Sublime Forum

What happened to "Invert Selection" in ST4?

#1

One of the features I found most useful in ST3 was Invert Selection (under the Selection menu). I have a specific use case related to log file analysis and network abuse reporting.

I upgraded to ST4 and I cannot find it anywhere. Nor can I find a way to add it back to the Selection menu via some preference setting.

Given how useful it is, I can’t believe that it was intentionally removed, so I’m writing to ask what I need to do to get it back into the Selection menu. I’m not looking for workarounds to manually accomplish the same thing.

Thanks.

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#2

The menu item Selection -> Invert Selection was removed in ST Build 4050. Only the menu item is removed though. The command for it invert_selection is still available and you can use it in anything you like (command palette entry, key bindings etc. etc.)

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#3

Thanks for that useful information. It’s just much more convenient accessing it through a menu than through the command palette or a key binding (which I will never remember, since I have countless applications with varying shortcut keys).

I guess for now I’ll stick with ST3 and hope that the Selection -> Invert Selection is restored in a future build of ST4.

Thanks again for that information.

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#4

Not sure whether it was removed by accident or intention, but it would be easy to bring back. A solution is provided at

Theres another open request at

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#5

Thanks for the information and links. I see that BenjaminSchaaf closed the request 8 days ago stating that there was “still no compelling reason to restore the menu/command items.”

User reliance on a previously available menu item feature is a compelling reason to keep the menu item present. Consistency in GUI functionality between versions is a good thing.

  • I don’t want to learn a new way to do something that I previously accomplished with a single menu click.
  • I don’t want to edit a configuration file to restore a menu item that should not have been removed.
  • I don’t want to install ST4/5/6/7/etc. several years from now, long after I’ve forgotten any of this, only to find Invert Selection is gone again, and then have to google yet again to find out how to put it back.

I uninstalled ST4 and reinstalled ST3. I’m hoping that the Sublime Text developers will reconsider the decision to remove the Invert Selection menu item and simply put it back. I’m not really sure who thought ‘You know would really improve Sublime Text? Removing commands that people have come to rely on from menus.’

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#6

Note that the linked issue includes instructions on adding the menu item back if you want it there and don’t want to bind it to a key, which would be a one-time thing that you need to do to get back to the previous functionality.

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#7

Thanks. I did see that, and if it was a one-time thing on one workstation (I have multiple, both physical and virtual), I’d do it.

But if any significant time passes between installations, I’m sure that I’ll have only a vague memory of having to ‘do something’ in order to get it back – and then it’s back to Google to figure out how.

I still don’t understand why it was removed. It’s a cool feature that’s lacking in most editors and that some of us have come to cherish. I wouldn’t turn finding it into the GUI equivalent of an Easter Egg hunt.

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