Eclipse keyboard tricks: Editing code

When you start using a new editor, you probably lose some of your coding productivity at first. This happens regardless of the editor you were used to and regardless of the editor you move to. Most people think their loss in productivity is because the new editor has less features or does not have the features they need. In reality, the new editor just has less features known to the new user.

So here is a post for everybody moving to Eclipse, and especially VHDL coders trying out the Sigasi HDT Eclipse plugin. I have written down some cool features that you might not find during your first week with Eclipse. Today I focus on code editing.

(VHDL) Code Editing

Moving lines: You can move lines up and down by pressing ALT+UP or ALT+DOWN. No need to select, cut, or paste!

Duplicating lines by pressing CTRL+ALT+UP. Note that this key combination might be hijacked by your operating system or window manager (e.g. the default configuration of recent Gnome installations). Either change your system settings or change the key binding within Eclipse: Window > Preferences and then General > Keys.

Delete Lines by pressing CTRL+D.

Activate Block Editing by pressing ALT+SHIFT+A.

If you like these five new shortcuts, you might want to print a copy of the Keyboard Shortcuts and put it on the wall next to your computer. Next time, I’ll show you some navigation tricks.