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Smart Multi-Cursor Paste Distribution
Paste multiple lines to multiple cursors with automatic line-to-cursor mapping
#multi-cursor
#clipboard
#editing
#workflow
When you have multiple cursors and paste content with the same number of lines, Zed now intelligently distributes each line to its corresponding cursor.
How It Works
- Create multiple cursors (e.g., 3 cursors)
- Copy content with the same number of lines (e.g., 3 lines)
- Paste with
Cmd-V - Each line goes to its matching cursor position
Example:
If you copy:
apple
banana
cherry
And paste with 3 cursors, you get:
- Line 1 (“apple”) → Cursor 1
- Line 2 (“banana”) → Cursor 2
- Line 3 (“cherry”) → Cursor 3
Why This Matters
Batch transformations: Apply different values to multiple locations simultaneously.
Data entry: Quickly distribute lists across multiple positions.
Refactoring: Replace multiple items with different values in one paste.
Natural workflow: Works intuitively when cursor and line counts match.
If the line count doesn’t match the cursor count, Zed falls back to the standard paste behavior (same content at each cursor).
Example Use Cases
- Distributing different variable names to multiple function parameters
- Pasting multiple import statements to different locations
- Filling in template placeholders with different values
- Renaming multiple similar elements with distinct names