Selection (user interface): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 13:05, 4 November 2020

Revision as of 13:18, 4 November 2020

Line 1:

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.

Selections are enacted through combinations of key presses on a [[Computer keyboard|keyboard]], with a precision [[pointing device]] ([[Mouse (computing)|mouse]] or [[touchpad]] and [[Cursor (computers)|cursor]], [[Stylus (computing)|stylus]]), or by hand on a [[touchscreen]] device. The simultaneous selection of a group of items (either a subset of elements in a list, or discontinuous regions in a text) is called a ''multiple selection''.

[[Context menu]]s will usually include actions related to the objects included in the current selection - the selection provides the "context" for the menu.

== Types ==

{{Expand section|date=November 2020}}

=== Uses ===

* [[Electronic text|Text]] selection is associated with the [[cut, copy and paste]] operations and done with a [[Cursor (computers)#Text cursor|cursor]], [[caret navigation]] or [[Touchscreen|touch]].

* [[Image editing]] applications can feature specialized graphical tools for the selection and modification of areas and shapes or to interact with colours, such as the [[magic wand selection]] tool, the [[lasso tool|lasso]] selection tool, the [[marquee selection]] ([[bounding box]]), or the [[color picker]]. The border of a selected area in an image is often animated with the [[marching ants]] effect to help the user to distinguish the selection border from the image background.

Line 10 ⟶ 13:

* [[Folder (computing)|File]]s and other interface components can be selected and used with the advent of [[GUI]]s.

* [[3D_user_interaction#Selection_and_Manipulation|Selection and manipulation in 3D virtual environments]]

=== Range selection ===

A variation to facilitate the selection of a range of items in a long list on touch screen devices is ''range selection'', sparing the user from tapping each item individually.

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 inbetween.

Ideally, the two list items are navigated to with a draggable [[scroll bar]].

== Simultaneous editing ==

Line 32 ⟶ 42:

The [[Lapis (text editor)|Lapis text editor]],<ref>[https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rcm/papers/chi02/chi02.html LAPIS: Smart Editing with Text Structure]</ref><ref>[http://www.usenix.org/event/usenix99/full_papers/miller/miller_html/usenix99.html Lightweight Structured Text Processing]</ref> Mozilla's [[Firefox developer tools]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://hacks.mozilla.org/2014/05/editable-box-model-multiple-selection-sublime-text-keys-much-more-firefox-developer-tools-episode-31/ | title=Editable box model, multiple selection, Sublime Text keys + much more – Firefox Developer Tools Episode 31 | publisher=Mozilla | date=May 7, 2014 | accessdate=7 May 2014 | author=Heather Arthur and Robert Nyman}}</ref> and the ''multi edit''<ref>[http://blogs.gnome.org/jessevdk/2009/11/15/new-gedit-plugin-multi-edit/ New gedit plugin: multi edit], and a [https://people.gnome.org/~jessevdk/multiedit.ogv demo video].</ref> plugin for [[gedit]] are examples of the simultaneous editing technique that work on discontinuous regions through direct manipulation. The Lapis editor can also create an automatic multiple selection based on an example item.

== Notes ==

{{notelist}}

==References==