How to highlight everything on a laptop: 10 proven methods for Windows, macOS and Linux

On Mac similar command - Command+A, but in some older versions macOS (up to Catalina) it may not work in system dialog boxes. For Linux (GNOME/KDE) the same rule applies as for Windows, but in the terminal (bash) Ctrl+A moves the cursor to the beginning of the line rather than highlighting the text.

⚠️ Attention: In some specialized programs (for example, Adobe Photoshop or AutoCAD) Ctrl+A can perform other actions - select all layers or objects on the canvas. Before use, check the key assignments in the menu Edit → Keyboard shortcuts.

2. Alternative keyboard shortcuts

If Ctrl+A doesn't work or you need to select only part of the objects, use these methods:

In Linux terminal (bash/zsh) to select all text use Ctrl+Shift+C (copy) after mouse selection - standard Ctrl+A does not work here for selection, but only for moving the cursor.

Make sure Num Lock is turned off (may block combinations)

Check your keyboard layout (English/Russian)

Open the "On-Screen Keyboard" (Win+Ctrl+O) for diagnostics

Reboot your laptop if the keys are not responding -->

3. Select using mouse and touchpad

If the keyboard is not available (for example, on a tablet laptop with the keyboard disabled), use these techniques:

• 🖱️ Triple click by paragraph in a text editor - will select the entire paragraph (works in Word, LibreOffice).
• 👆 Hold left mouse button and move the cursor from the beginning to the end of the text (or list of files).
• 📱 On touchpad with multi-touch support: three-finger touch + swipe down (to macOS and some Windows laptops).
• 🔍 In Explorer Windows: click on the first file, then while holding Shift Click on the last one and the range will be highlighted.

For precise selection in graphic editors (for example, Photoshop) use the tool Rectangular area (M) with the key held down Shift - this will add new areas to the current selection. B Figma or Canva similar logic works with the tool Selection (V).

⚠️ Attention: On some laptops HP And Dell with drivers Synaptics Three-finger touch is disabled by default. Turn it in Control Panel → Mouse → Device Options → Settings.

4. Selection in specific applications

Some programs have unique highlighting mechanisms:

• 📹 Adobe Premiere Pro: Ctrl+A Selects all clips in the timeline, but not effects. To highlight effects use Shift+click for each.
• 🎵 FL Studio: Alt+A Highlights all patterns in the playlist.
• 📊 Microsoft Excel:
  • Ctrl+A (one time) - selects the current data area.
  • Ctrl+A (twice) - selects the entire sheet.
  • Ctrl+Shift+* — selects only cells with data in the current region.
• 🐧 Terminal Linux: Ctrl+Shift+C/V for copy/paste (instead of the standard Ctrl+C/V, which send signals to processes).

B 1C:Enterprise To select all rows in the document table, use the context menu (right mouse button → Select all), since hotkeys are often overridden.

5. Highlight on touchscreen laptops

On hybrid devices (for example, Microsoft Surface, Lenovo Yoga) or tablets under Windows Gestures available:

• 👋 Touch and hold (1 second) + finger movement - selects text or files.
• ✌️ Two fingers: move them apart - scaling, bring them together - selecting a group of objects.
• 🖌️ Stylus: draw a lasso around the elements - in Windows Ink this will create a selection for copying.

B macOS on MacBook Pro/Air with Touch Bar You can customize the highlight button via System Preferences → Keyboard → Touch Bar Settings. For example, add a button Select all for Pages or Numbers.

⚠️ Attention: On laptops with Windows 11 and the touch screen sometimes triggers “tablet mode”, where the gestures are different. To return the default behavior, disable the option in Settings → System → Tablet mode.

6. Automate selection using scripts

For advanced users: if you regularly need to select objects according to complex rules (for example, files of a certain type or text according to a pattern), use scripts:

• 🤖 Windows (PowerShell):

  Get-ChildItem -Path "C:\Папка" -Include *.txt -Recurse | Select-Object -Property FullName

  Selects everything .txt files in the folder and subfolders (the result can be copied to the clipboard).

• 🐍 macOS/Linux (Python):

  import os
  files = [f for f in os.listdir('.') if f.endswith('.pdf')]
  print('\n'.join(files))

  Will list all .pdf in the current directory.

To select text using a regular expression in editors (VS Code, Sublime Text) use search with flag Alt+Enter (multiple cursor). For example, to select all email addresses in a document, enter in the search \b[\w.-]+@[\w.-]+\.\w+\b and press Alt+Enter.

7. Solving selection problems

If the standard methods don't work, check these points:

On Mac if Cmd+A doesn't work in Finder, reset the program settings via the terminal:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles YES; killall Finder

This will also show hidden files that may be blocking the selection.

Frequently Asked Questions