4 Performing Common Tasks

DECwindows applications let you perform many basic tasks the same way. For example, both Mail and DECterm handle text in the same way. This chapter describes how to:

Edit text
Print files
Mix colors
Run applications across the network

4.1 Working with Text

Your applications provide many shortcuts to editing text that save you from retyping long file names or large blocks of text. Most applications, including the desktop applications, let you move and copy text:

From one place in a window to another.
From one window to another window. For example, you can copy text from one Create-Send window in Mail to another.
From one application to another application. For example, you can move a picture from Paint onto a Cardfiler card.

In addition, most applications provide an Edit menu to cut, copy, and paste text and graphics.

Finally, most applications define specific keys to let you perform basic text editing. These keys, described in Section 4.1.4, let you move the cursor and delete small amounts of text efficiently.

4.1.1 Selecting Text

Before you can delete, copy, or move text to other locations within a window or between windows, select the text. You can select a word, a line, or any amount of continuous text.

The following table summarizes the ways to select text:

To Do this

Position the cursor where you want the selection to start Point to the location and click MB1.

Select a word Point to the word and double click MB1.

Select a line Point to the line and triple click MB1.

Select a screen of text Point to the text and click MB1 four times.

Select continuous text, from the original selection point to the point where the button is released Press and hold MB1 and drag the pointer through the text.

Extend the current selection Simultaneously press and hold Shift and MB1 while dragging the pointer through the additional text.

Extend the current selection to where the pointer is positioned Press and hold Shift and click MB1.

You can select only one piece of text at a time. By selecting text in one application, you cancel any other text selection established in the same window or in another application.

4.1.2 Copying Text

After you select text, you can copy it anywhere within a window if the application supports text editing. You can also copy between such applications or from a terminal emulator window to a window that supports text editing. You can copy text in different waysthe choice depends largely on which window you want active after completing the copy operation.

To copy text in windows:

Select the text to copy, using the text selection techniques described in Section 4.1.1.
Position the cursor where you want the text copied by pointing and clicking MB1.
Click MB2.
The text is copied to the new location.

Some applications use different methods for copying text. See that application's documentation for an explanation of how to copy text in that application.

When copying text between windows using the method just described, the window in which you select the text takes input focus. If that window is not the one in which you are currently working, and to which you copied the text, then you have to reestablish focus to continue your work once you finish the copy. (This scenario doesn't apply if you have customized your workspace to use pointer focus instead of explicit focus. See Section 6.1.)

QuickCopy is a way to grab a piece of text from another window without changing focus. QuickCopy cannot be used if you use pointer focus.

To use QuickCopy:

In the current window, position the cursor where you want the text to be copied to by pointing and clicking MB1.
In the other window, point to the text you want to copy.
Press and hold MB2.
Drag across the text you want to copy.
The text is highlighted as you drag across it.
Release MB2.
The text is copied to the new location in your current window.

To move text from one window to another:

In the current window, position the cursor where you want the text pasted by pointing and clicking MB1.
Make sure the window has input focus.
In the other window, point to the text you want to move.
Press and hold Ctrl+MB2.
Drag across the text you want to move.
The text is highlighted as you drag across it.
Release Ctrl+MB2.

Some applications use different methods for moving text. See each application's documentation for an explanation of how to move text in that application.

4.1.3 Deleting Text with Pending Delete

If you select some text (as described in Section 4.1.1) and then type new text, the selected text is deleted with the first keystroke. Deleting selected text this way is called pending delete. With pending delete, you can delete large blocks of text with one keystroke instead of pressing the <X] key repeatedly.

To avoid pending delete after you select some text but before you press a key, point to the selected text and click MB1. This cancels the select.

4.1.4 Text Editing Key Definitions

You can use the text editing techniques described in the following table to move the cursor or delete text in most DECwindows applications. Use the arrow keys to move the cursor one character at a time.

To Press

Move the cursor to the next word Ctrl+ ->

Move the cursor to the previous word Ctrl+<-

Select text to the right of the cursor Shift+->

Select text to the left of the cursor Shift+<-

Move the cursor to the beginning of the line F12 or Ctrl+H

Move the cursor to the end of the line Shift+F12 or Ctrl+E

Move the cursor forward between text-entry boxes Tab

Move the cursor backward between text-entry boxes Shift+Tab

Delete the characters to the left of the cursor up to and including the beginning of the word F13 or Ctrl+J

Delete the characters to the right of the cursor up to and including the end of the word Shift+F13

Delete the character to the left of the cursor and move all text to the right of the deleted character one space to the left <X]

Delete the character after the cursor and move all text to the right of the deleted character one space to the left Shift+<X]. In overstrike mode, Shift+<X] deletes the character under the block cursor.

Delete all characters to the start of the line Ctrl+U

Refresh the window Ctrl+R

4.1.5 Copying Text with Drag and Drop

The drag-and-drop feature lets you move or copy text appearing in screen objects. Most often, you use this feature to copy text from one text-entry field to another (although text appearing in a dialog box, a label, or a button can also be moved). For example, select text from a card in the Cardfiler desktop application and transfer it to the Notepad. (These desktop applications are discussed in Chapter 5.)

