The Keys to GitHub’s Atom Editor

By clicking on specific files, Atom gives you the option to have certain panels open next to, or above, each other!5.

command + /Different languages have different ways to comment-out code, so gone are the days of trying to remember if you have the right amount of #’s or -’s .

By selecting multiple lines, you can also comment-out whole blocks of code.

6.

command + FIf you’re searching for a specific word in a file filled with tons of code, you can bring up a search bar that will highlight text that matches that search.

By clicking enter, you can go through each of those matches.

Mass Editing7.

command + clickIf you need to be in several different places at the same time, this will enable you to have multiple cursors that allow you to edit in those specific places.

8.

command + DPart of the coding process is going back to edit your code, so renaming variables occurs often.

If you place your cursor at a specific place and hold the above commands, one after the other, Atom selects the highlighted code as a pattern, and by clicking D again, you are able to get highlighted matches one by one.

You can unselect highlighted code by using command + U.

9.

command + control + GIf you know that you need all the instances of a specific piece of code, this will highlight and mass select all instances.

This is especially helpful if you’ve been using “name” for every single noun.

PackagesHere are some packages that will customize your “bike” and make you feel a bit more comfortable as you set out on unfamiliar territory.

You can access packages by going to your Preferences, then Install on the left hand side, and search through the different options.

Remember to Enable your packages in order to use them.

vk-terminalSwitching back and forth between terminal windows can be annoying.

Vk-terminal allows you to bring up a terminal window within the current Atom window by using control + `.

2.

minimapIf you’re a visualizer and you need the satisfaction of seeing all your hard work, minimap will give you a bite sized version of all your code displayed on your right hand side that you can use to navigate to certain areas of your code.

3.

beautifyI included beautify because the phrase programmers are inherently lazy comes to mind when using beautify.

I wouldn’t recommend this for beginners, because it’s important to get used to using certain conventions to write code.

What beautify does is give your code that “pretty”, perfectly indented and aligned code thats easy to read.

This is great for someone who is knee deep in learning an abstraction of a language and forgets to match up their closing tags or end statements (definitely not referring to myself).

Other Cool StuffSoft WrapLearning to become a coder will have you creating huge blocks of code and doing things “the long way”.

It helps to see all of your code when you’ve got a million different windows open at the same time, by going to Preferences, then the Editor tab on your left, and scrolling to Soft Wrap.

2.

Show Indent GuideBy enabling show indent guide through your Editor tab under Preferences, you’ll get a white line that follows wherever an indent is needed.

This is extremely helpful when you’re trying to match up all your end statements for conditionals, looking at HTML pages, and searching for missing end indicators.

3.

Split Screen Application WindowsI don’t have a PC set up in my home nor monitors, so having the ability to split the screen for a Google moment is a must.

First you fullscreen your editor and navigate back to your desktop.

Then you grab whatever window you want alongside your editor (more than likely a browser), into the same fullscreen space.

It should move over and sit together with the editor!.For now, you can only have two windows per fullscreen page, but you can have multiple fullscreen pages.

3.

control + command + spacebarThis is not a huge need-to-learn for Atom, but if you ever feel the need to add an emoji in your code, your README.

md, or anywhere on the internet that allows you to type, you can use this shortcut.

Final ThoughtsNow that the fear of not knowing how to use your editor is gone, you’ll be one step closer to becoming a proper developer.

At least you’ll look cool as you mass edit and correct a variable in front of your other coding newbies.

Although you may not always use Atom, take time to get to know your editor and all the wonderful things it can do for you and your code.

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