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    • 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
                                          • bitagorasB
                                            bitagoras
                                            last edited by

                                            I think with a little bit of programming it could be possible with scintilla but it is not a standard feature that can just be activated.

                                            But you say the Notepad++ developers plan to replace Scintilla? Do you know any details? I haven’t seen any discussion here on this. I wonder, if this wouldn’t be just another new editor but not Notepad++ any more.

                                            Scott SumnerS 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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