<anchor id="gosbasic-46"/> <!-- was Using Windows -->
<highlights>
<para>This chapter introduces you to the basic skills that you
need to work with the GNOME Desktop.</para>
</highlights>
<section id="mouse-skills">
<title>Mouse Skills</title>
<!-- Maintained for 2.8 compatibility -->
<anchor id="gosbasic-2"/>
<indexterm>
<primary>basic skills</primary>
<secondary>mouse skills</secondary>
</indexterm>
<indexterm>
<primary>mouse</primary>
<secondary>basic skills</secondary>
</indexterm>
<!-- Notes for future development of the mouse section
Contents list:
* buttons
* click, drag, etc
* what you actually do with those: the concept of focus, selection, etc.
basically, an introduction to the 'noun, verb' grammar of GUIs
* pointers
-->
<para>
This section describes what the mouse buttons do, and what the different pointers mean.
</para>
<para>A mouse is a pointing device that lets you move the mouse pointer on the screen. The mouse pointer is usually
a small arrow with which you point to objects on your screen. Pressing a mouse button will perform a particular
action on the object over which your mouse pointer is situated, depending on which button you press.
</para>
<section id="mouse-conventions">
<title>Mouse Button Conventions</title>
<titleabbrev>Buttons</titleabbrev>
<!-- Maintained for 2.8 compatibility -->
<anchor id="gosgetstarted-44"/>
<indexterm>
<primary>mouse</primary>
<secondary>button conventions</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>The instructions in this manual are for three buttoned, right handed mouse devices, the most common type.
If you use another type of mouse or pointing device, you should take care to locate the corresponding buttons on your mouse. If you use a left-handed mouse
see the paragraph on setting mouse orientation below.
</para>
<note><para>If you set your mouse device to be left handed, you should reverse the mouse button
conventions used in this manual. This is normally also implied in most documentation and in many
applications.</para></note>
<para>Some mice lack a middle button. If you have a two-button mouse device,
then your system may be configured to use <firstterm>chording</firstterm> to allow middle button simulation. If chording is activated,
you press the left and right mouse buttons simultaneously, to simulate the
the middle mouse button. A middle mouse button is by no means necessary to use GNOME.</para>
<para>The mouse button conventions used in this manual are as
follows:</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>Left mouse button</term>
<listitem><para>The button on the left side of a mouse device. This is the main mouse button, used for selecting,
activating, pressing buttons etc... When you are told to "click" it is implied that you should click with the left button,
unless specifically stated.
</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Middle mouse button</term>
<listitem><para>The middle button of a mouse device. On many mice with a scroll wheel,
the scroll wheel can be pushed down for a middle mouse
button click.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>Right mouse button</term>
<listitem><para>The button on the right side of a mouse device. Often, this button displays
a context menu for the object under the pointer.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<para>Use <application>Mouse Preferences</application> to reverse the orientation of your mouse device. You will then need to reverse the mouse button conventions used in this manual and other GNOME documentation.
See <xref linkend="prefs-mouse"/> for more information about setting
your mouse preferences.</para>
</section>
<section id="mouse-actions">
<title>Mouse Actions</title>
<titleabbrev>Actions</titleabbrev>
<!-- Maintained for 2.8 compatibility -->
<anchor id="gosgetstarted-45"/>
<anchor id="gosbasic-6"/>
<indexterm>
<primary>mouse</primary>
<secondary>action conventions</secondary>
</indexterm>
<indexterm>
<primary>mouse</primary>
<secondary>action terminology</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>The following conventions are used in this manual to describe actions
that you take with the mouse: </para>
<!-- convert to variablelist -->
<informaltable frame="topbot">
<tgroup cols="2" colsep="0" rowsep="0">
<colspec colname="colspec0" colwidth="36.36*"/>
<colspec colname="colspec1" colwidth="63.64*"/>
<thead>
<row rowsep="1">
<entry>
<para>Action</para>
</entry>
<entry>
<para>Definition</para>
</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para>Click</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Press and release the left mouse button,
without moving the mouse.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para>Left-click</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Same as <emphasis>click</emphasis>.
