SelectEveryNthLine( sublime_plugin.TextCommand ):
    def run( self, edit ):

        def on_done( n ):
            n = int( n )

            selections = self.view.sel()

            # if there is nothing selected, then select everything
            if len( selections ) == 1 and selections[0].size() == 0:
                selections.add( sublime.Region( 0, self.view.size() ) )

            new_selections = []

            for sel in selections:
                for i in range( self.view.rowcol( sel.begin() )[0], self.view.rowcol( sel.end() )[0] + 1, n ):
                    line_region = self.view.line( self.view.text_point( i, 0 ) )
                    if not sel.contains( line_region ):
                        continue
                    new_selections.append( line_region )
            selections.clear()
            for sel in new_selections:
                selections.add( sel )

        # firstly ask for the N
        sublime.active_window().show_input_panel( "Enter N to select ever N-th line:", "", on_done, None, None )

You can also create file SelectEveryNthLine.sublime-commands and put following code inside, to make it accessible from Command Palette:

[
    {
        "caption": "Select every N-th line",
        "command": "select_every_nth_line"
    }
]

Upvotes: 0

zessx
zessx

Reputation: 68790

You can do it easily :

  • Select all your lines, or the whole document Ctrl+A
  • Add multiple selectors : Ctrl+Shift+L (and in Mac: Command + Shift + L)

EDIT :

Upvotes: 108

greenjambi
greenjambi

Reputation: 181

I was searching for a way to select alternate lines in sublime.

Thanks to Joe Daley for a very good answer. Though I realised that, if you use regex it would not select the last line in the file if there is no new-line at the end of the file.

I wanted to improve that answer but I don't seem to have enough reputation at the moment to comment on the answer above.

You can use the following search string with the regex turned on, and then press alt+enter. Followed by a left arrow. This would put a cursor each on alternate lines (same steps as explained by Joe Daley)

^.*\n.*$

Upvotes: 15

Joe Daley
Joe Daley

Reputation: 46446

  1. Find: Ctrl+F
  2. If regular expressions are not already enabled, enable them: Alt+R
  3. Type in the expression .*\n.*\n
  4. Find all: Alt+Enter
  5. Press left arrow to get rid of the selections, leaving just the cursors: ←
  6. You now have a cursor at the start of every odd-numbered line. If you wanted even-numbered lines, press down: ↓
  7. Depending on the file, there might be one cursor missing right down the bottom of the file. Using the mouse (damn!) scroll to the bottom, hold down Ctrl, and click where the missing cursor should be to add it in.

Upvotes: 499

Riccardo Marotti
Riccardo Marotti

Reputation: 20348

You can try with a plugin: Tools/New Plugin...

import sublime_plugin


class ExpandSelectionToOtherLinesCommand(sublime_plugin.TextCommand):
    def run(self, edit):
        self.view.window().run_command("expand_selection", {"to": "line"})
        start_region = self.view.sel()[0]
        self.view.window().run_command("select_all")
        self.view.sel().subtract(start_region)

Save this file in your Packages/User.

Then, add the key binding for that plugin:

{ "keys": ["super+alt+l"], "command": "expand_selection_to_other_lines" }

This command will select all other lines. When you have other lines selected, you can use Split selection into lines command (Ctrl+Shift+L, Cmd+Shift+L on Mac).

If you want to have everythnig in a single shortcut, you can modify the plugin like this:

import sublime_plugin


class ExpandSelectionToOtherLinesCommand(sublime_plugin.TextCommand):
    def run(self, edit):
        self.view.window().run_command("expand_selection", {"to": "line"})
        start_region = self.view.sel()[0]
        self.view.window().run_command("select_all")
        self.view.sel().subtract(start_region)
        self.view.window().run_command("split_selection_into_lines")
        self.view.window().run_command("move", {"by": "characters", "forward": False})

The last line is only to remove selection, leaving multiple cursors at the beginning of selected lines.

Upvotes: 7

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