Selecting text
A chunk of text can be selected in an editor by keeping the Edit key pressed and using the navigation keys (scroll left/right/up/down). The selected text is shown using a highlight. The Cut and Copy functions are available when text is selected.
Figure 6-12. Text selection in an editor.
If the user presses any scroll key alone when there is a text selection, the selection disappears and the cursor reappears in the respective position.
Document handling
Creating new documents
The user must be able to start typing (or otherwise creating) a new document without first being asked for a file name. In many cases, documents don’t even have a name that would be seen by the user: short messages and notes, for example, are listed and managed by the beginning of the content.
Some document types have a file name the user can choose. Even then, the system may give a default name for the document, and the user is not forced to name it. When it is important that the user knows the document name, the following methods can be used:
The system asks the user to confirm the name, using a query with the default name in place. This can happen at the moment the user is about to exit the editor, or when the user has selected the Save option.
In some applications it makes sense that the user can give a default name in advance, and the system creates unique names from it by adding for example a number after the common name. This way it is possible to have meaningful document names without typing them for each file.
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