Hi Rose, Tim and Colin have already given you an answer on how to select non-contiguous items in a list, by turning cursor tracking off (VO-Shift-F3) and using VO-Command-Space. (And I'll just add to what both of them said that the usual gotcha is to remember to turn cursor tracking back on again with another VO-Shift-F3 when you're done.) Tim already implied this in his answer, but the VO-Command-Space key sequence you use to select is a toggle action, and can be used to de-select any items that have been selected. And as Colin has answered, you can check the items that are selected at any time with VO-F6, so if you find that you need to make an adjustment, just navigate to the object you want to de-select, and use VO-Command-Space again.
Colin also gave you the hint that if you are in a very long list of items (e.g., in Finder, or perhaps in the Songs table of iTunes where you are selecting tracks for a playlist that you will create with the Command-Shift-N "New Playlist from Selection" shortcut) it is convenient to lock your VoiceOver keys (VO-Semi-colon), and then just arrow up and down the list pressing Command-Space to select/deselect and F6 to check your selection (and then possibly turn cursor tracking back on with Shift-F3, or if you have pressed Semi-colon to turn lock off first, use the full VO-Shift-F3). To deselect all items, I would use the second method that Tim outlines: with cursor tracking on, I move to an item, which selects it (and if you have cursor tracking on, only the item you have moved to will be selected.) Then I would use VO-Command-Space to de-select that item, and check with VO-F6 that nothing was selected. In practice, just turning cursor tracking on gets you out of the multiple selection issue. Similarly, the other way that people select multiple items (in contiguous blocks, without turning cursor tracking off) is to simply hold down the Shift key as they arrow down the list. Again, you can check what you selected with VO-F6. The fact that selection is a toggle action means that you can be creative about how you select items. For example, if you want to select nearly everything in a contiguous list, except for one or two items, you can hold down your Shift key and arrow up or down. Then you can turn cursor tracking off (VO-Shift-F3), navigate to the few items you want to de-select (VO-Up or Down arrow), and de-select them with VO-Command-Space. You can also arrange items so that you take the minimum number of actions by either filtering the results (e.g., in Finder, use Command-Option-F to move to the search field, and type in terms to match, thus cutting down the listed results), and/or sorting the list of the displayed items (e.g., if I wanted the 5 most recent files with a certain name, I'd type the name in the search field, then after interacting with the table I might navigate to the "Last Opened" column and sort with VO-Shift-Backslash (on an English input keyboard; in another language I might have to use VO-H-H and look for the sort command under the tables menu entry)). If you don't find the view parameter you want to make sorting easy, you can always add it to your table by bringing up the View Options (Command-J) and checking what you want (e.g. "Date Created", "Date Modified", etc.) -- even just for temporary display and use. I find that with the combination of filtering and sorting, I can often get away without having to do non-contiguous selections, and when I do need to select non-contiguous items in a list, I can cut down my work. Often I can just filter a result, select all (Command-A), and then modify by de-selecting the few items that I don't want . If you want to read an example of selecting non-contiguously, with step-by-step instructions in order, and all the other tips in the same place (including the tips about locking VoiceOver keys and using VO-F6 to check), try reading the following posts from the archive: • "Tips on on Non-Contiguous Selection [was Re: selecting specific tracks in itunes]": http://www.mail-archive.com/macvisionaries%40googlegroups.com/msg05301.html HTH. Cheers, Esther On May 13, 2011, at 05:24, Colin M wrote: > Hi there! > Oops! Me Bad! > The lock vo keys command is! > vo+semi colon > Sorry about that :] > Colin > I'm far too bad for Heaven! > The Devil is afraid I'll take his place! > > Begin forwarded message: > >> From: Colin M <[email protected]> >> Date: 13 May 2011 16:16:43 GMT+01:00 >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: Re: Uncommonly used keystrokes for selecting items? >> >> Hi Rose! >> Further to what Tim said! >> After turning off cursor tracking, if you lock the vo keys with command+semi >> colon you'll only have to down arrow through your list and when you've got >> to one of the items to select then just press command+space! >> You can also check what you've selected by just pressing the f6 key, do not >> forget to unlock vo keys with the same command as you used to lock them! >> And put on cursor tracking! >> hth Colin >> Qapla! >> Chegh chew jaj Vam jaj Kak >> >> On 13 May 2011, at 02:03, Tim Kilburn wrote: >> >>> Hi Rose, >>> >>> To select non-contiguous items: >>> >>> 1. Navigate to the first item in your list. >>> 2. Press VO-shift-f3 to turn off Cursor Tracking. >>> 3. Navigate to the next item then press VO-cmd-space. >>> 4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until everything you wish to select has been >>> selected. >>> 5. Don't forget to turn Cursor Tracking back on with VO-shift-f3 as >>> leaving it off gets rather frustrating until you figure out that you've >>> forgot. Yes I speak from experience. >>> >>> To Deselect all: >>> >>> • I don't know a specific keystroke but you could do either of the >>> following: >>> >>> 1. close the specific window then re-open. >>> >>> or >>> >>> >>> 2. Make sure that Cursor Tracking is on then simply navigate once up or >>> down in the list and then only the item you are on will be selected. Next, >>> press VO-cmd-space to deselect the item you are on and then nothing will be >>> selected within that area anymore. >>> >>> HTH. >>> >>> Later... >>> >>> On 2011-05-12, at 6:17 PM, Rose Morales wrote: >>> >>>> Hi all, >>>> There are two selection keystrokes I'm wondering about. I used to know >>>> them, but my memory escapes me. It's been awhile since I needed them, and >>>> I've been involved in so many tech projects since tackling a thorough >>>> understanding of Voiceover two years ago. One is selecting multiple items. >>>> I know shift up and down arrow will do this. However, i'm looking for >>>> something more complex. The keystroke I'm thinking of allows you to select >>>> multiple items at once which are not in order. For instance, perhaps I >>>> want to select items 1, 2, 4, 5, and 9. This keystroke will let me check >>>> the items I want. Also, I'm looking for another keystroke which will >>>> deselect everything. That is to say, I want no items in a folder or list >>>> selected. >>>> Any help would be appreciated. >>>> Rose >>>> -- 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.