The term 'left-click' is used where there might be
confusion with <emphasis>right-click</emphasis>.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para>Middle-click</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Press and release the middle mouse button,
without moving the mouse.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para>Right-click</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Press and release the right mouse button,
without moving the mouse.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para>Double-click</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Press and release the left mouse button twice
in rapid succession without moving the mouse. You
can configure the sensitivity to double-clicks by changing the
keyboard shortcut to open the context menu once the item has been
selected.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<para>For example, when viewing files in the file manager, you select
a file by clicking with the left mouse button and open a file by
double-clicking with the left mouse button. Clicking with the right
mouse button will bring up a context menu for that file.</para>
<tip><para>In most applications, you can select text with your left
mouse button and paste it in another application using the middle
mouse button. This is called primary selection paste, and works
separately from your normal clipboard operations.</para></tip>
<tip><para>To select more than one item, you can hold the
<keycap>Ctrl</keycap> key to select multiple items, or
hold the <keycap>Shift</keycap> key to select a contiguous
range of items. You can also drag a <firstterm>bounding box</firstterm>
to select several items by starting the drag in the empty space around items
and dragging out a rectangle.
<!-- yeah, this is a rubbish explanation. --></para></tip>
</section>
<section id="mouse-pointers">
<title>Mouse Pointers</title>
<titleabbrev>Pointers</titleabbrev>
<!-- Maintained for 2.8 compatibility -->
<anchor id="gosbasic-7"/>
<indexterm>
<primary>mouse</primary>
<secondary>pointers</secondary>
</indexterm>
<indexterm>
<primary>pointers</primary>
<see>mouse pointers</see>
</indexterm>
<para>As you use the mouse, the appearance of the mouse pointer can
change. The appearance of the pointer provides feedback about a
particular operation, location, or state.</para>
<para>The following mouse pointers are shown as your mouse passes over
different elements of the screen:</para>
<note><para>Your mouse pointers will differ from those shown here if you are using a different <link linkend="prefs-mouse">pointer theme</link>. Your distributor or vendor may have set a different default theme.</para></note>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<inlinemediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata format="PNG"
fileref="figures/normal_pointer2.png"/>
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Normal pointer.</phrase>
</textobject>
</inlinemediaobject>
Normal pointer
</term>
<listitem><para>This pointer appears during normal use of
the mouse.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<inlinemediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata format="PNG"
fileref="figures/busy_pointer2.png"/>
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Busy pointer.</phrase>
</textobject>
</inlinemediaobject>
Busy pointer
</term>
<listitem><para>This pointer appears over a window that is busy performing a task. You cannot use the mouse to give this window any input, but you can move to another window and work with that.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<inlinemediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata format="PNG"
fileref="figures/resize_cursors.png"/>
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Resize pointers.</phrase>
</textobject>
</inlinemediaobject>
Resize pointers
</term>
<listitem><para>These are the pointers that indicate that you can grab control to resize parts
of the interface. They appear over the boarders of windows and over resize
handles between panes in a window. The direction of the arrows indicates
in which direction you can resize.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<inlinemediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata format="PNG"
fileref="figures/hyperlink_pointer2.png"/>
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Hand pointer</phrase>
</textobject>
</inlinemediaobject>
Hand pointer
</term>
<listitem><para>This pointer appears when you hover over a
<glossterm>hypertext link</glossterm>, in a web page for example.
This pointer indicates that you can click on the link to load
a new document or perform an action.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<inlinemediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata format="PNG"
fileref="figures/ibeam_pointer2.png"/>
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>I-beam pointer</phrase>
</textobject>
</inlinemediaobject>
I-beam pointer
</term>
<listitem><para>This pointer is shown when the mouse is over text that you can
select or edit. Click to place the cursor where you want to type text, or drag to select text.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
<para>The following mouse pointers are shown when dragging an item such as a file, or a piece of text.
They indicate the result of releasing the mouse button to drop the
object being moved.</para>
<variablelist>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<inlinemediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata format="PNG"
fileref="figures/move_pointer.png"/>
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Move pointer.</phrase>
</textobject>
</inlinemediaobject>
Move pointer
</term>
<listitem><para>This pointer indicates that when you drop the object,
the object is moved from
the old location to the new location.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<inlinemediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata format="PNG"
fileref="figures/copy_pointer.png"/>
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Copy pointer.</phrase>
</textobject>
</inlinemediaobject>
Copy pointer
</term>
<listitem><para>This pointer indicates that when you drop the object,
a copy of the object is
created where you drop it.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<inlinemediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata format="PNG"
fileref="figures/link_pointer.png"/>
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Symbolic link pointer.</phrase>
</textobject>
</inlinemediaobject>
Symbolic link pointer
</term>
<listitem><para>This pointer
indicates that when you drop the object, a <firstterm>symbolic
link</firstterm> to the object is created where you drop the object.
