Introduction
Tired of making the same change over and over again in your text editor? Whether you’re updating HTML tags across a website, renaming variables in code, or modifying columns in a CSV file, there’s a better way to get it done—without the mind-numbing copy-paste routine.
Enter multiple selection mode (also called multi-caret selection): a powerful yet often overlooked feature in UltraEdit. With multi-caret, you can place multiple cursors in your document, allowing you to edit multiple lines or elements at once. It’s like a “place once, edit everywhere” superpower, saving you time and reducing the chance of missed or inconsistent changes. In this post, we’ll dive into what multi-caret selection can do, where it really shines, and why it’s a must-have in your editing toolkit.
Basics of Multi-Caret Selection
Multi-caret editing allows you to activate two or more non-contiguous insertion points (identified by the blinking caret) within the active file.
Each caret acts and operates independently of any other caret, and most edit operations you execute are performed in all caret locations simultaneously. This is an optional feature and can be disabled completely under Settings » Editor display » Cursor / caret.
Keep in mind multi-caret editing is not supported in column mode or hex edit mode.
Power Tips
Here are some shortcuts to remember:
| Shortcut | Function |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + Click | The easiest way to initiate multi select. Place a caret down manually on where your cursor is. |
| Shift + Alt + Z | Functions like Undo but only removes the last added caret. You can also Ctrl + Click on a caret to remove manually. |
| Ctrl + Click + Drag / Click on Line Number | Add a new selection by holding the Ctrl key and selecting any text within the file where you can normally do so. |
| Ctrl + Comma (,) | Find all similar words/strings and add a caret to the end. |
| Ctrl + Semicolon (;) | Find the next similar word/string and add a caret |
| Directional Arrows (Left, Right, Up, Down) | Repositions carets normally by using basic movement keys on the keyboard. |
| Home | Moves all carets to the beginning of each line. |
| Page Up / Dn | Moves all carets one page up or down. |
| End | Moves all carets to the end of each line. |
With a caret / selection set active, you can reposition them as you normally would by using basic movement keys on the keyboard. For example, pressing Left Arrow will move all carets to the left 1 position. Pressing Down Arrow will move all carets down 1 line. Pressing the Home key will move all carets to the beginning of each line. Page Up will move all carets up 1 page. Any movement which would cause the carets to converge into a unified location will result in a single caret. Examples include Ctrl + Home, Ctrl + End, Ctrl + Shift + Home, Ctrl + Shift + End, etc.
Protip: If you’re trying out any new feature, try using the command palette to see associated shortcuts or adjustments available for the specific feature.
Example 1 of where to use it: Programming Languages
Use Multi Select to choose and highlight multiple functions, variables, and the like. Edit and change them as one unit.
Example 2 of where to use it: HTML Code
Use Multi Select to quickly add closing tags to a block of text.
Example 3 of where to use it: Fine-tuning and editing text documents (CSV Files)
Use Multi Select for quick string queries and batch editing. This one uses the Find next similar word or string feature. (No need to use Find and Replace for this one)
Why Use UltraEdit
There are other text or code editors that may have similar multi-select features, but UltraEdit also combines this functionality with multiple other useful features. For instance, its ability to handle ultra large files, or its integrated macro and scripting capabilities. There are very few editors that can do all these natively without sacrificing performance.
UltraEdit also provides users other features such as advanced find and replace and column mode editing—features that provide similar benefits to multi-select but fit a wider variety of use cases.
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