Editing multiple lines of code in Netbeans
NetbeansEditingNetbeans Problem Overview
Is there a way to select and edit multiple rows of code in netbeans?
Visual Studio allows a similar operation where you press alt and select multiple lines using the dragging motion (left click) of mouse ?
Netbeans Solutions
Solution 1 - Netbeans
It's called rectangular selection.
It can be enabled by Crtl+Shift+R
> # Rectangular Selection #
> By Petr on Oct 20, 2011
>
> If you use development build, you probably noticed that NetBeans
> editor added Rectangular Selection action. I don't need this
> functionality every day, but it can be helpful in some case. One of
> such case is when you need to delete line numbers in a text or code
> copied from a tutorial. Like on the picture below.
>
> 
>
> You can select the rectangle after pressing Rectangular Selection
> toggle button in the editor toolbar or pressing
> CTRL+SHIFT+R shortcut.
>
> 
>
> The selection can be easily done with mouse or keyboard. When you use
> keyboard, just place the caret on a corner, keep down SHIFT
> and with the arrows keys you select what you need.
>
> 
>
> When the selection is done, you can easily delete all the line numbers
> with pressing DELETE key. Then you have to exit from the
> rectangle selection mode
> (CTRL+SHIFT+R or toggle button in the
> editor toolbar).
>
>
> If you write a text , then the text is placed on every line in the
> selected area. This can be useful for example for changing access
> modifiers of more fields in a class at once.
>
> 
Solution 2 - Netbeans
A more flexible alternative to the Rectangular Selection has now been incorporated in Netbeans 8.2, which supports multiple cursors.
Keyboard shortcuts are listed on the Netbeans Wiki:
Description Windows/Linux Mac
============================== ================ ================
Add/remove caret Ctrl+Shift+Click Cmd+Shift+Click
Add caret for next occurence Ctrl+J Cmd+J
Add caret for each occurrence Ctrl+Alt+Shift+J Ctrl+Cmd+Shift+J
Add caret on line above Alt+Shift+[ Ctrl+Shift+[ or
Alt+Cmd+Up
Add caret on line below Alt+Shift+] Ctrl+Shift+] or
Alt+Cmd+Down
Remove last added caret Alt+Shift+J Ctrl+Shift+J
Paste over the multiple carets Ctrl+Shift+L Cmd+Shift+L or
Alt+Cmd+V
Remove all extra carets Escape Escape
Solution 3 - Netbeans
After Netbeans 8.2 release
Since Netbeans 8.2 this functionality is available out of the box. Just press Shift + Ctrl and hold it down, now left click your mouse anywhere as many times as you need to.
NetBeans Development version allows you to edit multiple lines like in Sublime Text.
Don't bother to read the answer below. You don't need to download Development release any longer.
Before Netbeans 8.2 release
Yes you can! Works exactly as in SublimeText but it is not default feature so You will have to download NetBeans development build.
After installation press Shift + Ctrl + Alt now left click anywhere in the code while holding Shift + Ctrl + Alt. Easy and very useful.
This is how it looks like in NetBeans:
See video presentation at: youtube.com/watch?v=iWejyPL5YQI
When you install new NetBeans you don't have to uninstall the old one. Just leave it be. Development build will ask you if you want to import all the plugins and presets you where using in your previous NetBeans installation.
Solution 4 - Netbeans
From Netbeans Wiki: Add/Remove caret and enter multi-caret mode
Shortcut Windows/Linux:
Ctrl + Shift + Click
Shortcut Mac:
Cmd + Shift + Click
Solution 5 - Netbeans
In netbeans 8.2 on Linux the hotkey is shift + ctrl and holding left button's mouse. From my own experience. It is easy ascertainable.
Solution 6 - Netbeans
It seems to be a bit different for previous versions of Netbeans and different OS's. For my part, for Netbeans 8.2 on Windows 10, holding down Shift + Ctrl and left clicking works.