Question

There is a shortcut Ctrl + Shift + W to select the entire word at the current cursor position.

Is there a similar shortcut that keeps expanding the selected region every time I apply it?

I mean, is there a shortcut which

• selects the word when applied once (same as Ctrl + Shift + W) and
• selects the entire line when applied twice in a row and
• selects the entire block when applied three times etc.,

i.e. keeps expanding the selected region step by step?

I remember seeing such a shortcut, but I don’t remember whether it was for Visual Studio or some other editor.

Answer 1

Solution for CodeRush

Finally, I figured it out: the shortcut is the numpad-plus key after installing CodeRush Express for Visual Studio.

_{Source: Stack Overflow → CodeRush Tricks of the Trade → Answer by moobaa}

Solution for ReSharper

Or if you use Resharper, it’s the extend/shrink selection feature accessible via Ctrl+W.

_{Source: Jetbrains.com → extend/shrink documentation}