@@ -17,6 +17,45 @@ Script analysis is provided by the [PSScriptAnalyzer] project on GitHub. If the
1717message starts with ` [PSScriptAnalyzer] ` or if you are getting faulty script diagnostics
1818(red and green squiggly lines under PowerShell in scripts) please [ open an issue there] .
1919
20+ ## Double-click isn't selecting the whole variable
21+ 22+ Visual Studio Code provides a default set of word separators, that is,
23+ characters that split words and so affect double-click selections. The editor's
24+ defaults include both ` - ` and ` $ ` . In [ v2021.5.1] we starting providing a
25+ default value for PowerShell files that excludes these two symbols. The primary
26+ motivation for this was to make the editor's selection behavior more closely
27+ match the extension's highlighting behavior (where whole symbols such as
28+ ` Verb-Noun ` and ` $MyVariable ` are highlighted) as well as align with collected
29+ user feedback.
30+ 31+ We excluded ` - ` because unlike programming languages that use ` CamelCase ` or
32+ ` snake_case ` , PowerShell uses a ` Verb-Noun ` style where dashes are part of many
33+ symbol names (like underscores in other languages). So by excluding it we teach
34+ Visual Studio Code to treat ` Verb-Noun ` as one symbol/word, which matches what
35+ the extension semantically highlights when the cursor is placed within it.
36+ 37+ We originally excluded ` $ ` because PowerShell uses it as a prefix for variable
38+ substition, and many users were already excluding it. This change proved
39+ controversial and so after reviewing even more user feedback after the public
40+ rollout of this change, we've decided to compromise among varying user desires
41+ by continuing to exclude ` - ` but revert the exclusion of ` $ ` .
42+ 43+ You can reset the behavior for PowerShell files to Visual Studio Code defaults
44+ with the following code added to ` settings.json ` :
45+ 46+ ``` json
47+ "[powershell]" : {
48+ "editor.wordSeparators" : " `~!@#$%^&*()-=+[{]}\\ |;:'\" ,.<>/?"
49+ }
50+ ```
51+ 52+ Similarly you can edit this setting to exclude ` $ ` just by removing it from the
53+ string, and if you do so, double-clicking ` $MyVariable ` will then select the
54+ whole symbol, matching what the extension semantically highlights, instead of
55+ just ` MyVariable ` . Keeping ` - ` will cause double-clicking ` Verb-Noun ` to only
56+ select the part of the symbol on the side of the ` - ` that you clicked. These
57+ settings are personal preferences.
58+ 2059## Problems with syntax highlighting
2160
2261PowerShell syntax highlighting is performed in combintation by the [ PowerShell Extension]
@@ -366,6 +405,7 @@ an issue on GitHub is appropriate.
366405[ semantic highlighting ] : https://code.visualstudio.com/api/language-extensions/semantic-highlight-guide
367406[ tackling an issue ] : ./development.md
368407[ v2021.2.2 ] : https://github.com/PowerShell/vscode-powershell/releases/tag/v2021.2.2
408+ [ v2021.5.1 ] : https://github.com/PowerShell/vscode-powershell/releases/tag/v2021.5.1
369409[ VSCode issue ] : https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode/issues/42356
370410[ VSCode Settings ] : https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/getstarted/settings
371411[ will break this compatibility ] : https://github.com/PowerShell/vscode-powershell/issues/1310
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