Selecting and Focusing

In object lists, such as in hit lists or in the favorites list, we distinguish between selected and focused elements:

• Selected elements

  

  The row of selected elements is highlighted in gray. You select elements to apply actions (such as copying, subscribing, etc.) to specific objects (see The Actions Menu).

• Focused elements

  

  Focused elements are marked with a red line at the beginning of the row. You focus an element in order to show detailed information (metadata, history, references) in the object area or to preview the content of this document (see The Object Area). You can also use the actions menu in the object area to apply actions to the focused element, regardless of any other selections in the object list (see The Actions Menu).

When an object list is opened, the first row is selected (row is gray) and focused (there is a red line at the beginning of the row). Press the cursor key ⇩ to set the focus to the next row; the first row remains selected. When you position the cursor on another row and click the left-hand mouse button, this row is selected and focused. Selection and focusing are removed for all other selected and focused rows.

Selecting Several Elements

There are several ways you can select several elements in object lists:

• using your keyboard

  Use the keyboard to choose further elements by selecting another row using the cursor keys ⇧ and ⇩ and additionally pressing the space bar. Click the space bar again to remove the selection.

• using your mouse

  You can use the mouse to select further elements by additionally holding down the Ctrl button or the ⇧ Shift key while clicking these elements. If you hold down the ⇧ Shift key when clicking the mouse, all the rows between the row you have clicked and the row with the most recent focusing are selected. If you hold down the Ctrl key when clicking the mouse, the row you have clicked is highlighted in addition to the existing selections. Click the mouse again and hold down the Ctrl key to remove the selection again.

Focus, Object Aspects, and Content Preview

If the focus is on an element in an object list, then detailed information on this element, such as its metadata, history, or references, or a preview of the contents of this document, is displayed in the object area (see The Object Area). For this reason, the focus in an object list can only ever be on one element.

The element does not need to be selected for detailed information or document content to be displayed. Simply focusing the element suffices. If you want to view detailed information on or the document content of an item without removing the selection on other items, select the corresponding item by using the cursor keys ⇧ and ⇩.

Selecting, Focusing, and Actions

You can apply actions (such as copy or subscribe to; see The Actions Menu) to specific objects using selection and focusing. In the process, there are key differences between using the actions menu in the object list and using the actions menu in the object area:

• Actions menu in the object list area

  The actions menu in the area of the object list only includes the selected elements. Elements that are only focused are not considered.

• Actions menu in the object area

  Meanwhile, the actions menu in the object area includes only the focused elements. Other selected elements are ignored.