How to shift a block of text to the right/left in Sublime Text 2

Question

How do I shift a block of text to the left or right with Sublime Text 2?

score 50 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 16 '13 at 02:08

50

You can use ctrl+ ] to indent a line (or highlighted block), and ctrl + [ to unindent.

On OSX this is cmd + ]/[.

You can also use tab/shift+tab, but these will start from wherever the cursor is currently, while ctrl+[/] will move the whole line/block

answered Jan 16 '13 at 02:08

Ben McCormick

791
6
7

3

at least on the mac version tab & shift-tab work on whole lines and the position of the cursor has no influence on it. – yamm May 08 '15 at 08:12

score 18 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 17 '13 at 22:04

Check out colinta's SublimeMoveText. Install as a normal plugin (It's called "MoveText" by the Package Manager), but keybindings have to be set up manually. Here is what I did:

// MoveText
// move_text_left: Moves the selected text one character to the left
// move_text_right: Moves the selected text one character to the right
// move_text_up: Moves the selected text one line up
// move_text_down: Moves the selected text one line down
{ "keys": ["ctrl+shift+n"], "command": "move_text_left" },
{ "keys": ["ctrl+shift+m"], "command": "move_text_right" },

Highlight what you want to move. If it is more than one line, use column selection as @Jivings suggested (shift+right-click on Win/Linux, option+mouse on OSX). Then use the keybinding to move text left/right. You can also set up keybindings to move the selected up/down a line.

Some people use this package with `super+ctrl+left/right` key bindings instead. Also, MoveText **moves text by character position, not by word,** which would have been handier for general text editing purposes. — Serge Stroobandt, Aug 26 '14 at 12:11

score 3 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 15 '13 at 20:52

3

Use column selection and then insert or delete spaces or tabs.

Or highlight a selection of text and press tab to move it right or shift+tab to move it left.

answered Jan 15 '13 at 20:52

Jivings

101
13

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 07 '17 at 10:56

1

Select lines of code and press "tab" key but it works just to indent to right
For moving piece of code back and forth (left or right) use key combination: 'CTRL' + '[' and/or 'CTRL' + ']'

answered Mar 07 '17 at 10:56

zinturis

11
1

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This duplicates information in the accepted answer. – bertieb Mar 18 '17 at 00:26

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered May 03 '18 at 11:23

0

Go to find replace (Ctrl + H)
Select "Regular Expressions" and "In Selection" options.
Select the block where you want to insert space.
Replace all "^" with " "

answered May 03 '18 at 11:23

Kapil

1

score 0 · Answer 6 · answered Jul 17 '19 at 15:40

0

To move lines left and right use :

⌘ + ] or ⌘ + [

To move lines up and down use :

⌘ + ctrl + upArrow or downArrow

answered Jul 17 '19 at 15:40

Mino De Raj

101

Netwons · Answer 7 · 2021-12-20T08:12:33.030

0

It can be done with this command

in windows & linux

shift+tab

edited Dec 20 '21 at 08:12

answered Dec 19 '21 at 14:02

Netwons

101
1

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Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer). – Community Dec 19 '21 at 14:21

How to shift a block of text to the right/left in Sublime Text 2

7 Answers7