To drag and drop text into a new location:

Select the text with MB1. (Text such as error messages cannot be selected. Start with the next step for such text.)
Point to the text. To move it, press and hold MB2; to copy it, press and hold Ctrl and MB2.
A move or copy icon appears.
Drag the icon to the location where you want to drop the text; then release MB2.
If an object is highlighted as you drag the icon across it, you can drop the text into it. For example, you can drop the text into a text-entry field.

4.2 Printing Files

You can print the information displayed by applications that you use. For example, print a mail message, or print a drawing you create in Paint.

When you choose the Print menu item in an application, the application sends a file to the printer. While your job is being printed, you can continue to work in your current application or go on to other tasks.

To print something currently being displayed on your screenfor example, a mail messagechoose Print from the application's menu options. The file is sent to the printer specified as the value of the PRINTER environment variable. (The Command and Shell User's Guide explains how to set environment variables.) If you choose Print..., a print dialog box will appear in which you can specify additional printing options.

4.3 Mixing Colors

Many applications let you choose your own colors for window components. If an application provides this option, it displays a color mixing dialog box when you choose certain settings. For example, the color mixed illustrated above is displayed when you customize window border colors as explained in Section 6.2.

Use the color mixer's Color Model options menu to choose one of the following color models for selecting and defining colors:

Picker
Hue, Lightness, Saturation (HLS)
Red, Green, Blue (RGB)
Browser
Gray Scale

You can use each of these models alone, or you can use them in any combination. For example, you can use any color model to select a color and use the Picker color model to blend the selected color.

4.3.1 Using the Color Picker

The Picker is the default color model for the color mixer. It contains the following components:

The color display box displays colors as you mix them.

The color spectrum is a static collection of colors.

The Spectrum options menu lets you set the spectrum to one of the following common color palettes:

Spectrum (white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, blue-violet, violet, brown, and black)
Pastels
Vivids
Earthtones

The four color palettes provide a wide variety of colors from which you can choose. The Spectrum options menu also includes any palettes specific to an application.

When you click MB1 on a spectrum tile or interpolator tile, that color becomes the new color. The tile is highlighted, identifying it as the currently selected color.

You can use the selected color without modification, or you can do one or more of the following tasks:

Use the interpolator to smear (blend) the selected color into various shades
Use the arrow buttons to make the color lighter or darker, warmer or cooler
Switch to another color model and use the features of that model to modify the current selection

Use the two paint buckets to load the interpolator with the colors to smear:

Click MB1 on a spectrum tile or interpolator tile.
The color display box displays the color of that tile.
Click on a paint bucket, which fills the interpolator end tile below it with the selected color.
Fill both interpolator end tiles or one; the color of the empty interpolator end tile defaults to white.

As an alternative to the paint buckets, use the eyedropper to load the interpolator. Clicking and holding MB1 on a spectrum or interpolator tile, the original color tile, or the new color tile causes the pointer to become an eyedropper filled with the color of that tile.

Move this eyedropper to the interpolator and use it to fill one of the two end tiles by clicking MB1 on one of the tiles. If you do not position the eyedropper directly on one of the two end tiles, the tile closest to the end is filled with the eyedropper color. Note that the cursor must be inside the interpolator.

Use the Undo button to reverse the last interpolator action, which can be a smear, the filling of an end tile, or the activation of one of the warmth or lightness adjustment buttons.

4.3.2 Using Other Color Models

You can also change colors by selecting one of the following models from the Color Model options menu:

Hue, Lightness, Saturation (HLS)

The HLS color model contains three scales that represent the ranges of hue, lightness, and saturation. Use the scales to change the color as follows:

Hue is color.
Lightness is color intensity; that is, the amount of the color.
Saturation is the purity of the color, or how much the color is diluted by white.

Red, Green, Blue Color Model (RGB): The RGB color model contains three scales that represent the color ranges for red, green, and blue. Specify a color by indicating the intensity of color on each of the three scales.

Browser: The Browser color model displays the colors listed in /usr/lib/X11/rgb.txt. Each tile in the window displays a different color along with the color name. Use the scroll bar to display the entire list. Click MB1 on a tile to select a color. The color display box becomes filled with that color. The browser color model is available on all systems.

Gray Scale: The Gray Scale color model contains a scale that lets you mix gray shades ranging from black to white. Note that switching to the Gray Scale color model converts the current new color to gray.

4.3.3 Using the Scratch Pad

The scratch pad lets you store intermediate colors for later use in color mixing.

To access the scratch pad, click on the scratch pad button in any of the color models.

To store the currently selected color in the scratch pad, click on the paint bucket above the scratch pad color tile. The scratch pad adds that color to its list of stored colors. You can scroll through the list with the scroll bar.

Use the Clear button to cancel this list and return the scratch pad to its initial state.

Note that the currently selected color can be one of many color tiles on the Picker color model. When using other color models, however, you can select only the new and original color tiles.

To set the new color tile to a scratch pad color, scroll to the new color and click on the scratch pad color tile. The new color tile changes, and the scratch pad tile is highlighted. In the Picker color model, this highlighting indicates that the scratch pad color can now be dumped into one of the interpolator end tiles by using the paint bucket buttons.

