Double clicking variable selects variable AND $ prefix - this is not desirable

System Details

System Details Output

### VSCode version: 1.56.2 054a9295330880ed74ceaedda236253b4f39a335 x64

### VSCode extensions:
abusaidm.html-snippets@0.2.1
atlassian.atlascode@2.8.6
DavidAnson.vscode-markdownlint@0.41.0
donjayamanne.githistory@0.6.16
DotJoshJohnson.xml@2.5.1
eamodio.gitlens@11.4.1
EditorConfig.EditorConfig@0.16.4
eg2.tslint@1.0.47
everettjf.filter-line@2.0.1
formulahendry.dotnet-test-explorer@0.7.5
gep13.chocolatey-vscode@0.7.2
Mikael.Angular-BeastCode@10.0.3
ms-azuretools.vscode-docker@1.13.0
ms-dotnettools.csharp@1.23.12
ms-edgedevtools.vscode-edge-devtools@1.1.9
ms-python.python@2021.5.842923320
ms-python.vscode-pylance@2021.5.4
ms-toolsai.jupyter@2021.6.832593372
ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers@0.177.2
ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh@0.65.4
ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh-edit@0.65.6
ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh-explorer@0.56.0
ms-vscode-remote.remote-wsl@0.56.3
ms-vscode-remote.vscode-remote-extensionpack@0.21.0
ms-vscode.cpptools@1.4.0
ms-vscode.powershell-preview@2021.5.0
ms-vscode.vscode-typescript-tslint-plugin@1.3.3
msjsdiag.debugger-for-chrome@4.12.12
msjsdiag.debugger-for-edge@1.0.15
NicolasVuillamy.vscode-groovy-lint@1.4.0
redhat.vscode-commons@0.0.6
redhat.vscode-yaml@0.19.2
robinbentley.sass-indented@1.5.1
sibiraj-s.vscode-scss-formatter@2.2.0
SimonSiefke.svg-preview@2.8.3
slevesque.vscode-zipexplorer@0.3.1
spmeesseman.vscode-taskexplorer@2.0.7
streetsidesoftware.code-spell-checker@1.10.2
twxs.cmake@0.0.17
wayou.vscode-todo-highlight@1.0.4
yzhang.markdown-all-in-one@3.4.0


### PSES version:

### PowerShell version:

Name                           Value
----                           -----
PSVersion                      7.1.3
PSEdition                      Core
GitCommitId                    7.1.3
OS                             Microsoft Windows 10.0.19043
Platform                       Win32NT
PSCompatibleVersions           {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0…}
PSRemotingProtocolVersion      2.3
SerializationVersion           1.1.0.1
WSManStackVersion              3.0

I had to run this from pwsh. PSIC just hangs when I try to run this command. But PSES is:

=====> PowerShell Preview Integrated Console v2021.5.0 <=====

Issue Description

Double-clicking a variable has changed to now selecting the $ prefix. This is a problem when pasting over the variable when used in splatting e.g. @iwrArgs becomes @$iwrArgs. Ditto with string interpolation "${smtpServer}" becomes "${$smtpServer}" after pasting. This is highly undesirable IMO.

Expected Behaviour

Double-click select of a variable should not include the $ in the selection.

Actual Behaviour

Double-click select of a variable does include the $ in the selection.

[poshcodebear]

I’m definitely not one of those happy with this change.

It messes with Ctrl+Backspace, so erasing and retyping a variable name means also having to retype the $, and erasing a parameter also erases the trailing -.

It messes with quick refactoring, so Ctrl+F2 to change the name of a variable means, again, retyping the $, even though it makes no sense that I’d want to change that part since all variables must be decorated with a $ (not to mention, it means splats won’t be updated in a quick Ctrl+F2 refactor, which can actually introduce bugs/break scripts)

Not to mention, it makes refactoring multiple functions in the same module to change the noun or prefix a bigger pain, because now I either have to do it for every verb variant or write a regex find/replace for it.

In any event, these are behaviors that I’ve come to expect from the editor in the several years I’ve been using Code to write my PowerShell, and this change has already caused a significant amount of aggravation in just the very short time since it’s been implemented, to the point I had to dig in to the settings to figure out why it wasn’t working as expected, and even went to the hassle of searching the commit history for this repo just to verify I wasn’t going mad and this had actually changed.

This is a breaking change to existing user workflows. I don’t see the old behavior as confusing in the slightest, and personally feel that existing users who have already come to expect certain behavior should take precedence over new users who can learn the existing behavior more easily than we can re-learn it. Four plus years of muscle memory don’t fade overnight.

Anyway, I know there’s a workaround and will be using it, but I really think this was a poorly thought out decision.

[rkeithhill]

@dragonwolf83 Changing three years of EXISTING behavior was probably not a good idea IMO. That is one issue I have with certain OSS projects. Folks seem a little cavalier with making changes to well established behavior. At the very least, the change in behavior should have been made “opt-in”.