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Motif and CDE 2.1 Style Guide Reference

Quick Transfer

Reference

Description

Quick transfer is a data transfer technique used to copy, cut, link, or move data to the insertion point of the control that has interacted emphasis (the editable control the user was most recently interacting with). There are three quick transfer operations: quick copy, quick cut (or quick move), and quick link.

When to Use

Required
Allow users to use quick transfer when they want to copy, link, or move a temporary (or secondary) selection.

Required
Design text controls to support quick transfer as both a source and target.

Recommended
If a control can be used as the target for a data transfer operation, allow it to be used as the target for a quick transfer operation.

Recommended
Allow any selection scope to be used as the source of a quick transfer.

Optional
Allow quick transfer to transfer text and graphics that ordinarily cannot be selected. For example, the user cannot ordinarily select a portion of a text label of a push button, since clicking on the button with the SELECT button or pressing the Select key or Space activates the push button. You can allow quick transfer, however, to transfer a region of a label or graphic.

Guidelines

Required
Make the target of a quick transfer the control that has interacted emphasis.

Required
Make the source of a quick transfer the elements identified between pressing and releasing the TRANSFER (or SELECT) button.

Required
The default operation for a quick transfer should be copy, though it may be overridden using Ctrl and/or Shift modifiers when the user releases the TRANSFER button.

Required
Allow the user to press Alt TRANSFER and move the pointer (optionally augmented with Shift and/or Ctrl) for quick transfer only when TRANSFER is bound to MB2.

Required
Do not select the data transferred to a target as the result of a quick cut operation.

Required
If the user moves the pointer out of a control that allows scrolling while Alt TRANSFER is pressed, use autoscrolling to scroll the control in the direction of the pointer. If TRANSFER is released with the pointer outside of the control, or if Cancel (or Esc) is pressed while TRANSFER is pressed, then remove the emphasis, do not perform the transfer, and restore the view to the state it was in before scrolling started.

Recommended
Show emphasis on source elements of a quick transfer as they are being identified. The type of emphasis should be different from that used for a selection. For example, in text, use underlining as the emphasis.

Required
Allow either of the following methods to copy the secondary selection to the insertion point:

  1. Pressing Alt TRANSFER and moving the mouse

  2. Pressing CtrlAlt TRANSFER and moving the mouse

    3. Required
    Move the contents of the secondary selection to the insertion point in the target control when the user presses Shift Alt TRANSFER, moves the mouse, then releases the TRANSFER button.

    Required
    Place a link to the secondary selection at the insertion point in the target control when the user presses CtrlAlt Shift TRANSFER, moves the mouse to select elements, and then releases the TRANSFER button.

    Essential Related Topics

    For more information, see the Data Transfer and Primary Transfer reference pages.

    Supplemental Related Topics

    For more information, see the Internal Navigation reference page.

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