Selection (user interface): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:58, 23 February 2024

Latest revision as of 05:48, 1 July 2025

(5 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown)

Line 1:

{{Short description|A list of items on which user operations will take place.}}

[[File:Mutation and selection diagram (2).svg|thumb|[[Mutation]] and Selection]]

In [[computing]] and [[user interface design|user interface engineering]], a '''selection''' is a list of items on which [[Command (computing)|user operations]] will take place. The user typically adds items to the list manually, although the [[computer]] may create a selection automatically.

Line 17 ⟶ 16:

=== Range selection ===

A variationselection method to facilitate the selection of alarge rangeamounts of text or items in a long list onsuch touchas screenfiles devicesand folders in [[file manager]]s is ''range selection'', sparing the user from clicking or tapping each item individually.

On desktop file managers such as the [[Windows Explorer]] and [[Nemo (file manager)|Nemo file manager]], it can be used by clicking on the first item to be selected, then holding the <kbd>⇧</kbd> [[shift key]] while clicking on the last item to be selected. In mobile file managers, it is implemented since early versions of [[ES File Explorer#Popularization and functionality|ES File Explorer]], where only two listed items (file or directory) need to be highlighted and a button pressed to select all items in-between.

It is implemented since early versions of [[ES File Explorer#Popularization and functionality|ES File Explorer]], where only two listed items (file or directory) need to be highlighted to select all in-between, in resemblance to the [[shift key]] selection of desktop file managers such as [[Windows Explorer]] and [[Nemo (file manager)|Nemo file manager]].

Ideally, the two list items are navigated to with a draggable [[scroll bar]], since it can move through long lists faster.

=== Selection with dragging ===

The user taps or clicks on the first item, drags upward or downward, and waits for the list to scroll to the last desired item, at which the user releases the pointer or finger. The same applies to text.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nield |first1=David |title=The best ways to select text on your phone and computer |url=https://www.popsci.com/diy/how-to-select-all-text/ |website=Popular Science |access-date=30 September 2024 |date=14 October 2022}}</ref>

== Simultaneous editing ==