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Oracle Solaris 11.1 Desktop User's Guide     Oracle Solaris 11.1 Information Library
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Document Information

Preface

1.  Getting Started With the Desktop

2.  Using the Desktop Windows

3.  Using the Desktop Workspaces

4.  Using the Desktop Panels

5.  Using the Desktop Applications

6.  Using the Main Menubar

7.  Using Time Slider

8.  Using the File Manager

9.  Using the Desktop Tools and Utilities

10.  Configuring the Desktop

A.  Using the Mouse

Mouse Button Conventions

Mouse Preference Tool

General Mouse Preferences

Mouse Accessibility Preferences

Mouse Pointers

B.  Using the Keyboard

Mouse Button Conventions

The mouse button conventions are as follows:

Some mouse devices lack a middle button. If you have a two-button mouse device, then the system might be configured to use chording to enable middle button simulation. If chording is activated, press the left and right mouse buttons simultaneously to simulate the middle mouse button.

Use the Mouse preference tool to reverse the orientation of the mouse device. You will then need to reverse the mouse button conventions used in this guide.

Mouse Preference Tool

With the Mouse preference tool you can determine the following settings:

Choose System → Preferences → Mouse to display the Mouse Preference tool.

General Mouse Preferences

Use the General tab to specify whether the mouse buttons are configured for left-hand or right-hand use and configure the speed and sensitivity of your mouse.

The following table lists the general mouse preferences that you can modify.

Table A-1 Mouse Button Preferences

Dialog Element
Description
Right-handed
Configures your mouse for right-hand use. The left mouse button is the primary button and the right mouse button is the secondary button.
Left-handed
Configures your mouse for left-hand use. The functions of the left mouse button and the right mouse button are swapped.
Show position of pointer when the Control key is pressed
Enables a mouse pointer animation when you press and release the Ctrl key. This feature can help you locate the mouse pointer.

Note - The position of the Ctrl key on the keyboard can be modified in the Keyboard Layout Options dialog. For more information, see Keyboard Layout Options.


Acceleration
Specifies the speed at which your mouse pointer moves on your screen when you move your mouse.
Sensitivity
Specifies how sensitive your mouse pointer is to movements of your mouse.
Threshold
Specifies the distance that you must move an item before the move action is interpreted as a drag-and-drop action.
Timeout
Use the slider to specify the amount of time that can pass between clicks when you double-click. If the interval between the first and second clicks exceeds the time that is specified, the action is not interpreted as a double-click.

Use the light bulb icon to check double-click sensitivity: the light will light up briefly for a click, but stay lit for a double-click.

Mouse Accessibility Preferences

Use the Accessibility tab to configure accessibility features that can help people who have difficulty with exact positioning of the pointer or with pressing the mouse buttons:

The following table lists the mouse accessibility preferences that you can modify.

Table A-2 Mouse Motion Preferences

Dialog Element
Description
Trigger secondary click by holding down the primary button
Enables simulated secondary clicks by pressing the primary mouse button for an extended time.
Delay slider in the Simulated Secondary Click section
Specifies how long the primary button must be pressed to simulate a secondary click.
Initiate click when stopping pointer movement
Enables automatic clicks when the mouse stops. Use the additional preferences in the Dwell Click section to configure how the type of click is chosen.
Delay slider in the Dwell Click section
Specifies how long the pointer must remain at rest before an automatic click will be triggered.
Motion threshold slider
Specifies how much the pointer must move to still be considered at rest.
Choose type of click beforehand
Determines the type of click to perform from a window or panel applet.
Show click type window
When this option is enabled, the different types of click (single-click, double-click, drag-click or secondary click) can be selected in a window.

Note - The Dwell Click panel applet can be used instead of the window.


Choose type of click with mouse gestures
Moving the mouse in a certain direction determines the type of click. Assign directions to the different types of click. Note that each direction can be used for only one type of click.

Note - To enable these accessibility preferences, the system administrator must install the gnome/accessibility/mousetweaks package.


The mouse buttons perform the following actions.

Mouse Button
Actions
Left mouse button
  • Select text
  • Select items

  • Drag items

  • Activate items

Middle mouse button
  • Paste text
  • Move items

Right mouse button
Use the right mouse button to open a context menu for an item. For most items, you can also use the Shift+F10 keyboard shortcut to open the context menu once the item has been selected.

For example, when viewing files in the File Manager, you can select a file by clicking the left mouse button and then open it by double-clicking with the left mouse button. Clicking with the right mouse button displays a context menu for that file.


Note - In most applications, you can select text with your left mouse button and paste it in another application using the middle mouse button. This process is called primary selection paste, and works separately from normal clipboard operations.

To select more than one item, you can hold the Ctrl key to select multiple items, or hold the Shift key to select a contiguous range of items. You can also drag a rectangle in the empty space around items to select several items.