Hi Eliza, On Apr 29, 2009, at 7:53 AM, Eliza Cooper wrote: > I have two editing questions: (1), is there a way to jump to the > beginning of a line? I'm thinking in terms of TextEdit in this case, > but is there a command to do this in any application?
Yes, for Cocoa-based apps -- which includes most of the applications you work with on the Mac, like TextEdit, Mail, etc. -- the key commands that people learn as linux key bindings or from using the emacs editor in linux or unix systems all work. That specifically means that: Control-a moves you to the beginning of a line Control-e moves you to the end of a line but you might have an easier time remembering their counterparts with the Command key and the arrow keys: Command-Left arrow moves you to the beginning of a line Command-Right arrow moves you to the end of a line These key commands work independent of VoiceOver -- they're shortcuts built into the Cocoa structure and are used by everyone -- not just VoiceOver users. > Secondly, how > do I select a line of text? This I should know, but can't remember > for the life of me. Thanks to anyone who can help. You can put together most of the sequences to move that use the Command, Option, and arrow keys, with corresponding sequences to select by simply holding down the Shift key when you execute the commands: command+up arrow move to beginning of the document shift+command+up arrow select to the beginning of the document command+down arrow move to the end of the document shift+command+down arrow select to the beginning of the document command+left arrow move to the beginning of the line shift+command+left arrow select to the beginning of the line command+right arrow move to the end of the line shift+command+right arrow select to the end of the line option+right arrow move one word to the right shift+option+right arrow select one word to the right option+left arrow move one word to the left shift+option+left arrow select one word to the left option+up arrow move to the beginning of the paragraph shift+option+up arrow select to the beginning of the paragraph option+down arrow move to the end of the paragraph shift+option+down arrow select to the end of the paragraph up arrow move up from present position shift+up arrow select upward down arrow move down from present position shift+down arrow select downward Some other things that are helpful to know: you can add or delete from selected content by continuing to hold down the shift key and using the movement sequence commands. For example, if I am selecting text it might be easier for me use the down arrow key to start my selection for a sentence that begins in the middle of a line, but when I reach my last selected line I could be in the middle of a word or sentence. So if I continue to hold down the shift key and press the right arrow key, I'll select everything to the end of that last line. This also means that you can back up with your arrow key selections while you continue to hold down the shift key. If I press the down arrow key 5 times, and I only meant to select 4 more lines, I can up arrow once to move my selection region back. Just as a warning, this can have odd effects, since selections can be made in either direction: if you up arrow past your original starting point while you hold down the shift key, you will be selecting text in lines before your starting poiint. And you can add to or delete from your selection by word, character, etc while you continue to hold down the shift key -- any of the above selection combinations with Option and Command keys will work. Finally, it can be useful to check your selection with VO-F6 (Describe the selected item) while you get the hang of things. HTH. I'm also going to point you to a helpful post Greg Kearney made in the list archives on an earlier thread about going to the beginning and end of text: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/msg30978.html This is at the Mail Archive for the old list, so you can use access keys Control-N (next) to read down the thread and Control-P (previous) to read up the thread. Greg describes the connection with emacs keybindings and other things you can do with this knowledge. Cheers, Esther --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
