Delete whitespace in Visual Studio Code in arbitrary selection (aka join words) (not trim trailing whitespace) - visual-studio-code

Question

It seems like this should be a simple question, but I can't figure out how to delete all the whitespace within an arbitrary selection in Visual Studio Code (another way of saying this is to join all characters within a selection).
Note: I'm not asking how to trim trailing whitespace although this function could be used to manually to that.
It seems like there should be a built in way to do this, but if there isn't can someone point me to an extension that will do this?
I wasn't able to find one yet.

Answer 1

You can do it fairly easily without an extension.
Copy the selection
Ctrl + N (opens new unnamed blank document)
Paste
Ctrl + H (replace dialog), space, Ctrl + Alt + Enter (replace-all)
Now copy the update string to where you want it, and close the document.

Answer 2

Here's an extension (remove-whitespace-aka-join-words) I built to do just this:
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=tnrich.remove-whitespace-aka-join-words

Answer 3

Just adding this here for 2022. I use one of these two methods. The first I don't have to remember the Regular Expression formula:
Method 1:
Sometimes this method will strip all spaces in your code (which isn't intended). If that occurs, try the next method. I often try this method first.
Select an empty space, and push CTRL + F, or Apple key + F on mac. This will highlight all matching characters, spaces.
Push the Replace All button to replace them all with nothing.
Hit CTRL + SHIFT + P' or Apple key + Shift + P', and select Format Document.
Method 2:
Found here: https://www.trainingdragon.co.uk/blog/how-to-remove-empty-lines-in-visual-studio-code/
Push CTRL + F, or Apple key + F on mac. Select the Use Regular Expression button, or push Apple key + option + R to toggle it on/off.
Add ^(\s)*$\n to the find input box.
Push the Replace All button to replace them all.

Answer 4

Depending on your selection you might be able by simply
Select the first space
Ctrl+D to select the next space, and repeat for all your spaces
Delete
Here is a technique that could be of more general use. Make a keybinding like so:
{
"key": "shift+alt+y", // or whatever keybinding you want
"command": "editor.action.insertSnippet",
"args": {
"snippet": "${TM_SELECTED_TEXT/\\s//g}" // replace spaces with nothing
},
"when": "editorTextFocus && editorHasSelection"
},
Then select your text and trigger this command. [Or make it a snippet and trigger it through the command palette Insert Snippet command.]
This could be modified to use for many things very easily - in part because often the regex will be quite simple as it will operate within already selected text.
You can also just do a Find/Replace easily:
Find: just a space
Replace: with nothing
Make your selection
Enable the Find in Selection option - the "hamburger-like icon" to the right