A symbolic link is a special type of file that points to another file
or folder. For more on this, see <xref linkend="nautilus-symlink"/>.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<inlinemediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata format="PNG"
fileref="figures/ask_pointer.png"/>
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Ask pointer.</phrase>
</textobject>
</inlinemediaobject>
Ask pointer
</term>
<listitem><para>This pointer
indicates that when you drop the object, you will be given a choice of what to do. A menu will open to allow you to choose which operation you would like to perform.
For instance, you may be able to move, copy, or
create a symbolic link.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<inlinemediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata format="PNG"
fileref="figures/not_available_pointer.png"/>
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Not available pointer.</phrase>
</textobject>
</inlinemediaobject>
Not available pointer
</term>
<listitem><para>This pointer indicates that you cannot
drop the object at the current location. Releasing the mouse button now will have no effect: the dragged object will be returned to its starting location.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<inlinemediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata format="PNG"
fileref="figures/fleur_pointer.png"/>
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Move panel object pointer.</phrase>
</textobject>
</inlinemediaobject>
Move panel object pointer
</term>
<listitem><para>This pointer appears when you drag a panel or a panel object
with the middle mouse button.
See <xref linkend="panels"/> for more information on panels.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
<varlistentry>
<term>
<inlinemediaobject>
<imageobject>
<imagedata format="PNG"
fileref="figures/fleur_pointer.png"/>
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase>Move window pointer.</phrase>
</textobject>
</inlinemediaobject>
Move window pointer
</term>
<listitem><para>This pointer appears when you drag a window to move it.
See <xref linkend="windows-manipulating"/> for more information on moving windows.</para></listitem>
</varlistentry>
</variablelist>
</section>
</section>
<section id="keyboard-skills">
<title>Keyboard Skills</title>
<!-- Maintained for 2.8 compatibility -->
<anchor id="gosbasic-51"/>
<indexterm>
<primary>basic skills</primary>
<secondary>keyboard skills</secondary>
</indexterm>
<indexterm>
<primary>keyboard</primary>
<secondary>basic skills</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>For almost every task that you can perform with the mouse, you can use
the keyboard to perform the same task. <firstterm>Shortcut keys</firstterm>
are keys that provide you with a quick way to perform a task.</para>
<para>You can use shortcut keys to perform general GNOME Desktop tasks and
to work with interface items such as panels and windows. You can also use
shortcut keys in applications. To customize your shortcut keys, use the
<application>Keyboard Shortcuts</application> preference tool. See
<xref linkend="prefs-keyboard-shortcuts"/> for more information about
configuring keyboard shortcuts.</para>
<note><para>Many PC keyboards come with two special keys for the Windows operating system: a key with a Microsoft Windows‚Ñ¢ logo and a key for accessing context menus.</para>
<para>In GNOME, the Windows key is often configured to
act as an additional modifier key, called the <firstterm>Super key</firstterm>.
