Using the Mouse

Selecting Multiple Things

If you need to select more than one thing and then act on that group in unison — very useful for tagging multiple photos all at once—you need to master the two different ways that you can select multiple items.

Items all together (consecutive):

1. Click on the first photo.
2. Hold down the Shift key while you click on the last photo.
   
   
   

Items not together (nonconsecutive):

1. Click the first photo.
2. Hold down the Ctrl key and click each of the other desired photos in turn.
   
   
   

Dragging and Dropping

This is a technique used to select an item and "drag" it to a location and "drop" it there. For example, to drag a tag to a thumbnail. Or, you can drag a photo to a new location in a story.

You select the item (or items). Upon selecting the final item, hold down the mouse button while dragging the item.

Dragging a tag.
Dragging thumb into a box.
Dragging thumb in a story.

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Creating Regions

This is a technique known as "rubberbanding" — undoubtedly for the "stretchy" behavior of the selecting rectangle as you click and drag. The rectangle "rubberbands" and resizes itself as you go. Here are the steps:

• Picture the rectangle around the region of interest.
• Start with the mouse located at one of the imaginary corners of this region (e.g., upper left).
• Click the mouse button—and hold the button down!
  
  
  
  
• While keeping the mouse button pressed, "drag" (move) the mouse pointer to the opposite corner of your imaginary rectangle (e.g., lower right).
• You will see an outline of the region being drawn as you are moving the mouse.
  
  
  
  
• Release the mouse button, the region will be created.
  
  
  

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Right Clicking

This is most often used to bring up "context sensitive" menus — editing the properties of a Tag, for example.

With your mouse over the object, press the "right" mouse button. On the Mac, use "Control-click."

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Hovering the Mouse Cursor

This is most often used to bring up helpful "tooltip" text about a given element in the User Interface. Buttons, tags, thumbs, etc. Below we can see the tooltip for a tag on the thumbnail sleeve.

Hover means to move your mouse pointer to be over the object, and then pause for a moment. You do not click the mouse, or right-click the mouse. You must then keep the mouse still for a second or so, until the "pop-up" tooltip text appears. As soon as you move the mouse cursor, the tooltip disappears.

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Keyboard Shortcuts

This is a keyboard technique to invoke an action. Sometimes, it is more convenient to use the keyboard instead of using the mouse to invoke an action. Keyboard shortcuts give you an alternative means so you can choose your own preferred methods.

Below we can see the tooltip for a button that indicates a keyboard shortcut.

The shortcut is "Ctrl+L" which means to press the "L" key (ignore case) while holding down the "Ctrl" key (use the "Control" key for your operating system). As soon as you press the key combination, the action occurs.

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