Extend/shrink selection

Last modified: 21 July 2022

The Extend Selection command allows you to successively select expanding logical blocks of code so that you can easily select any expression in the code by placing the caret somewhere inside it and pressing Ctrl+Alt+Right a few times. The command is also available in the main menu: ReSharper | Edit | Extend Selection.

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ReSharper also provides the Go to containing declaration Ctrl+[ command that helps you instantly select the current member where your caret is or the whole type.

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This command works well with other ReSharper features. For example, you can move the selection to a desired position, clone the selected piece of code, remove the element together with related whitespaces and utility characters or wrap the selection with code from a template.

Shrink Selection does exactly the opposite. Press Ctrl+Alt+Left or choose ReSharper | Edit | Shrink Selection in the main menu to apply this command.

With CamelHumps (the Use CamelHumps checkbox on the Environment | Editor | Behavior page of ReSharper options), the Extend/Shrink selection commands work in a slightly different way.

If the CamelHumps is enabled, the Extend/Shrink Selection commands take into account parts of compound names. Suppose you have placed the caret in the middle of a compound name with several parts that begin with uppercase letters:

With CamelHumps, pressing Ctrl+Alt+Right for the first time selects the current part of the word:

Only after pressing this keystroke for the second time ReSharper selects the whole word:

All subsequent presses are processed as usual.

This feature is supported in the following languages and technologies:

The instructions and examples given here address the use of the feature in C#. For details specific to other languages, see corresponding topics in the ReSharper by language section.