Selecting Text

A selection is a a range of text marked for further manipulation. A selection can either span a range of text between two locations in a buffer, or it can cover a rectangular area. Rectangular selections are an advanced topic and are covered in detail in the section called Rectangular Selection in Chapter 4.

The simplest way to make a selection is to drag the mouse from the start of the selection to the end. All text between the two locations will be marked. Also, Shift-clicking a location in the buffer will create a selection from the caret position to where you clicked.

Holding down Shift in addition to a caret movement key (Left, Up, Home, etc) will extend the selection in the specified direction. If no selection exists, one will be created.

Edit>Select All (keyboard equivalent: Control-A) selects the entire buffer, and Edit>Select None (keyboard equivalent: Escape) deactivates the selection.

Figure 3-4. A selection