# Basic Skills

This chapter introduces you to the basic skills that you need to work with your desktop.

## Mouse Skills

Even if you are very familiar with mouse devices, you should still familiarize yourself with the button conventions and action terminology used in this manual. This section also describes the mouse pointers.

### Mouse Button Conventions

All the instructions in this manual are for the following types of mouse devices:

- Devices that are configured for right-hand users.

- Three button devices. If you have a two-button mouse device, then you press the two buttons simultaneously to simulate the effect of a middle mouse button.

The mouse button conventions used in this manual are as follows:

Mouse Button | Definition
--- | ---
Left mouse button | The button on the left side of a mouse device configured for normal right-hand use.
Middle mouse button | The middle button of a mouse device configured for normal right-hand use.
Right mouse button | The button on the right side of a mouse device configured for normal right-hand use.

To reverse the handedness of your mouse device, choose Applications Desktop Preferences Mouse, then select the options that you require. If you do reverse the handedness of your mouse device, then you must reverse the mouse button conventions used in this manual.

### Mouse Actions

The following table describes the actions that you can perform with the mouse:

Mouse Button | Definition
--- | ---

Left mouse button

Use to perform the following actions:

- Select text.

- Choose items.

- Drag items.

Middle mouse button

Use to perform the following actions:

- Paste text.

- Move items.

Right mouse button | Opens a menu for the selected object, if a menu applies.

For example, if you want to copy text then perform the following steps:

1. Select the text with the left mouse button.

2. Move the mouse pointer to the location where you want to copy the text.

3. Click on the middle mouse button.

You can also right-click on the desktop background to open the Desktop Background menu.

### Mouse Action Terminology

The conventions used in this manual to describe actions that you take with the mouse are as follows:

Action | Definition
--- | ---
Click | Press and release the left mouse button, without moving the mouse.
Click-and-hold | Press and do not release the left mouse button.
Left-click | Same as click. Left-click clarifies the action when there might be confusion with right-click.
Middle-click | Press and release the middle mouse button, without moving the mouse.
Right-click | Press and release the right mouse button, without moving the mouse.
Double-click | Press and release the left mouse button twice in rapid succession without moving the mouse.
Drag | Click-and-hold a mouse button, then move an object. For example, you can drag a window or an icon. The left and middle mouse buttons can perform drag actions.
Drag-and-drop | Click-and-hold a mouse button, then move an object. For example, you can drag-and-drop a window or an icon. Release the mouse button to place the object in a new location.
Grab | Point to an item that you can move, and click-and-hold on the mouse button. For example, you can grab the titlebar of a window, then drag the window to a new location.

### Mouse Pointers

As you use the mouse, the appearance of the mouse pointer can change. The appearance of the pointer can provide feedback about a particular operation, location, or state. The following table lists and describes some of the mouse pointers.

Pointer | Associated Action | Description
--- | --- | ---
Normal pointer. | Point to an item, choose a menu item | Normal pointer. The pointer that appears during normal use of the mouse.
Move pointer. | Drag-and-drop | Move pointer. Indicates that when you drop the object, the object is moved from the old location to the new location.
Copy pointer. | Drag-and-drop | Copy pointer. Indicates that when you drop the object, a copy of the object is created where you drop the object.
Link pointer. | Drag-and-drop | Link pointer. Indicates that when you drop the object, a link to the object is created where you drop the object.
Ask pointer. | Drag-and-drop | Ask pointer. Indicates that when you drop the object, a menu opens. You can choose to move or copy the object, or to create a link to the object.
Not available pointer. | Drag-and-drop | Not available pointer. Indicates that you cannot drop the object at the current location.
Move panel object pointer. | Move panel object | Move panel object pointer. Indicates that you have selected a panel object to move.
Horizontal resize pointer. | Resize window horizontally | Horizontal resize pointer. Indicates that you have selected a vertical window border to resize the window horizontally.
Vertical resize pointer. | Resize window vertically | Vertical resize pointer. Indicates that you have selected a horizontal window border to resize the window vertically.
Corner resize pointer. | Resize window horizontally and vertically | Corner resize pointer. Indicates that you have selected a corner of a window border to resize the window horizontally and vertically.
Window pane or table column resize pointer. | Resize window pane or resize table column | Window pane or table column resize pointer. Indicates that you have selected a column in a table to resize.

## Keyboard Skills

For almost every task that you can perform with the mouse, you can use the keyboard to perform the same task. Shortcut keys are keys that provide you with a quick way to perform a task.

You can use shortcut keys to perform 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, choose Applications Desktop Preferences Keyboard Shortcuts.

You can also modify your desktop preferences to use keyboard accessibility features.

The following sections describe the shortcut keys that you can use.

