Cincom

Web Log Stats Lesson 1
Making Your Mouse Behave

| Table of Contents | Lesson 2 |
Within the VisualWorks development environment, your mouse performs 3 major functions. It can:
  • Select or highlight text
  • Display an <Operate> pop-up menu
  • Display a <Window> pop-up menu
    •  This is true whether your mouse has 3 buttons or not. Of these 3 functions, selecting text and displaying the <Operate> menu are of utmost importance. Selecting text is fairly straight-forward - no different than the way you select text now for any other program. However, it is your decision as to how you want to invoke the <Operate> menu.

    This lesson explains how to invoke the <Operate> and <Window> menus and how to "swap" them if you prefer.

    The table below identifies the 3 major functions of the mouse and their corresponding purpose. Although it may sound a bit strange, this tutorial will use the instruction <Operate-Click>instead of Right-Click when it is necessary to invoke the <Operate> menu. This avoids all confusion when you do not see an option that you are supposed to see when you click the right mouse button.

    Button Function Description
    LEFT <Select> The <Select> or left mouse button is used to highlight (or choose) a window location, menu item, position the text cursor or highlight text. As such, you will use this button the majority of the time.
    MIDDLE <Operate> The <Operate> or middle mouse button is used to display a pop-up menu of operations that are appropriate for the current view or selection. The menu that is displayed is referred to as the <Operate> menu and you will use this button almost as often as the <Select> button.
    RIGHT <Window> The <Window> or right mouse button has little use for you at this time. It brings up a menu of actions that can be performed on any VisualWorks window (except dialogs) such as refresh, move and close.


    Apart from Macintosh and other single-mouse-button systems, you must hold down the CTRL key down while clicking the "right" mouse button to invoke the <Operate> menu (while the "right" mouse button alone invokes the <Window> menu). Most people prefer to have these buttons reversed. But for a one-button mouse system like a Macintosh, use the following table to determine how your mouse behaves in VisualWorks.

    Function Description
    <Select> The unmodified button is the <Select> button.
    <Operate> Press the <Option> key and <Select> button together.
    <Window> Press the <Command> key and <Select> button together.

    So let's determine what your mouse buttons do.

    1. Move your mouse somewhere within the white space directly under the toolbar of the main VisualWorks Launcher window (see Figure 1-1).


    Figure 1-1. The VisualWorks Launcher window

    The white area you just clicked in, directly below the toolbar (with the thin black vertical line in it), is called the System Transcript. It's more commonly called just the Transcript. This area is typically used for debugging purposes (displaying output) but you can also execute code snippets in here as well.

    2. With your mouse pointing somewhere within the Transcript, click the right mouse button. Depending on your operating system, one of two different menus will appear. The menu that you want to appear (since you will be using it quite often in Smalltalk) is the one with the following options: (see Figure 1-2):
  • Do it
  • Print it
  • Inspect it
  • Debug it
    •
    Figure 1-2. The <Operate> Menu

    3. If this menu (the <Operate> menu) did not appear, you probably got the <Window> menu (see Figure 1-3).


    Figure 1-3. The <Window> Menu

    4. If you did see the <Window> menu when you clicked the right mouse button, hold the CTRL key down and click the right mouse button. Or, if you have a mouse that has a wheel, click that.

    5. To swap the right and middle mouse menus, select the menu option System >> Settings from the main VisualWorks Launcher window (see Figure 1-1). You should now see a window that resembles Figure 1-4.


    Figure 1-4. The Look and Feel Settings for VisualWorks

    6. Note the Mouse Button Order options from the Look and Feel setting. Select the appropriate radio button for your choice of mouse button order and click Apply. Do not close the Settings window just yet.

    7. While you have the Settings window displayed, select the setting Tools. On the right, click the down-arrow on the drop-down list for Text size and choose Fixed. This will change the default font for VisualWorks of Arial to Courier New making it much easier to view and enter code when the time comes. Click the Apply button and then close the Settings window by clicking OK.

    Summary

    You should now be able to:
    Identify the 3 main types of mouse clicks and their purpose
    Switch the role of the right and middle mouse buttons
    Change the default font for VisualWorks
    | Table of Contents | Lesson 2 |