Ctrl+A is Select All, What's default for Select None?

[Christian Blackburn]

Hi Gang,

In most programs Ctrl+A is Select All. I'm inclined to use the most
common keyboard shortcuts, whenever possible. What are the names of
some programs that have a key assigned for select none and what key do
they use?
I think I'm going to go with Ctrl+ (Minus Sign), but I'm interested in
people's suggestions.

Thanks,
Christian

 

[Herfried K. Wagner [MVP]]

In most programs Ctrl+A is Select All. I'm inclined to use the most
common keyboard shortcuts, whenever possible. What are the names of
some programs that have a key assigned for select none and what key do
they use?
I think I'm going to go with Ctrl+ (Minus Sign), but I'm interested in
people's suggestions.

Mhm... I never used a keyboard shortcut for this purpose. I simply pressed
one of the arrow keys in textboxes ;-).

 

[Joergen Bech]

I like Ctrl-D, as in "Drop Selection" or "Deselect",
as used in Adobe Photoshop (and others).

But for more general info, consult Appendix B in
the Windows User Experience section of MSDN Library:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnwue/html/appxB.asp

/JB

 

[Christian Blackburn]

Hi Joergen,

Thank you very much for that excellent summary of keyboard shortcuts.
Having actually worked at Microsoft on Windows 98SE and 2000, I'm lucky
enough to know most, if not all of them, but that's a indispensable
list. You made my bookmarks .

Thanks,
Christian Blackburn

 

[Christian Blackburn]

Hi Herfried,

Thanks for your suggestion. I did fail to explain what control I'd be
using this with. I'm going to use it with a listbox. You're
absolutely right on a textbox though .

Thanks,
Christian Blackburn

 

[Homer J Simpson]

Hi Gang,

In most programs Ctrl+A is Select All. I'm inclined to use the most
common keyboard shortcuts, whenever possible. What are the names of
some programs that have a key assigned for select none and what key do
they use?
I think I'm going to go with Ctrl+ (Minus Sign), but I'm interested in
people's suggestions.

ESC ?

 

[Joergen Bech]

ESC ?

ESC (Escape) seems to be used for that purpose in some programs (e.g.
TextPad), but does not seem to be a standard (for example, it
is not used in NotePad or WinWord). The shortcut summary I
linked to in my previous post only mentions ESC in a few other
contexts.

I stay away from ESC in my own programs for one specific reason:

Let's say I have started a huge download using Internet Explorer.
After download has completed, up pops a dialog telling me that
the 100MB file is being copied from the IE cache to the location
I selected when I started the download. This dialog has a Cancel
button which reacts to the ESC key. Suppose I was working with
a program that made extensive use of the ESC key. Suppose I
hit the ESC key a split second after the IE download dialog forced
itself to the foreground. BAM! There goes my download and I'll
have to search for it in my IE cache, hoping it is still there.

This, and similar things, have happened to me from time to time.

So I stay away from ESC.

Just my $0.02.

/Joergen Bech

PS: For some of the reasons outlined above, I use Net Transport
as my download agent nowadays: http://www.xi-soft.com/default.htm

 

[Homer J Simpson]

I stay away from ESC in my own programs for one specific reason:

Let's say I have started a huge download using Internet Explorer.
After download has completed, up pops a dialog telling me that
the 100MB file is being copied from the IE cache to the location
I selected when I started the download. This dialog has a Cancel
button which reacts to the ESC key. Suppose I was working with
a program that made extensive use of the ESC key. Suppose I
hit the ESC key a split second after the IE download dialog forced
itself to the foreground. BAM! There goes my download and I'll
have to search for it in my IE cache, hoping it is still there.

A good reason to use FireFox?

 

[Joergen Bech]

A good reason to use FireFox?

Net Transport integrates with both programs. In the case of FireFox,
Net Transport is tied to FlashGot on my system. For IE, Net Transport
is integrated on the right-click popup menu.

FireFox and IE both have their strengths and weaknesses.
I use both of them - sometimes at the same time.

But that is another discussion for another group.

/JB