[Feature Request] Add Ability to Remove Selections when Multi-Editing with Ctrl+Click

[theonlypwner]

Description of the Issue

In Visual Studio Code, Alt+Click is the default way to add multiple cursors. If you Alt+Click an existing cursor, it will remove it.
Also, if you add another selection that overlaps an existing selection, the existing selection will be removed.

Something similar should be added to Notepad++.

It is annoying when you misclick and can't easily go back to the state before the misclick.

Steps to Reproduce the Issue

1. Enable Multi-Editing.
2. Add multiple cursors with Ctrl+Click, including one by accident.
3. Try to click one of the cursors to remove it.

Expected Behavior

The cursor is removed.

Actual Behavior

The cursor is not removed.

Debug Information

N/A

[alankilborn]

It seems reasonable that Ctrl+click of an existing caret/selection should remove that caret/selection.

However, this behavior is dependent upon Scintilla (Notepad++'s underlying editing component) behavior, and thus this issue should be given the "Scintilla dependent" label.

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if you add another selection that overlaps an existing selection, the existing selection will be removed.

That already seems to be Notepad++ behavior (v8.4.7).

[theonlypwner]

In VS Code 1.73.1, I can add four cursors and Alt+Click one of them to remove it. If I add a selection that overlaps an existing selection, the existing selection is removed. If a selection is adjacent to an existing cursor, the existing cursor is removed.

In Notepad++ 8.4.7, I cannot Ctrl+Click to remove, and adding an overlapping selection merges rather than removing the existing selection. Also, the merged selections results in multiple selections.

[alankilborn]

I cannot Ctrl+Click to remove

Yes, accepted, and I agreed it would be reasonable for that behavior to change.

adding an overlapping selection merges rather than removing the existing selection

IMO I don't know which behavior is "correct" in this case. Are there other editors that can be cited that give weight to VS Code's method being the right one?

If I try reproducing your N++ animation, I don't get multiple carets in the end. What are you doing when the text shortens? I'd think you just pressed the a key, but when I do that I just get a single a inserted, and a single caret remains.

[theonlypwner]

IMO I don't know which behavior is "correct" in this case. Are there other editors that can be cited that give weight to VS Code's method being the right one?

Just as there should be a way to remove a cursor, there has to be some way to remove a selection. Even if we still "merge" the selection like in Notepad++, there at least should be a way to click an existing selection to remove it.

If I try reproducing your N++ animation, I don't get multiple carets in the end. What are you doing when the text shortens? I'd think you just pressed the a key, but when I do that I just get a single a inserted, and a single caret remains.

I just press a, and then I get one a per cursor. As I mentioned before, the merged selection results in multiple selections (and thus multiple cursors).

[alankilborn]

there at least should be a way to click an existing selection to remove it.

Agreed, I think several times now.

the merged selection results in multiple selections (and thus multiple cursors).

OK, I can reproduce it somewhat, interestingly not as easily as you can.

[theonlypwner]

v8.6 added "Undo the Latest Added Multi-Select", which helps this issue, but that doesn't work if the cursor or selection to remove is not the latest.

[rdipardo]

@theonlypwner

there at least should be a way to click an existing selection to remove it.

Try 8.6.1:

notepad-plus-plus/scintilla/doc/ScintillaHistory.html

Line 601 in dc6f6d1

Ctrl-click on a selection deselects it in multiple selection mode.

[theonlypwner]

I can confirm that this issue is fixed in v8.6.1.RC.

It's different from VS Code in that it merges overlapping selections instead of removing old ones, but that's perfectly acceptable.

It just so happened that 8.6 is the current version when I tested, while the upcoming 8.6.1 will fix it. If I had checked on this issue later, it might have already been fixed.

[alankilborn]

@theonlypwner

It's different from VS Code in that it merges overlapping selections instead of removing old ones, but that's perfectly acceptable.

I don't understand what you meant by this statement.
There's no merging going on here, just removal of a single caret/selection from the rest of the groups of carets/selections.

[theonlypwner]

@alankilborn see the animations in #12530 (comment)

In Notepad++, if you make a new selection that partially overlaps an existing selection, they are merged to form two selections, which is different from VS Code, which removes the old selection.

If the new selection completely covers an existing selection, the old selection is removed, which is the same as in VS Code.