4.4 Running Applications Across the Network

A typical work environment might include a single workstation running DECwindows and displaying applications. Because DECwindows functions across networks and operating systems, you can make the most of your computer resources by running applicationsapplications you might not have on your workstationfrom another computer for local display on your monitor.

Remotely run applications always appear to be running on your workstation but allow you to take advantage of larger computers that may be better suited for a specific computing task.

This section describes how to run a remote application from a remote node and includes information on how to:

Authorize access to your workstation
Log in to a remote host running either the DIGITAL UNIX, ULTRIX, or OpenVMS operating system
Run applications for display on your workstation

4.4.1 Authorizing Access to Your Workstation

Before using your workstation to display remotely run applications you must authorize the remote computers or hosts to access your display. Use the Security... menu item in the Session Manager Options menu to add the names of those hosts to which you are connected by means of a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) or DECnet network. You must have an account on the remote host in order to log in to start the application.

To grant access to specified remote hosts:

Choose Security... from the Session Manager Options menu. This dialog box appears:
Click MB1 in the Hostname text field and type the host name.
If the connection between your system, and the remote host is through the DECnet network, use DECnet syntax, which requires two colons (::) after the host name. If your connection to the remote host is through the TCP/IP network, colons are unnecessary. Ask your system manager if you don't know your network type.
Click on the Add button.
The host name appears on the list of authorized hosts.
Click on OK to dismiss the dialog box.

4.4.2 Enabling the Display

After registering remote hosts, you are ready to run applications on the remote host. Remember you must have an account so that you can log in and start the application.

To run an application on a remote host for display on your DIGITAL UNIX workstation screen:

Open a terminal window on your workstation and, using the rlogin (for TCP/IP) or dlogin (for DECnet) command, log in to the remote host.
On the remote host, specify which workstation screen you want the application displayed on:
From a DIGITAL UNIX or ULTRIX remote host:
If you use the C shell, enter this command at the system prompt:
```
setenv DISPLAY your-workstation:0
```
If you use the Bourne or Korn shell, enter these commands at the system prompt:
```
DISPLAY=your-workstation:0
export DISPLAY
```
Here, your-workstation is the name of your local workstation. The single colon indicates that the connection between your system and the remote host is through TCP/IP. Use two colons (::) after your workstation name if the connection is through a DECnet network. The 0 indicates that your workstation has just one monitor, or if it has two, the 0 specifies display on the first monitor. With two monitors, a 1 could be substituted to specify display on the second monitor. From an OpenVMS remote host: Enter the following command at the system prompt:
```
set display/create/node=your-workstation
```
Here, your-workstation is the name of your workstation. The network connection is assumed to be DECnet. If the OpenVMS node is running a product such as DEC TCP/IP Services for OpenVMS, you can specify TCP/IP as the network transport with the following command format:
```
set display/create/transport=tcpip/node="your-workstation"
```
Without the quotes in this command, OpenVMS would translate your workstation's host name to all uppercase letters. However, the name of your workstation may have been explicitly entered in lowercase in the OpenVMS TCP/IP hosts database. If so, you must enclose the workstation name in quotation marks (" "), as shown in the last command, to preserve any lowercase letters in the name. If you are unsure of how your workstation name has been entered, use the hostname command in a DECterm on your workstation.
Enter the command that starts the application you wish to run remotely and display on your local workstation. See Chapter 5 for the commands used to start DECwindows applications. Note You cannot run the Session Manager from a remote host for display on your workstation.

To	Do this
Position the cursor where you want the selection to start	Point to the location and click MB1.
Select a word	Point to the word and double click MB1.
Select a line	Point to the line and triple click MB1.
Select a screen of text	Point to the text and click MB1 four times.
Select continuous text, from the original selection point to the point where the button is released	Press and hold MB1 and drag the pointer through the text.
Extend the current selection	Simultaneously press and hold Shift and MB1 while dragging the pointer through the additional text.
Extend the current selection to where the pointer is positioned	Press and hold Shift and click MB1.

To	Press
Move the cursor to the next word	Ctrl+ ->
Move the cursor to the previous word	Ctrl+<-
Select text to the right of the cursor	Shift+->
Select text to the left of the cursor	Shift+<-
Move the cursor to the beginning of the line	F12 or Ctrl+H
Move the cursor to the end of the line	Shift+F12 or Ctrl+E
Move the cursor forward between text-entry boxes	Tab
Move the cursor backward between text-entry boxes	Shift+Tab
Delete the characters to the left of the cursor up to and including the beginning of the word	F13 or Ctrl+J
Delete the characters to the right of the cursor up to and including the end of the word	Shift+F13
Delete the character to the left of the cursor and move all text to the right of the deleted character one space to the left	`<X]`
Delete the character after the cursor and move all text to the right of the deleted character one space to the left	Shift+`<X]`. In overstrike mode, Shift+`<X]` deletes the character under the block cursor.
Delete all characters to the start of the line	Ctrl+U
Refresh the window	Ctrl+R