Macworld: Two text selection tricks ...

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14 Replies Last post: Jul 27, 2008 6:59 PM by whitedog

Macworld

6,528 posts since
Nov 30, 2007

Jul 15, 2008 10:19 AM

Two text selection tricks

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MmnW

7 posts since
Jul 3, 2008

1. Jul 15, 2008 10:46 AM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Two text selection tricks

There is even another way to select text, also it works only in some applications (for example in TextEdit, Terminal or in the free app Smultron, but not in Safari or Pages). Hold down the OPTION key, the cursor will change from the usual text-cursor to a cross. Now you can select blocks of text, with no regards to line endings, paragraphs or else. It's hard to describe, just try it out.
It's perfect to select single vertical columns in text-based data.

TeaEarleGreyHot

148 posts since
Sep 29, 2005

2. Jul 15, 2008 10:56 AM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Two text selection tricks

MmnW wrote:

There is even another way to select text.... Hold down the OPTION key....

Indeed, option-drag is a wonderful trick, especially in a program like MS Word, where I sometimes want to select a column of characters from a paragraph (usually in a monospaced font). I highly suggest that folks give that a try in MS Word (or other program of their choice) to see how and if it works.

MmnW

7 posts since
Jul 3, 2008

3. Jul 15, 2008 11:24 AM

in response to: TeaEarleGreyHot

Re: Two text selection tricks

TeaEarleGreyHot wrote:
I highly suggest that folks give that a try in MS Word (or other program of their choice) to see how and if it works.

I didn't actually know it works in Word, thanks for the tip. I did try it in several Apple applications, like Safari, Mail or Pages, and you can't use it there. Never considered Word, being such a not-Apple-like application ...

bonesb

52 posts since
Sep 12, 2001

4. Jul 16, 2008 1:11 AM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Two text selection tricks

A fourth text-selection trick, but only found in Word (that I know of) is non-contiguous text selection. Highlight a section of text in Word. Then, hold down the Command Key, and select another word, paragraph, or whatever using the mouse. You're free to delete, re-format, or cut the text as you would any selection.

The Option-select (Alt-select for the Windows platform) has been around for years. Command-select has been around since Word X for the Mac.

I really like Pages, but I choose Word every time if I have to do serious word processing and editing...

NE1956

12 posts since
Apr 9, 2008

5. Jul 22, 2008 4:44 AM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Two text selection tricks

@bonesb

Actually Command-click works in most any app I just tried:

Firefox (but not Safari), TextEdit, Open Office and NeoOffice, Pages and Keynote (not practical for Numbers or Open Office Calc).

jreigelman

1 posts since
Mar 14, 2008

6. Jul 22, 2008 6:03 AM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Two text selection tricks

And there's another way to select very large amounts of text that doesn't involve dragging. Put your cursor at the beginning of the text and then navigate to the end of the text you want to select. Simply hold Shift and click at the end of the section and you have selected the entire block of text. This is especially helpful when your desired selection spans multiple pages or when it's difficult to drag over the entire block.

edmorris

10 posts since
May 7, 2008

7. Jul 22, 2008 6:20 AM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Two text selection tricks

I have been using Macs for a long time but I was unaware of the double/triple-click and drag selection.

Thank you for this.

jemiimt

1 posts since
Mar 23, 2008

8. Jul 22, 2008 8:26 AM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Two text selection tricks

In MS Word, Shift-Command Down Arrow will select paragraphs one at a time beginning at the insertion point every time the down arrow is pushed. Similarly, Shift-Command Up-Arrow will select paragraphs above the insertion point.

greenbean17

1 posts since
Jul 22, 2008

9. Jul 22, 2008 8:34 AM

in response to: MmnW

Re: Two text selection tricks

This option-select is the greatest! It solves one of the most frustrating issues

I've had in working with pdf's of journal articles. Thank you!!

NE1956

12 posts since
Apr 9, 2008

10. Jul 22, 2008 1:01 PM

in response to: jreigelman

Re: Two text selection tricks

And one more for Word (PC version) that y'all probably know:

Shift-Control-End

This will select from your cursor to the end of the document. I use this a TON of times daily to change fonts and/or font sizes.

I don't yet know the equivalent for Open Office or NeoOffice. Shift-PageDown is about the best I can get.

Edited: I found that Shift-Command-DownArrow selects from cursor to end of document in Open Office and NeoOffice.

wndovrwtr

1 posts since
Mar 27, 2008

11. Jul 23, 2008 7:40 AM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Two text selection tricks

Thanks for the tip!

Side question - have been trying to figure this out for months. Is there any way in the terminal app to configure what exact characters terminal interprets as word boundaries? Or, is there any way to configure what double-click (as described above) in general interprets as word boundaries?

This can be done easily in X11, but haven't found a way in terminal.app yet. Many, many thanks in advance for pointers to the secret sauce if it exists.

MikeEliasz

1 posts since
Jul 27, 2008

12. Jul 27, 2008 5:36 AM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Two text selection tricks

Re: Two text selection + Option selection makes three

Thanks for the option tip. I use GVIM (vi in a GUI window) on PCs and even on my Mac as well as vi on UNIX. I use it on the Mac in place of vi in Terminal application because of the GUI features (ex. cut/paste).

Now I have the one thing I was always missing the ability to cut/paste a column of text in vi!

AWESOME!

SheriVan

3 posts since
Mar 20, 2007

13. Jul 27, 2008 6:25 PM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Two text selection tricks

As the writer above suggests, you can use the same tips without the mouse, by using the arrow keys on the keyboard. Option+shift and the left/right arrows work quickly for selecting an entire word at once.

whitedog

989 posts since
Aug 9, 2004

14. Jul 27, 2008 6:59 PM

in response to: Macworld

Re: Two text selection tricks

A trick for selecting a full line of text is to place the insertion point at either the beginning or end of the line, then press Command-Shift and hit the left or right arrow key. This provides more precision than a click and drag, where it's too easy for the mouse slip up or down a line, selecting more than you want.

Don't anthropomorphize computers - They hate that.

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Jul 15, 2008 10:19 AM

Two text selection tricks

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