Balancing text

Balance

Balance selects text inside ( ), { }, [ ] and < > pairs, including the brackets; press multiple times to expand to outer levels. This function is useful for determining whether a particular block of code is properly enclosed in brackets, you can often use it to pinpoint a missing paren when the error message produced by the compiler isn't as helpful.

Place a cursor anywhere inside a parentheses pair and press Command-B.

The selection expands to enclose the parentheses in the if statement. Press Command-B again.

This time the curly braces of the enclosing block are balanced. Balance again.

This time you hit the outermost block.

Balancing using the mouse

You can also balance by double clicking one of the ( ), { }, [ ], " " and ' ' pairs. Eddie will expand the selection to the matching bracket or quote pair. Note that unlike hitting Command-B, when balancing using a double-click, the balanced brackets or quotes themselves are not selected. In our previous example, if we double-click the opening parentheses of the if statement, we get:

Double-click balancing can be nicely used in combination with the Balance command (Command-B).

Balancing #ifdefs

By using the Command-double-click on a line with #if, #ifdef, #else and #endif you may select text enclosed in an #ifdef block (this feature is part of the IfdefBalancer plugin). You may also use the "Balance #ifdef" menu item from the Edit menu.

Read more about the various ways #ifdefs can be balanced in the Ifdef balancer section.