The context menu key can be used to access the context menu of the selected
item, just as the <keycombo><keycap>Shift</keycap><keycap>F10</keycap></keycombo>
keyboard shortcut can.</para></note>
<para>You can also modify the GNOME Desktop preferences to use keyboard
accessibility features. See <xref linkend="prefs-keyboard-a11y"/> for
more information about the keyboard accessibility features.</para>
<para>The following sections describe the shortcut keys that you can use
throughout the desktop and applications.</para>
<section id="shortcuts-global">
<title>Global Shortcut Keys</title>
<!-- Maintained for 2.8 compatibility -->
<anchor id="gosbasic-62"/>
<indexterm>
<primary>shortcut keys</primary>
<secondary>global</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>Global shortcut keys enable you to use the keyboard to perform tasks
related to your desktop, rather than tasks on the currently selected window
or application. The following table lists some global shortcut keys:</para>
<informaltable frame="topbot">
<tgroup cols="2" colsep="0" rowsep="0">
<colspec colname="colspec0" colwidth="35.67*"/>
<colspec colname="colspec1" colwidth="64.33*"/>
<thead>
<row rowsep="1">
<entry>
<para>Shortcut Key</para>
</entry>
<entry>
<para>Function</para>
</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para><keycombo>
<keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>F1</keycap>
</keycombo></para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Open the <guimenu>Applications Menu</guimenu>.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para><keycombo>
<keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>F2</keycap>
</keycombo></para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Display the <guilabel>Run Application</guilabel>
dialog. See <xref linkend="tools-run-app"/> for more
information.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para>
<keycap>Print Screen</keycap>
</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Take a screenshot of the entire desktop. See
<xref linkend="tools-screenshot"/> for more information.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para><keycombo>
<keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>Print Screen</keycap>
</keycombo></para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Take a screenshot of the currently focused window.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para><keycombo>
<keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Alt</keycap>
<keycap>Arrow keys</keycap>
</keycombo></para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Switch to the workspace to the specified direction of the
current workspace. See <xref linkend="overview-workspaces"/> for
more information on working with multiple workspaces.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para><keycombo>
<keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Alt</keycap>
<keycap>D</keycap></keycombo>
</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Minimize all windows and give focus to the desktop.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para><keycombo>
<keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>Tab</keycap>
</keycombo></para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Switch between windows. A list of windows that you can
select is displayed. Release the keys to select a window. You
can press the <keycap>Shift</keycap> key to cycle through the
windows in reverse order.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para><keycombo>
<keycap>Ctrl</keycap><keycap>Alt</keycap>
<keycap>Tab</keycap></keycombo>
</para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Switch the focus between the panels and the desktop.
A list of items that you can select is displayed. Release the
keys to select an item. You can press the <keycap>Shift</keycap>
key to cycle through the items in reverse order.</para>
</entry>
</row>
</tbody>
</tgroup>
</informaltable>
</section>
<section id="shortcuts-window">
<title>Window Shortcut Keys</title>
<!-- Maintained for 2.8 compatibility -->
<anchor id="gosbasic-58"/>
<indexterm>
<primary>shortcut keys</primary>
<secondary>window</secondary>
</indexterm>
<para>Window shortcut keys allow you to use the keyboard to perform
tasks on the currently focused window. The following table lists
some window shortcut keys:</para>
<informaltable frame="topbot">
<tgroup cols="2" colsep="0" rowsep="0">
<colspec colname="colspec0" colwidth="35.67*"/>
<colspec colname="colspec1" colwidth="64.33*"/>
<thead>
<row rowsep="1">
<entry>
<para>Shortcut Key</para>
</entry>
<entry>
<para>Function</para>
</entry>
</row>
</thead>
<tbody>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para><keycombo>
<keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>Tab</keycap>
</keycombo></para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Switch between windows. A list of windows that you can
select is displayed. Release the keys to select a window. You
can press the <keycap>Shift</keycap> key to cycle through the
windows in reverse order.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para><keycombo>
<keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>F4</keycap>
</keycombo></para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Close the currently focused window.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para><keycombo>
<keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>F5</keycap>
</keycombo></para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Unmaximize the current window, if it is maximized.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para><keycombo>
<keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>F7</keycap>
</keycombo></para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Move the currently focused window. After pressing this
shortcut, you can move the window using either the mouse or
the arrow keys. To finish the move, click the mouse or press
any key on the keyboard.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para><keycombo>
<keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>F8</keycap>
</keycombo></para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Resize the currently focused window. After pressing this
shortcut, you can resize the window using either the mouse or
the arrow keys. To finish the resize, click the mouse or press
any key on the keyboard.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para><keycombo>
<keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>F9</keycap>
</keycombo></para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Minimize the current window.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para><keycombo>
<keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>F10</keycap>
</keycombo></para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Maximize the current window.</para>
</entry>
</row>
<row>
<entry colname="colspec0" valign="top">
<para><keycombo>
<keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>spacebar</keycap>
</keycombo></para>
</entry>
<entry colname="colspec1" valign="top">
<para>Open the window menu for the currently selected window. The
window menu allows you to perform actions on the window, such as
minimizing, moving between workspaces, and closing.</para>
