---
title: Select all
category: features
---

{@snippet features/build-select-all-source}

The {@link module:select-all/selectall~SelectAll} feature allows selecting the entire content of the WYSIWYG editor using the <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>/<kbd>Cmd</kbd>+<kbd>A</kbd> keystroke or the toolbar button. It is mostly useful when you need to copy all the content to another document or want to clear the editor area easily.

<info-box info>
	This feature is enabled by default in all {@link installation/advanced/predefined-builds predefined builds} as a keyboard shortcut. See the [installation](#installation) section for information on adding a toolbar button to your editor.
</info-box>

## Demo

Press <kbd>Ctrl</kbd>/<kbd>Cmd</kbd>+<kbd>A</kbd> or use the toolbar button {@icon @ckeditor/ckeditor5-select-all/theme/icons/select-all.svg Select all} to select the entire content of the editor.

{@snippet features/select-all}

<info-box>
	When the selection is inside the {@link features/images-captions image caption}, it will only expand to the boundaries of the caption. Use the keystroke or the toolbar button again to include more content until the entire content of the editor is selected. The same rule applies, for instance, when the selection is inside a table cell or any self–contained (nested) editable region in the content.
</info-box>

## Related features

* {@link features/keyboard-support Keyboard shortcuts} &ndash; Check other popular keyboard shortcuts supported by CKEditor 5.

## Installation

<info-box info>
	This feature is enabled by default in all builds (loaded by the {@link module:essentials/essentials~Essentials} plugin) as a keyboard shortcut. The installation instructions are for developers interested in building their own, custom rich text editor or willing to configure the toolbar button.
</info-box>

To add this feature to your editor, install the [`@ckeditor/ckeditor5-select-all`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@ckeditor/ckeditor5-select-all) package:

```
npm install --save @ckeditor/ckeditor5-select-all
```

Then add the `SelectAll` plugin to your plugin list and to the toolbar:

```js
import SelectAll from '@ckeditor/ckeditor5-select-all/src/selectall';

ClassicEditor
	.create( document.querySelector( '#editor' ), {
		// Load the plugin.
		plugins: [ SelectAll, ... ],

		// Display the "Select all" button in the toolbar.
		toolbar: [ 'selectAll', ... ],
	} )
	.then( ... )
	.catch( ... );
```

<info-box info>
	Read more about {@link installation/getting-started/installing-plugins installing plugins} and {@link features/toolbar toolbar configuration}.
</info-box>

## Common API

The {@link module:select-all/selectall~SelectAll} plugin registers the `'selectAll'` UI button component and the `'selectAll'` command implemented by {@link module:select-all/selectallcommand~SelectAllCommand}.

The command can be executed using the {@link module:core/editor/editor~Editor#execute `editor.execute()`} method:

```js
// Select the entire content of the editor.
editor.execute( 'selectAll' );
```

<info-box>
	We recommend using the official {@link framework/guides/development-tools#ckeditor-5-inspector CKEditor 5 inspector} for development and debugging. It will give you tons of useful information about the state of the editor such as internal data structures, selection, commands, and many more.
</info-box>

## Contribute

The source code of the feature is available on GitHub in https://github.com/ckeditor/ckeditor5/tree/master/packages/ckeditor5-select-all.