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    • dailD
      dail
      last edited by

      Me too. Unfortunately it isn’t updated very often :(

      Vasile CarausV 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • Claudia FrankC
        Claudia Frank
        last edited by

        Well I can understand as it is a critical component which can break npp I guess.
        But if there is something I can do, like comparing source code to see which functions
        have been modified etc., I would do it.

        Cheers
        Claudia

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • Chandler NewbyC
          Chandler Newby
          last edited by

          Thanks for the script @Claudia-Frank! It works well.

          It sounds like an updated Scintilla is what we need. Is there any timeline on how often the dev updates the Scintilla version used?

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • dailD
            dail
            last edited by

            The new version of Scintilla doesn’t really introduce anything that can’t be done currently with a plugin, it just makes it more convenient. Updates vary between a few months to a few years

            I understand the caution updating Scintilla but it still seems like there are many advantages that could be taken with updating it more regularly. Don always takes care of updating it himself.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • guy038G
              guy038
              last edited by guy038

              Hello Chandler Newby and All,

              Presently, with current versions of N++, to get the SAME result, you need to perform the five steps below :

              • Place the cursor, JUST BEFORE the text to search for :

              • Perform the menu option Edit - Begin/End Select

              • Select your text ( either a character, a word or a several words string )

              • Perform the menu option Search - Select and Find Next or use the CTRL + F3 shortcut

              IMPORTANT : you may run this command several times to get the Nth occurrence of your selected text

              • Perform, again, the menu option Edit - Begin/End Select

              => All the area, between the FIRST occurrence of the selected text, included, till the LAST occurrence found, included, is, then, selected

              Et voilà !

              Best Regards,

              guy038

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • ng khanhN
                ng khanh @Claudia Frank
                last edited by

                @Claudia-Frank : Thanks for your script. How need to change if i want to set the range of find and modfication : from line 10 to line 100, it would be best if we can select instead of line number input

                Scott SumnerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • Scott SumnerS
                  Scott Sumner @ng khanh
                  last edited by

                  @ng-khanh

                  The biggest issue with your desired change is how to specify the range of lines you want to limit it to functioning over. As you said, entering actual line numbers is not ideal (although that would work, and could easily be set in the “prompt” box along with the 0, 1, 2 choice).

                  How about the placement of two bookmarks, one on the first line and one on the last line? This presumes that you currently aren’t using bookmarks for something else when you want to invoke this functionality.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • Claudia FrankC
                    Claudia Frank
                    last edited by Claudia Frank

                    Bookmarks is nice because than it can be used with F2 to jump to.
                    Another, possible way, could be that only the visible area gets changed or
                    if you select the first and the last (by holding ctrl) and everything in between,
                    together with the selected once, get replaced.
                    Or we try to extend it so it does all of this.
                    So with a prompt like

                    0 = replace,  1 = before, 2 = afterwards
                    a = all, b = bookmarks, s = selected, v = visible,
                    

                    So 0a would mean replace all occurrences and 1b would
                    be insert before selected word within bookmared lines etc…

                    Cheers
                    Claudia

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • Claudia FrankC
                      Claudia Frank
                      last edited by Claudia Frank

                      Below the modified script.
                      Some words to explain its functionality.
                      If you run the script you will be asked for some options,
                      namely the area which should be used and the mode what to do.

                      Mode is either

                      • 0=replace
                      • 1=insert before
                      • 2=insert after

                      Area is either

                      • a=all lines
                      • b=position enclosed by two bookmarks
                      • s=position enclosed by two selected words
                      • v=lines in the view which are currently visible

                      So if one defines 0a it means every occurrence of the selected word gets overwritten with the current word
                      If one chooses 1b then only the selected words within the bookmarks, which are needed to be set first, get modified by
                      inserting the typed chars before the words.
                      2v would mean add additional chars to the end of the selected words, but only for those who are currently visible.
                      Well, this is not exactly true, it means that text gets added to every selected item from first visible line
                      including the last visible line.
                      Example:
                      Line 1-20 is visible
                      Line 21-30 is hidden
                      Line 31-40 is visible
                      Line 41-… exist but is out of view aka non-visible

                      If one selects area v then the words in the lines 21-30 get considered(modified/replaced) too.

                      Area s can only be used if settings->preferences->editing->Multi-Editing has been enabled.

                      Last but not least, there is a variable find_flag which is set to WHOLEWORD per default.
                      If one once to have no restriction set it to 0 or any other value stated in the comment.

                      That’s it.

