Select mode inconsistency

[donaldcallen]

If the cursor is on the first character of a word and you press 'e', the cursor moves to the last character of the word with all the characters selected. Now press 'b' and the cursor moves back to the first character, all characters still selected. But if instead of 'b', you press 'v' to enter select mode and then 'b', the cursor moves to the first character and all but the first are now UN-selected. ????

Quoting from the documentation: "Select mode echoes Normal mode, but changes any movements to extend selections rather than replace them." (emphasis mine)

There are other examples of select mode undoing existing selections rather than at least leaving them in place, contrary to what I would expect, given what the documentation says.

[david-crespo]

I think what's happening here is your selection is anchored to its starting point (which in your example is the beginning of the word) even when you only enter visual mode after selecting the word. This is more intuitive in the case where you are on a single character, press v to enter visual mode, then select a bit to the right and then back to the left past the original character. As you describe, movement unselects until you get to the anchor. I do both in the screencap below: starting with a single character and starting at the end of the word.

I agree with you, though, that the wording "changes any movements to extend selections" is misleading. Maybe "modify" would be better.

2025-01-14-helix-visual-mode-anchor-example.mp4

[the-mikedavis]

This documentation could be expanded. Extending a selection has a precise definition that the cursor can move according to whatever motion you're using but the anchor (opposite end of the cursor) stays put.