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Block Selection

Block Selection

Select and manipulate entire text blocks.

Block Selection

Block selection allows you to select multiple blocks at once.You can initiate a selection by clicking and dragging from the left or right padding of the editor.
Key features of block selection:
  • Select multiple blocks by dragging from the editor's padding
  • Try using Shift + drag after the first block selection to select multiple non-contiguous blocks.
  • Easily manipulate groups of blocks
  • Perform bulk actions on selected blocks
  • Intuitive and efficient way to manage content
  • Enhances productivity for complex document structures

The Block Selection feature allows users to select and manipulate entire text blocks, as opposed to individual words or characters. This powerful functionality enhances the editing experience by providing efficient ways to manage large sections of content.

Features

  • Select entire blocks with a single action
  • Multi-block selection
  • Copy, cut, and delete operations on selected blocks
  • Keyboard shortcuts for quick selection:
    • Cmd+A:
      • First press: select the current block
      • Double press: select all blocks
    • Arrow keys: select the block above or below
  • Customizable styling for selected blocks

Installation

npm install @udecode/plate-selection @udecode/plate-node-id

Usage

import { NodeIdPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-node-id';
import { BlockSelectionPlugin } from '@udecode/plate-selection/react';
 
const plugins = [
  // ...otherPlugins,
  NodeIdPlugin,
  BlockSelectionPlugin,
];

Configuration

Set scrollable container

To control the scrollable container, configure the boundaries and container options within areaOptions. These options accept CSS selectors, such as #selection-demo #scroll_container, which are used with document.querySelector().

For this to work effectively:

  1. Add an id or className to your scroll container.If you not sure about the container, you can add it to the <Editor /> component.
  2. Use the appropriate selector in your configuration.
  3. Don't forget to set position: relative to your scroll container.

Example configuration:

{
  areaOptions: {
    boundaries: '#your-scroll-container-id',
    container: '#your-scroll-container-id',
    selectables: '#your-scroll-container-id .slate-selectable',
    selectionAreaClass: 'slate-selection-area',
  }
}

This setup ensures that the block selection functionality is properly constrained within your designated scrollable area.

Set selectable element

Add data-plate-selectable to the container or the element you want to start block selection.

Example:

   <PlateContent
    aria-disabled={disabled}
    className={cn(
      editorVariants({
        disabled,
        focusRing,
        focused,
        size,
        variant,
      }),
      className
    )}
    data-plate-selectable
    disableDefaultStyles
    readOnly={disabled ?? readOnly}
    {...props}
    />

Set scroll speed

useing options.areaOptions.behaviour.scrolling.speedDivider to set the scroll speed.

The value of 1.5 is our recommended speed.Since it's same with the default speed of the browser.

  areaOptions: {
      behaviour: {
        scrolling: {
          speedDivider: 1.5,
        },
      },
  },

Full configuration recommended:

options: {
  areaOptions: {
    behaviour: {
      scrolling: {
        speedDivider: 1.5,
      },
      // The distance needed to move for the selection area to appear.
      // If it’s too small, it may cause the mouse click event to be blocked. 30 is a good default.
      startThreshold: 30,
    },
    boundaries: '#your-scroll-container-id',
    container: '#your-scroll-container-id',
    selectables: '#your-scroll-container-id .slate-selectable',
    selectionAreaClass: 'slate-selection-area',
  },
  // if not using plate-ui context menu, set it to false
  enableContextMenu: true,
},

Styling

Selection area

Style the selection area using .slate-selection-area class. For example:

'[&_.slate-selection-area]:border [&_.slate-selection-area]:border-primary [&_.slate-selection-area]:bg-primary/10'

Selected element

To determine if an element is selected, use the new useBlockSelected hook. You can render a visual indicator around selected blocks using our BlockSelection component or create your own:

import React from 'react';
import { useBlockSelected } from '@udecode/plate-selection/react';
 
export function BlockSelection() {
  const isBlockSelected = useBlockSelected();
 
  return (
    <div
      className={`pointer-events-none absolute inset-0 z-10 bg-primary/15 ${
        isBlockSelected ? 'opacity-100' : 'opacity-0'
      }`}
    />
  );
}

This component should be rendered inside each block element for consistent selection feedback. Plate UI is doing it in plate-element.tsx.

Disable browser default scroll behavior

When selecting text and moving the cursor to the bottom of the page, the browser's default scroll behavior can conflict with the BlockSelectionPlugin. To mitigate this, you can add a non-selectable area to the right side of the editor:

<div className="absolute right-0 top-0 h-full w-4 select-none" />

This helps prevent unexpected scrolling during selection operations.

Plugins

BlockSelectionPlugin

Options

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    Options for the selection area. Example:

    {
  boundaries: ['#selection-demo #scroll_container'],
  container: ['#selection-demo #scroll_container'],
  selectables: ['#selection-demo #scroll_container .slate-selectable'],
  selectionAreaClass: 'slate-selection-area',
}

    The padding-right of the editor.

    Enables or disables the context menu for block selection.

    • Default: false

    Indicates whether block selection is currently active.

    • Default: false

    A function to handle the keydown event when selecting.

    Options for querying nodes during block selection.

    • Default: { maxLevel: 1 }

    A set of IDs for the currently selected blocks.

    • Default: new Set()

BlockMenuPlugin

API

editor.api.blockSelection.addSelectedRow

Adds a selected row to the block selection.

Parameters

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    The ID of the row to be selected.

editor.api.blockSelection.getNodes

Gets the selected blocks in the editor.

Returns

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    An array of selected block entries.

editor.api.blockSelection.resetSelectedIds

Resets the set of selected IDs to an empty set.

editor.api.blockSelection.selectedAll

Selects all selectable blocks in the editor.

editor.api.blockSelection.setSelectedIds

Sets the selected IDs based on added and removed elements.

Parameters

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editor.api.blockSelection.unselect

Unselects all blocks and sets the isSelecting flag to false.

Transforms

editor.tf.blockSelection.duplicate

Duplicates the selected blocks.

Parameters

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    An array of node entries to duplicate.

editor.tf.blockSelection.removeNodes

Removes the selected nodes from the editor.

editor.tf.blockSelection.select

Selects the nodes returned by getNodes() and resets the selected IDs.

editor.tf.blockSelection.setNodes

Sets properties on the selected nodes.

Parameters

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    The properties to set on the selected nodes.

    Options for setting nodes.

editor.tf.blockSelection.setTexts

Sets text properties on the selected nodes.

Parameters

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    The text properties to set on the selected nodes.

    Options for setting text nodes, excluding the 'at' property.

API Components

BlockSelectable

Props

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BlockSelection

A wrapper component that adds block selection functionality to its children.

Props

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    The content to be wrapped with block selection functionality.

Hooks

useBlockSelected

Returns true if context block is selected.

useBlockSelectableState

Returns

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    Whether the block is active for selection.

    The element associated with the block.

    The path of the block in the editor.

    A ref to the block's DOM element.

useBlockSelectable

Returns

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    Props to be spread on the block's wrapper element.

useSelectionArea

A hook that initializes and manages the selection area functionality.

useBlockSelectionNodes

Returns an array of node entries for the currently selected blocks.

useBlockSelectionFragment

Returns an array of nodes for the currently selected blocks.

useBlockSelectionFragmentProp

Returns fragment prop for the currently selected blocks.

Basic MarksCaption