### Desktop Shortcut Keys

Desktop shortcut keys enable you to use the keyboard to perform desktop tasks. The following table lists some desktop shortcut keys:

Default Shortcut Keys | Function
--- | ---
Alt F1 | Opens the GNOME Menu.
Alt F2 | Displays the Run Program dialog.
Print Screen | Takes a screenshot.
Alt Print Screen | Takes a screenshot of the window that has focus.
Ctrl Alt right arrow | Switches to the workspace to the right of the current workspace.
Ctrl Alt left arrow | Switches to the workspace to the left of the current workspace.
Ctrl Alt up arrow | Switches to the workspace above the current workspace.
Ctrl Alt down arrow | Switches to the workspace below the current workspace.
Ctrl Alt d | Minimizes all windows, and gives focus to the desktop background.
F1 | Starts the online help browser, and displays appropriate online help.

### Window Shortcut Keys

Window shortcut keys enable you to use the keyboard to perform window tasks. The following table lists some window shortcut keys:

Default Shortcut Keys | Function
--- | ---
Alt Tab | Switches between windows. Release the keys to select a window.
Alt Esc | Switches between windows in reverse order. Release the keys to select a window.
F10 | Opens the first menu on the left side of the menubar.
Alt spacebar | Opens the Window Menu.
Arrow keys | Moves the focus between items in a menu.
Return | Chooses a menu item.
Esc | Closes an open menu.
Ctrl Alt right arrow | Switches to the workspace to the right of the current workspace.
Ctrl Alt left arrow | Switches to the workspace to the left of the current workspace.
Ctrl Alt up arrow | Switches to the workspace above the current workspace.
Ctrl Alt down arrow | Switches to the workspace below the current workspace.
Ctrl Alt d | Minimizes all windows, and gives focus to the desktop background.

### Panel Shortcut Keys

Panel shortcut keys enable you to use the keyboard to perform panel tasks. The following table lists panel shortcut keys:

Default Shortcut Keys | Function
--- | ---
Ctrl Alt Tab | Switches the focus between the panels and the desktop background.
Ctrl F10 | Opens the popup menu for the selected panel.
Tab | Switches the focus between objects on a panel.
Return | Chooses the selected panel object or menu item.
Shift F10 | Opens the popup menu for the selected panel object.
Arrow keys | Moves the focus between items in a menu. Moves the focus between interface items in an applet also.
Esc | Closes an open menu.
F10 | Opens the Applications menu on the Menu Panel, if the Menu Panel is selected.

### Application Shortcut Keys

Application shortcut keys enable you to perform application tasks. You can use shortcut keys to perform application tasks more quickly than if you use a mouse. The following table lists some application shortcut keys:

Shortcut Keys | Command
--- | ---
Ctrl N | New
Ctrl X | Cut
Ctrl C | Copy
Ctrl V | Paste
Ctrl Z | Undo
Ctrl S | Save
Ctrl Q | Quit

### Access Keys

A menubar is a bar at the top of a window that contains the menus for the application. An access key is an underlined letter in a menubar, menu, or dialog that you can use to perform an action. On a menubar, the access key for each menu is underlined.

To open a menu, press Alt, then press the access key. In the menu, the access key for each menu item is underlined. To choose a menu item, press the access key for the menu item. The following table shows example access keys from the Text Editor application:

Access Keys | Function
--- | ---
Alt F | Opens the File menu.
N | Chooses the New item on the File menu.

You can also use access keys to access elements in a dialog. In a dialog, one letter in most dialog elements is underlined. To access a particular dialog element, press Alt, then press the access key. The following table shows an example access key from the Preferences dialog in the Text Editor application:

Access Key | Function
--- | ---
Alt U | Gives focus to the Use default theme font check box.

You can use also other keys to navigate within a window or dialog.

Key | Function
--- | ---
Tab | Moves the focus from element to element in a window or dialog.

Arrow keys

Use the arrow keys to perform the following actions:

- In a menubar, move the focus from one menu to the next menu. In an open menu, move the focus from one menu item to the next menu item.

- Move the focus from one option to the next option to make your selection, for example, within a group of radio buttons in a dialog.

- Change the value that a spin box displays.

## Using Windows and Dialogs

This section provides information on how to use windows and dialogs.

### To Resize Panes in Windows

Some windows contain more than one pane. A pane is a subdivision of a window. For example, the Nautilus window contains a side pane and a view pane. A window that contains panes has a resize handle on the edge between the panes. To resize the pane, grab the resize handle, then drag the edge to the size you require.

### Using Tables

Some windows contain information that is organized in a table. This section describes how to work with tables.

To change the width of a column, drag one of the vertical edges of the column.

In some tables, you can sort the information by a particular column. To sort information in a table, click on the heading on top of the column by which you want to sort the information. An up arrow is displayed in the column heading by which the table is sorted. The following figure shows the up arrow.

Up arrow in a column heading.

To reverse the sort order, click on the column heading again. The up arrow changes to a down arrow. The down arrow indicates that the information in the column is sorted in reverse order.

In some tables, you can select multiple items. The following table describes how to select items in tables.

Task | Action
--- | ---
Select an item | Click on the item.
Select a group of contiguous items | Press-and-hold Shift. Click on the first item in the group, then click on the last item in the group.
Select multiple items | Press-and-hold Ctrl. Click on the items that you want to select.