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
Add cursors at all matches	Mod + Shift + L
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.

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 + L	✓	✓
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
Replace all in block	Mod + Shift + L
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
Select all occurrences	Mod + Shift + L
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