Edit a rectangle
The technique
The text appears on every selected line when you press Esc.
Keys in this lesson
- Ctrl-v
- Select a block of columns.
- Ctrl-v…I
- Type at the left edge of every selected line, then Esc.
- Ctrl-v…$A
- Type at the end of every selected line, then Esc.
Before this lesson: Visual selection; insertion.
More about this lesson
Apply a column edit and understand when Escape commits it.
Ctrl-v selects a rectangle. I inserts a prefix across its selected lines after Esc; A appends to its right edge. Within a block, $ then A handles each selected line’s actual end. Unequal lengths matter. If the browser intercepts Ctrl-v, use Keyboard check; do not assume native and browser shortcuts are identical.
Example
Select the first column of three notes with Ctrl-v then 2j. I, type a bullet and a space, then Esc adds the prefix to all selected lines.
Use Reset to try again.