Multi-Cursor Editing

VMark supports powerful multi-cursor editing in both WYSIWYG and Source modes, allowing you to edit multiple locations simultaneously.

Quick Start

Action	Shortcut
Add cursor at next match	Mod + D
Skip match, jump to next	Mod + Shift + D
Add cursors at all matches	Mod + Shift + L
Undo last cursor addition	Alt + Mod + Z
Add cursor above	Mod + Alt + Up
Add cursor below	Mod + Alt + Down
Add/remove cursor at click	Alt + Click
Collapse to single cursor	Escape

TIP

Mod = Cmd on macOS, Ctrl on Windows/Linux Alt = Option on macOS

Adding Cursors

Select Next Occurrence (Mod + D)

1. Select a word or place cursor on a word
2. Press Mod + D to add a cursor at the next occurrence
3. Press again to add more cursors
4. Type to edit all locations at once

Example: To rename a variable count to total:

1. Double-click count to select it
2. Press Mod + D repeatedly to select each occurrence
3. Type total — all occurrences update simultaneously

Select All Occurrences (Mod + Shift + L)

Select all occurrences of the current word or selection at once:

1. Select a word or text
2. Press Mod + Shift + L
3. All matching occurrences in the current block are selected
4. Type to replace all at once

Alt + Click

Hold Alt (Option on macOS) and click to:

• Add a cursor at that position
• Remove a cursor if one already exists there

This is useful for placing cursors at arbitrary positions that aren't matching text.

Skip Occurrence (Mod + Shift + D)

When Mod + D selects a match you don't want, skip it:

1. Press Mod + D to start adding matches
2. If the latest match is unwanted, press Mod + Shift + D to skip it
3. The skipped match is removed and the next match is selected instead

This is the multi-cursor equivalent of "Find Next" — it lets you cherry-pick which occurrences to edit.

Soft Undo (Alt + Mod + Z)

Undo the last cursor addition without losing all your cursors:

1. Press Mod + D several times to build up cursors
2. If you added one too many, press Alt + Mod + Z
3. The last-added cursor is removed, restoring the previous state

Unlike Escape (which collapses everything), soft undo steps back one cursor at a time.

Add Cursor Above / Below (Mod + Alt + Up/Down)

Add cursors vertically, one line at a time:

1. Place your cursor on a line
2. Press Mod + Alt + Down to add a cursor on the next line
3. Press again to keep adding cursors downward
4. Use Mod + Alt + Up to add cursors upward instead

This is ideal for editing column-aligned text or making the same edit across consecutive lines.

Editing with Multiple Cursors

Once you have multiple cursors, all standard editing works at each cursor:

Typing

• Characters are inserted at all cursor positions
• Selections are replaced at all positions

Deletion

• Backspace — deletes character before each cursor
• Delete — deletes character after each cursor

Navigation

• Arrow keys — move all cursors together
• Shift + Arrow — extend selection at each cursor
• Mod + Arrow — jump by word/line at each cursor

Tab Escape

Tab escape works independently for each cursor:

• Cursors inside bold, italic, code, or strike jump to the end of that formatting
• Cursors inside links escape from the link
• Cursors before closing brackets ) ] } jump over them
• Cursors in plain text stay in place

This lets you escape from multiple formatted regions simultaneously. See Smart Tab Navigation for details.

Clipboard

Copy (Mod + C):

• Copies text from all selections, joined by newlines

Paste (Mod + V):

• If the clipboard has the same number of lines as cursors, each line goes to each cursor
• Otherwise, the full clipboard content is pasted at all cursors

Block Scoping

Multi-cursor operations are scoped to the current block to prevent unintended edits across unrelated sections.

In WYSIWYG Mode

• Cursors cannot cross code block boundaries
• If your primary cursor is inside a code block, new cursors stay within that block

In Source Mode

• Blank lines act as block boundaries
• Mod + D and Mod + Shift + L only match within the current paragraph

Why block scoping?

This prevents accidentally editing a variable name in unrelated code sections or changing text in different paragraphs that happen to match.

Collapsing Cursors

Press Escape to collapse back to a single cursor at the primary position.

Visual Feedback

• Primary cursor — standard blinking cursor
• Secondary cursors — additional blinking cursors with distinct styling
• Selections — each cursor's selection is highlighted

In dark mode, cursor and selection colors automatically adjust for visibility.

Mode Comparison

Feature	WYSIWYG	Source
Mod + D	✓	✓
Mod + Shift + D (Skip)	✓	✓
Mod + Shift + L	✓	✓
Alt + Mod + Z (Soft Undo)	✓	✓
Mod + Alt + Up/Down	✓	✓
Alt + Click	✓	✓
Block scoping	Code fences	Blank lines
Wrap-around search	✓	✓

Tips & Best Practices

Renaming Variables

1. Double-click the variable name
2. Mod + Shift + L to select all in the block
3. Type the new name

Adding Prefixes/Suffixes

1. Place cursor before/after repeated text
2. Mod + D to add cursors at each occurrence
3. Type the prefix or suffix

Editing List Items

1. Select the common pattern (like - at line starts)
2. Mod + Shift + L to select all
3. Edit all list items at once

When to Use Each Shortcut

Scenario	Best Shortcut
Careful, incremental selection	Mod + D
Skip unwanted match	Mod + Shift + D
Replace all in block	Mod + Shift + L
Undo last cursor step	Alt + Mod + Z
Edit consecutive lines	Mod + Alt + Up/Down
Arbitrary positions	Alt + Click
Quick exit	Escape

Limitations

• Atom nodes: Cannot place cursors inside images, embedded content, or math blocks in WYSIWYG mode
• IME input: When using input methods (Chinese, Japanese, etc.), composition only affects the primary cursor
• Document-wide: Selections are scoped to blocks, not the entire document

Keyboard Reference

Action	Shortcut
Select next occurrence	Mod + D
Skip occurrence	Mod + Shift + D
Select all occurrences	Mod + Shift + L
Soft undo cursor	Alt + Mod + Z
Add cursor above	Mod + Alt + Up
Add cursor below	Mod + Alt + Down
Add/remove cursor	Alt + Click
Collapse to single cursor	Escape
Move all cursors	Arrow keys
Extend all selections	Shift + Arrow
Jump by word	Alt + Arrow
Jump by line	Mod + Arrow