Mastering Multiple Cursors in VS Code

Multiple cursors are one of VS Code's most powerful features, enabling you to edit multiple locations simultaneously. Mastering this feature can dramatically boost your productivity.

Basic Multiple Cursor Techniques

Adding Cursors

• Alt + Click (Option + Click on Mac) - Add cursor at click position
• Ctrl + Alt + Up/Down - Add cursor above/below
• Ctrl + D - Select next occurrence of current word
• Ctrl + Shift + L - Select all occurrences of current word

Advanced Selection Patterns

Column (Box) Selection

Hold Shift + Alt (Shift + Option on Mac) and drag to select a rectangular area.

Select All Occurrences

1. Place cursor on a word
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + L
3. All instances are now selected with cursors

Practical Examples

Renaming Variables

// Before
const user = getUserData();
console.log(user.name);
console.log(user.email);

// Select all "user" with Ctrl+Shift+L, type "customer"
const customer = getUserData();
console.log(customer.name);
console.log(customer.email);

Adding Quotes to Multiple Lines

// Before
apple
banana
cherry

// Alt+Shift drag to select column, add quotes
"apple"
"banana"
"cherry"

Keyboard Maestro

Common workflows:

1. Ctrl + D repeatedly to select multiple matches one by one
2. Ctrl + D then Ctrl + K + Ctrl + D to skip current and select next
3. Esc to return to single cursor

Conclusion

Multiple cursors transform repetitive editing tasks into single operations. Practice these techniques daily and watch your productivity soar!