How to get PhpStorm to automatically highlight a selection

Question

I cannot find a way to get PhpStorm to automatically highlight the appearance of the selected word / line in the file during selection.

An example - let's say I have this code (logic doesn't matter):

$app = new App(); //this is an app var of type "App" that contains our Application $application_ranks = $app_array['app_rankings']; //some operation 

Now I make a choice - let's say I select the first part of the application.

PhpStorm behavior with ViewWordAtCaret plugin installed (no highlighting):

Sublime Text 2 behavior (incomplete):

Notepad ++ behavior (close, but still not perfect):

PhpDesigner 8 behavior (works as expected):

To save you time, I know about the "Use Highlighting" function, which pretty much does the same thing - the problem is that it only works for variable names / classes / functions / function calls, etc., while while after that I need to work for ANY selected sequence of characters, regardless of whether it is a variable or comment or function or something else. For example, if you pressed Ctrl + F (Find).

I tried the BrowseWordAtCaret plugin for PhpStorm proposed in this post , but it still does not provide this functionality.

Is there any way to achieve this? I am completely confused by the fact that something so simple (and basic - maybe even fundamental for coding, in my opinion) is so difficult to achieve in the editor that it has all the capabilities and is so dedicated to provide excellent user experience, etc. d.

Thank you for your time!

Answer 1

Not an ideal solution, but close enough:

Main menu → View → Highlight a word in Caret

or alternatively:

Settings → Editor → General → Appearance - Highlight Word in Caret

Please note that this is an option of the BrowseWordAtCaret plugin, therefore, it requires the installation of a plugin. To install it, go to Settings → Plugins → Browse repositories → Browse WordAtCaret → Install.

It still will not highlight the word if it is part of another line, but it will highlight it in all other cases. Example:

Phpstorm:

PhpDesigner: