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Motif and CDE 2.1 Style Guide Reference

Margin Selection Techniques

Reference

Description

Margin selection techniques are variants of other group techniques in which the user selects or deselects a group of elements by acting on elements in the margin of the control managing the selection scope. For example, selecting elements in the margin of a spreadsheet might select an area consisting of all elements in the corresponding rows or columns.

You can use any of the standard techniques (including adjustment) as a margin technique. For example:

  1. A margin area point technique could involve clicking on a single margin element to select or toggle elements in a single row or column of a spreadsheet.

  2. A margin area swipe technique (for example, pressing the SELECT button and moving it through a range of margin elements) could be used to select a range of rows or columns.

    You can also apply margin techniques to margin elements. For example, if margin elements are used with text, then clicking the SELECT button in the margin (a margin range point technique) might select a line, but double-clicking SELECT in the margin (a multilevel margin range point technique) might select an entire paragraph.

    3. When to Use

    Required
    If margin elements can take focus, place them in a separate selection scope and a separate tab group from the selection scope they control.

    Guidelines

    Required
    After using a margin point technique, do the following:

    1. Define the selection region to consist of the elements corresponding to the margin element that was used.

    2. Place the anchor point at the point in the region nearest to the margin element.

    3. Identify the anchor element to be the element, if any, within the selection region nearest to the anchor point.

    4. Define the anchor region to be the selection region.

    5. If the margin element cannot take focus, place the active cursor at one of the following:

      1. The anchor point, if it can be placed there

      2. If an element cursor, on the anchor element

      3. If there is no anchor element, where the cursor previously was in the scope

        4. Required
        When using the margin click or swipe techniques:

        1. Define the selection region to consist of all the elements that correspond to the region of margin elements identified by the technique.

        2. Place the anchor point at the point in the region nearest to the position in the margin at which the technique was initiated.

        3. Define the anchor element to be the element in the selection region nearest to the anchor point.

        4. Define the anchor region to consist of the elements corresponding to the anchor element of the margin's selection region.

        5. If the margin elements cannot take focus, place the active cursor at one of the following:

          1. The pointer position or element farthest from the margin's anchor element, if it can be placed there

          2. Where the cursor previously was in the scope

            3. Required
            When using the margin point, swipe, or click techniques in select mode:

            1. Select all the elements in the selection region.

            2. Deselect all other elements in the scope.

              3. Required
              When using the margin point, swipe, or click techniques in toggle mode, toggle all elements in the selection region, based on the toggling policy.

              Essential Related Topics

              For more information, see the Multilevel Selection Techniques, Selection Modes, and Selection Techniques reference pages.

              Supplemental Related Topics

              For more information, see the Selection Models and Selection Policies reference pages.

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