Sublime 3: Ctrl-c triggers even if no text is selected, drops text in clipboard

Question

I'm using Sublime 3083.

Suppose I cut some text (Ctrl-x) in a file and then attempt to paste it somewhere else, in that same file or another one.

1. I position the cursor on the line I want to paste the text.

2. If I hit Ctrl-v the text is pasted with no issues.

3. But if I accidentally hit Ctrl-c instead, the text that was cut can no longer be pasted. It is dropped from the clipboard and I'm forced to Ctrl-z back to the point before the text was cut.

This happens even if no text is selected when hitting Ctrl-c.

I tested and this behaviour seems to be exclusive from Sublime. Is this a feature? If so, can it be disabled?

Answer 1

There is a setting in Preferences > Settings - Default which can change the behavior:

// If true, the copy and cut commands will operate on the current line
// when the selection is empty, rather than doing nothing.

"copy_with_empty_selection": false,

Changing it to false should make it so that it doesn't copy an empty selection.

Answer 2

Add this to your User settings:

"copy_with_empty_selection": false

---

Step-by-Step:

1. Preferences > Settings
2. A new window will open with 2 files:

3. In sublime-settings -- User (the one on the right) paste this:

   "copy_with_empty_selection": false

Why?

If you do it in Default settings it will be overwritten when sublime updates. Any changes you make to settings should be in User Settings.