column-selection

Create multiple selections across lines by dragging. Enables column/block selection with carets on each line for efficient multi-line editing.

Features

• Drag selection: Hold modifier key and drag to select a column of text.
• Sticky mode: Toggle persistent column selection with Alt+Q or status bar icon.
• Picker mode: Select region with two clicks using Ctrl+Q or right-click status bar.
• Edge scrolling: Auto-scroll when dragging near editor edges.
• Status indicator: Shows current mode in the status bar.
• Precise positioning: Temporarily disables atomic soft tabs during selection for accurate column alignment.
• High performance: Reuses existing selections and uses mergeIntersectingSelections for efficient updates, avoiding costly recreation of selection objects during drag.
• Inline blocks support: Works correctly with inline block decorations (e.g., hydrogen-next output results).

Tip: For the best column selection experience, consider disabling atomic soft tabs globally in Settings > Editor > Atomic Soft Tabs. This prevents cursor snapping to tab boundaries and allows precise positioning at any column.

Installation

To install column-selection search for column-selection in the Install pane of the Pulsar settings or run ppm install column-selection. Alternatively, you can run ppm install asiloisad/pulsar-column-selection to install a package directly from the GitHub repository.

Commands

Commands available in atom-workspace:

• column-selection:sticky: (Alt+Q) toggle sticky column selection mode,
• column-selection:picker: (Ctrl+Q) toggle picker column selection mode.

Customization

The style can be adjusted according to user preferences in the styles.less file:

• e.g. crosshair cursor while selecting:

atom-text-editor.column-selection {
  cursor: crosshair;
}

Contributing

Got ideas to make this package better, found a bug, or want to help add new features? Just drop your thoughts on GitHub — any feedback's welcome!