                      Cheers
                      Claudia

                      # this script implements the enhanced multi cursor edit functionality
                      
                      def default_positions():
                          return 0, editor.getLength()
                      
                      def get_pos_of_bookmarks():
                          npp_bookmark_marker_id_number = 24
                          npp_bookmark_marker_mask = 1 << npp_bookmark_marker_id_number
                          _start_position, _end_position = default_positions()
                          
                          line_nbr = editor.markerNext(_start_position, npp_bookmark_marker_mask)
                          if line_nbr != -1:
                              _start_position = editor.positionFromLine(line_nbr)
                              line_nbr = editor.markerNext(line_nbr + 1, npp_bookmark_marker_mask)
                              if line_nbr != -1:
                                  _end_position = editor.getLineEndPosition(line_nbr)
                          return _start_position, _end_position
                      
                      def get_pos_of_visible_lines():
                          first_visible_line = editor.getFirstVisibleLine()
                          _start_position = editor.positionFromLine(first_visible_line)
                          lines_visible = editor.linesOnScreen()
                          last_visible_line = editor.docLineFromVisible(first_visible_line+lines_visible)
                          _end_position = editor.getLineEndPosition(last_visible_line)
                          return _start_position, _end_position
                      
                      def get_pos_of_selections():
                          _start_position, _end_position = default_positions()
                          if editor.getSelections() == 2:
                              _start_position = editor.getSelectionNStart(0)
                              _end_position = editor.getSelectionNEnd(1)
                          return _start_position, _end_position
                      
                      
                      area_dict = {'a':default_positions,
                                   'b':get_pos_of_bookmarks,
                                   's':get_pos_of_selections,
                                   'v':get_pos_of_visible_lines}
                          
                      editor.beginUndoAction()
                      
                      _text = editor.getTextRange(editor.getSelectionNStart(0), editor.getSelectionNEnd(0))
                      
                      if len(_text) != 0:
                      
                          _current_position = editor.getCurrentPos()
                          _current_line = editor.lineFromPosition(_current_position)
                          _current_word_start_pos = editor.getLineSelStartPosition(_current_line)
                          _current_word_end_pos = editor.getLineSelEndPosition(_current_line)
                      
                          find_flag = 2 # 0=DEFAULT, 2=WHOLEWORD 4=MATCHCASE 6=WHOLEWORD | MATCHCASE
                          mode_options = ' 0=replace,  1=before,  2=afterwards\n'
                          area_options = ' a=all, b=bookmarks, s=selected, v=visible'
                          expected_results = [x+y for x in ['0','1','2'] for y in ['a','b','s','v']]
                             
                          result = notepad.prompt(mode_options + area_options, 'Choose the desired option', '0a')
                          while result not in expected_results: 
                              result = notepad.prompt(mode_options + area_options, 'Choose the desired option', '0a')
                      
                          chosen_mode, chosen_area = result
                          area_start_position, area_end_position = area_dict[chosen_area]()
                          
                          if chosen_mode == '0': # replace whole string version
                              editor.setEmptySelection(_current_position)       
                              position_tuple = editor.findText(find_flag, area_start_position, area_end_position, _text)
                              
                              while position_tuple is not None:
                                  if _current_position not in position_tuple:
                                      editor.addSelection(*position_tuple)
                                  position_tuple = editor.findText(find_flag, position_tuple[1], area_end_position, _text)
                                      
                      
                          elif chosen_mode == '1': # insert before selected string version
                              editor.setEmptySelection(_current_word_start_pos)
                              position_tuple = editor.findText(find_flag, area_start_position, area_end_position, _text)
                              
                              while position_tuple is not None: 
                                  startpos, endpos = position_tuple
                                  if startpos != _current_position and endpos != _current_position:
                                      editor.addSelection(startpos, startpos)
                                  else:
                                      _current_word_start_pos, _current_word_end_pos = startpos, startpos
                                  position_tuple = editor.findText(find_flag, endpos, area_end_position, _text)
                      
                      
                          elif chosen_mode == '2': # insert after selected string version
                              editor.setEmptySelection(_current_word_end_pos)
                              position_tuple = editor.findText(find_flag, area_start_position, area_end_position, _text)
                              
                              while position_tuple is not None: 
                                  startpos, endpos = position_tuple
                                  if startpos != _current_position and endpos != _current_position:
                                      editor.addSelection(endpos, endpos)
                                  else:
                                      _current_word_start_pos, _current_word_end_pos = endpos, endpos
                                  position_tuple = editor.findText(find_flag, endpos, area_end_position, _text)
                      
                                  
                          # now add the current selection
                          editor.addSelection(_current_word_start_pos, _current_word_end_pos)
                      
                      editor.endUndoAction()
                      
                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • guy038G
                        guy038
                        last edited by

                        Hi, Claudia,

                        Until your recent script, I didn’t interfere, in that discussion, because I thought that a simple S/R, in regex mode, was enough to get the same behaviour. Indeed :

                        • For Replacement : SEARCH = "Searched word" and REPLACEMENT = "Replacement word"

                        • For Insertion before : SEARCH = "Searched word" and REPLACEMENT = "Added word${0}"

                        • For Insertion after : SEARCH = "Searched word" and REPLACEMENT = "${0}Added word"


                        But, your last script, with the different area options, shows, clearly, the advantages of a script ;-)) Your script should satisfy everyone !

