The Edit >> Column Mode dialog just tells you how to use Column Mode (it’s probably there to inform people who don’t already know about it, or possibly because an older version of NPP actually required a toggle to enter/exit column mode)
If you highlight a region with the Alt+Mouse or Shift+Arrow, you can then immediately type (or copy/paste) in that region, and it will be inserted (or copied) in that rectangle.
If you use the Column Editor... (Alt+C), you can either input a word (just like typing) or a sequence of numbers. (In my example below, I write “something” that way, and then number from 1 to 41 by 1s)
[image: r0Mrbb6.gif]