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VS2010 Box Selection with Copy and Paste

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17 May 2010CPOL1 min read 23.5K   3   5
With the new box selection model in Visual Studio 2010 you can do some crazy new things, the coolest for me being the copy and paste support from and to selections.As a simple example, let's assume you have a text document with a list of 20 names that you want added to a...
With the new box selection model in Visual Studio 2010 you can do some crazy new things, the coolest for me being the copy and paste support from and to selections.

As a simple example, let's assume you have a text document with a list of 20 names that you want added to a StringBuilder.

Peter
Paul
Mary
Susan
Joe
...
Jacob


Here's how you can do it with box selection:


  1. In the method where you wish to build the list, type sb.AppendLine(""); where sb is the name of your StringBuilder object.
  2. Quickly copy & paste this line 20 times to set up a receiving area for the names.
  3. Open the text file of names in Visual Studio.
  4. Rather than line-selecting the names, box select them with the mouse while holding the ALT key (it's okay if you capture whitespace when the names are longer than others).
  5. Copy the selection to the clipboard.
  6. Return to your method. Vertically box-select the space between the quotes, again by using the mouse to select while holding the ALT key. You get a thin line for a selection that is zero characters wide.
  7. Paste your selection.


Voila! All names are pasted between the quotes, one per line without wrecking the code block! Here's a quick example of what it might look like when you're done:




What's cool about this is that in a single copy-paste operation you can inject lines of content (or code). The box selection takes care of ignoring the whitespace!

This trick also works in other editors, such as pasting into a set of empty <li> tags in an ASPX page.

Cheers!

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Software Developer (Senior)
Canada Canada
For almost 30 years I have been working with computers, learning a myriad of languages and participating in various computing environments.

Though I have been mentoring other developers for the last decade, I have recently found a strong interest in writing and am learning to translate the fun of in-person teaching to something I can get into article form.

I enjoy following technology trends, new gadgets and trying to guess where innovation will lead us next (I'm kinda holding out for a robot-served utopia, but willing to submit to our future robot leaders).

I am a guy who is passionate about my faith, my family and a cure for Juvenile Diabetes (my son lives with this disease).

Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralTo the -1 votes (on Muhammad and myself) Pin
TheyCallMeMrJames18-May-10 2:55
TheyCallMeMrJames18-May-10 2:55 
GeneralRe: To the -1 votes (on Muhammad and myself) Pin
Muhammad Gouda19-May-10 6:58
Muhammad Gouda19-May-10 6:58 
GeneralCongratulations Pin
Muhammad Gouda17-May-10 12:14
Muhammad Gouda17-May-10 12:14 
GeneralRe: Congratulations Pin
TheyCallMeMrJames18-May-10 2:51
TheyCallMeMrJames18-May-10 2:51 
Thanks Muhammad, and your tip is great too. It is another way to use the feature, but I don't think it's an alternate as you can't finish off the lines without white space like the copy & paste trick can do.

Cheers!

GeneralVery handy tip! Pin
DaveX8617-May-10 10:53
DaveX8617-May-10 10:53 

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