                        However, I just noticed a minor bug : if you start the script by mistake, and that you want to stop it, the Cancel button does NOT work. So, the only choice is the Yes button !

                        Cheers,

                        guy038

                        BTW, if your file is quite important, it can take some seconds, before all the matches are highlighted !!

                        Claudia FrankC 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                        • Vasile CarausV
                          Vasile Caraus @dail
                          last edited by

                          @dail

                          agree

                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • Claudia FrankC
                            Claudia Frank @guy038
                            last edited by

                            @guy038

                            there is no need for a stop routine as it is a per one time execution script - no callbacks.
                            You run the script and all it does is to select the different instances of the selected word.
                            Once everything has been selected it finishes instantly.

                            You are right, it hasn’t optimized for speed but I think it doesn’t make sense to edit
                            a huge file and use this little helper to replace all occurrences of a string. Npps
                            builtin feature is much faster in this way.

                            Cheers
                            Claudia

                            Scott SumnerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • Scott SumnerS
                              Scott Sumner @Claudia Frank
                              last edited by

                              @Claudia-Frank

                              I think what @guy038 meant was, what if you start the script running, get the prompt dialog box on the screen, and then change your mind and decide you don’t want to do what you started after all.

                              Claudia FrankC 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                              • Claudia FrankC
                                Claudia Frank @Scott Sumner
                                last edited by

                                @Scott-Sumner

                                ahh - ok - yes correct - but just press ok and move cursor.
                                Nothing changed.

                                Cheers
                                Claudia

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • Claudia FrankC
                                  Claudia Frank
                                  last edited by

                                  finally I understand - the cancel button !! phew – need a cup of coffee!

                                  Cheers
                                  Claudia

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                  • Claudia FrankC
                                    Claudia Frank
                                    last edited by

                                    cancel button fix

                                    # this script implements the enhanced multi cursor edit functionality
                                    
                                    def default_positions():
                                        return 0, editor.getLength()
                                    
                                    def get_pos_of_bookmarks():
                                        npp_bookmark_marker_id_number = 24
                                        npp_bookmark_marker_mask = 1 << npp_bookmark_marker_id_number
                                        _start_position, _end_position = default_positions()
                                        
                                        line_nbr = editor.markerNext(_start_position, npp_bookmark_marker_mask)
                                        if line_nbr != -1:
                                            _start_position = editor.positionFromLine(line_nbr)
                                            line_nbr = editor.markerNext(line_nbr + 1, npp_bookmark_marker_mask)
                                            if line_nbr != -1:
                                                _end_position = editor.getLineEndPosition(line_nbr)
                                        return _start_position, _end_position
                                    
                                    def get_pos_of_visible_lines():
                                        first_visible_line = editor.getFirstVisibleLine()
                                        _start_position = editor.positionFromLine(first_visible_line)
                                        lines_visible = editor.linesOnScreen()
                                        last_visible_line = editor.docLineFromVisible(first_visible_line+lines_visible)
                                        _end_position = editor.getLineEndPosition(last_visible_line)
                                        return _start_position, _end_position
                                    
                                    def get_pos_of_selections():
                                        _start_position, _end_position = default_positions()
                                        if editor.getSelections() == 2:
                                            _start_position = editor.getSelectionNStart(0)
                                            _end_position = editor.getSelectionNEnd(1)
                                        return _start_position, _end_position
                                    
                                    
                                    area_dict = {'a':default_positions,
                                                 'b':get_pos_of_bookmarks,
                                                 's':get_pos_of_selections,
                                                 'v':get_pos_of_visible_lines}
                                        
                                    editor.beginUndoAction()
                                    
                                    def Main():
                                        _text = editor.getTextRange(editor.getSelectionNStart(0), editor.getSelectionNEnd(0))
                                        if len(_text) != 0:
                                    
                                            _current_position = editor.getCurrentPos()
                                            _current_line = editor.lineFromPosition(_current_position)
                                            _current_word_start_pos = editor.getLineSelStartPosition(_current_line)
                                            _current_word_end_pos = editor.getLineSelEndPosition(_current_line)
                                    
                                            find_flag = 2 # 0=DEFAULT, 2=WHOLEWORD 4=MATCHCASE 6=WHOLEWORD | MATCHCASE
                                            mode_options = ' 0=replace,  1=before,  2=afterwards\n'
                                            area_options = ' a=all, b=bookmarks, s=selected, v=visible'
                                            expected_results = [x+y for x in ['0','1','2'] for y in ['a','b','s','v']]
                                               
