How to Select All Rows in Sublime Text

To efficiently select all rows in Sublime Text, the quickest method is to use the Ctrl+A (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+A (macOS) keyboard shortcut.

Selecting all content within your document is a fundamental action in any text editor, crucial for tasks like copying, cutting, formatting an entire file, or performing a global find and replace. Sublime Text offers several intuitive ways to achieve this, catering to different user preferences and workflows.

Primary Methods for Selecting All Lines

Sublime Text provides both keyboard and mouse-driven options to select every line of code or text in your active tab.

1. Using Keyboard Shortcuts

The most common and universally recognized method for selecting all text in a document:

• Windows / Linux: Press Ctrl + A
• macOS: Press Cmd + A

This shortcut instantly selects all the text from the beginning to the end of your open file, including any leading or trailing blank lines.

2. Via the Menu Bar

If you prefer using the graphical interface or need an alternative to keyboard shortcuts:

• Navigate to the Edit menu at the top of your Sublime Text window.
• From the dropdown, select Select All.

This action yields the exact same result as using the keyboard shortcut, selecting all content in the current document.

3. Mouse-Based Selection

For a visual and interactive approach, especially useful when combining with other selection techniques:

• Dragging in the Gutter: The most direct mouse method for selecting entire lines involves the gutter. The gutter is the column on the far left of your Sublime Text window, typically where line numbers are displayed.

  • Click and drag your mouse pointer within the gutter area (where the line numbers are). As you drag, Sublime Text will highlight entire lines at once, extending the selection for each line your pointer passes over. This method is particularly effective for selecting a large block of consecutive lines visually without precision text selection.

• Standard Click and Drag (Less Efficient for "All Rows"): While you can click at the beginning of the document and drag to the end, this is generally less efficient for selecting all rows compared to the gutter drag or keyboard shortcuts, as it requires more precise cursor movement over the text itself.

Understanding Related Selection Techniques

While "selecting all rows" typically means selecting the entire document content, Sublime Text also offers powerful multi-cursor and column selection capabilities that are distinct but worth knowing. These are not used for selecting all lines of the document, but for specific vertical or multiple point selections.

• Column Selection: This allows you to select text vertically, creating multiple cursors.
  • Mouse Dragging: Hold down the Middle Mouse Button (or scroll wheel) and drag vertically.
  • Shift + Right Mouse Button: An alternative way to initiate a column selection.
  • Keyboard: On Windows/Linux, Ctrl + Alt + Up/Down adds new cursors above or below the current one, enabling column-like editing. On macOS, Cmd + Shift + L after selecting lines converts them into multiple cursors.

These methods are excellent for editing multiple lines at specific column positions but are not generally used for selecting the entire document's content.

Summary of Selection Methods

Method	Windows / Linux Shortcut	macOS Shortcut	Menu Path	Description
Select All (Text)	Ctrl + A	Cmd + A	Edit > Select All	Selects all text and lines in the current document.
Gutter Drag	(Mouse action)	(Mouse action)	N/A	Click and drag in the line number gutter to select entire lines visually.
Column Select	Middle Mouse Drag	Middle Mouse Drag	N/A	Selects text vertically across multiple lines or creates multiple cursors.

By mastering these selection techniques, you can significantly enhance your efficiency and navigation within Sublime Text.