Show whitespace only on selected text in IntelliJ IDEs?

Question

Like how it is in Sublime Text. Currently I've only found the ability to show whitespace permanently.

Answer 1

This is currently not possible. Please vote for this feature request.

Update: An interesting trick to get the desired effect has been posted in the feature request.

1. Enable Show whitespaces in File | Settings | Editor | General | Appearance
2. Set the Text | Whitespaces foreground color to be the same as the editor background color in File | Settings | Editor | Colors & Fonts | General

Result: Whitespace is invisible by default, but when the text is selected the background color will change and the whitespace becomes visible.