                                            result = notepad.prompt(mode_options + area_options, 'Choose the desired option', '0a')
                                            while result not in expected_results: 
                                                if result is None:
                                                    return
                                                result = notepad.prompt(mode_options + area_options, 'Choose the desired option', '0a')
                                    
                                            chosen_mode, chosen_area = result
                                            area_start_position, area_end_position = area_dict[chosen_area]()
                                            
                                            if chosen_mode == '0': # replace whole string version
                                                editor.setEmptySelection(_current_position)       
                                                position_tuple = editor.findText(find_flag, area_start_position, area_end_position, _text)
                                                
                                                while position_tuple is not None:
                                                    if _current_position not in position_tuple:
                                                        editor.addSelection(*position_tuple)
                                                    position_tuple = editor.findText(find_flag, position_tuple[1], area_end_position, _text)
                                                        
                                    
                                            elif chosen_mode == '1': # insert before selected string version
                                                editor.setEmptySelection(_current_word_start_pos)
                                                position_tuple = editor.findText(find_flag, area_start_position, area_end_position, _text)
                                                
                                                while position_tuple is not None: 
                                                    startpos, endpos = position_tuple
                                                    if startpos != _current_position and endpos != _current_position:
                                                        editor.addSelection(startpos, startpos)
                                                    else:
                                                        _current_word_start_pos, _current_word_end_pos = startpos, startpos
                                                    position_tuple = editor.findText(find_flag, endpos, area_end_position, _text)
                                    
                                    
                                            elif chosen_mode == '2': # insert after selected string version
                                                editor.setEmptySelection(_current_word_end_pos)
                                                position_tuple = editor.findText(find_flag, area_start_position, area_end_position, _text)
                                                
                                                while position_tuple is not None: 
                                                    startpos, endpos = position_tuple
                                                    if startpos != _current_position and endpos != _current_position:
                                                        editor.addSelection(endpos, endpos)
                                                    else:
                                                        _current_word_start_pos, _current_word_end_pos = endpos, endpos
                                                    position_tuple = editor.findText(find_flag, endpos, area_end_position, _text)
                                    
                                                    
                                            # now add the current selection
                                            editor.addSelection(_current_word_start_pos, _current_word_end_pos)
                                    
                                    Main()
                                    editor.endUndoAction()
                                    

                                    Cheers
                                    Claudia

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                    • kpymK
                                      kpym
                                      last edited by

                                      I want to advocate too for CTRL+D sublime-like build-in shortcut.
                                      This is the most useful way to use multi-cursors :

                                      • add next identical
                                      • skip next identical
                                      • select all identicals
                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
                                      • Alan KilbornA
                                        Alan Kilborn
                                        last edited by

                                        @kpym

                                        So maybe on the surface this seems different, but this is really just a Find and Replace operation, for which Notepad++ already has a good solution for. Here’s a comparision:

                                        • your ctrl+d <–> N++'s press ctrl+h, fill in replace field
                                        • your add/skip next identical <–> N++ either “Find Next” or “Replace”
                                        • your select all identicals <–> N++ “Replace All”
                                        • your “whatever action you would do on what is multiselected…” <–> N++'s nothing to do, it’s already done!
                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                        • bitagorasB
                                          bitagoras
                                          last edited by

                                          @Alan Kilborn
                                          What you irgnore in your comment is the fact that Ctrl+D function is mainly used to quickly clone the cursor at positions of identical strings and not neccessarily to replace the selected. Once you have multiple cursors, you can move them and do much more things than just renaming. I uploaded a gif animation that shows what I mean:

                                          https://gifyu.com/image/TaVW

                                          It’s really magic what you can to with it and safes you a lot of time with a minimum of commands to remember. It is very intuitive and in most of the cases faster than search / replace or macro recording. Sometimes I use VS Code in parallel with Notepad++ only because of this function.

                                          What is missing to make full use of this kind of multi editing:

                                          • Ctrl+D (or another shortcut) to clone the cursor at similar occurences of the current word or selection.
                                          • Multiple cursors should stay persistent until escape is pressed (as in the plugin “better multiselection”).
                                          • Ctrl+mouseclick should not only add but also remove one cursor (when Ctrl+D has produced an unwanted cursor).
                                          • Every cursor should have an indiviual clipboard.
                                          Scott SumnerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                                          • Scott SumnerS
                                            Scott Sumner @bitagoras
                                            last edited by

                                            @bitagoras

                                            This kind of functionality really has nothing to do with Notepad++ itself, but rather is Scintilla-related. Scintilla in Notepad++ is known to be very outdated. Would upgrading Scintilla to the latest version provide such functionality? I don’t know, but since remaining current with Scintilla doesn’t seem to be a priority of Notepad++ developers, it probably isn’t worth much discussion here. :-(

                                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
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