manual/include/using-the-mouse.html

<h2>Clicking</h2>

<p>
  Throughout this manual, the term <dfn>click</dfn> refers to the act of
  pressing and releasing the <kbd class="mouse">Left</kbd> mouse button. This
  action is used to select objects, activate buttons, turn choices on and off,
  pop up menus and so forth. On touch surfaces, it also corresponds to a
  single, one-finger tap on the GUI.
</p>

<h2>Right Clicking</h2>

<p>
  The term <dfn>right-click</dfn> refers to the act of pressing and releasing
  the <kbd class="mouse">Right</kbd> mouse button. This action is used to pop
  up <dfn>context menus</dfn> (hence the term "context click", which will also
  be seen). It is also used by default in combination with the shift key to
  delete objects within the editor window.
</p>

<p class="note mac">
  Some mice designed for use with Mac OS X may have only one button. By
  convention, pressing and holding the Control key while clicking is
  interpreted as a right-click by many applications.
</p>

<h2>Middle Clicking</h2>

<p>
  A <dfn>middle-click</dfn> refers to the act of pressing and releasing the
  <kbd class="mouse">Middle</kbd> mouse button. Not all mice have a middle
  click button (see the <a href="@@mouse">Mouse</a> chapter for details).
  Sometimes the scroll wheel acts as a clickable middle button. This action is
  used for time-constrained region copying and mapping MIDI bindings.
</p>

<p class="note">
  Internally, your operating system may identify the mouse buttons as <kbd
  class="mouse">Button1</kbd>, <kbd class="mouse">Button2</kbd>, and <kbd
  class="mouse">Button3</kbd>, respectively. It may be possible to invert the
  order of buttons to accommodate left-handed users, or to re-assign them
  arbitrarily. This manual assumes the canonical order.
</p>

<h2>Double Clicking</h2>

<p>
  A <dfn>double click</dfn> refers to two rapid press/release cycles on the
  leftmost mouse button. The time interval between the two actions that
  determines whether this is seen as two clicks or one double click is
  controlled by your system preferences, not by Ardour.
</p>

<h2>Dragging</h2>

<p>
  A <dfn>drag</dfn> primarily refers to the act of pressing the leftmost mouse
  button, moving the mouse with the button held down, and then releasing the
  button. On touch surfaces, this term also corresponds to a single one-finger
  touch-move-release action.
</p>

<p>
  Ardour also uses the middle mouse button for certain kinds of drags, which
  will be referred to as a <dfn>middle-drag</dfn>.
</p>

<h2>Modifiers</h2>

<p>
  There are many actions in Ardour that can be carried out using a mouse button
  in combination with a <dfn>modifier key</dfn>. When the manual refers to <kbd
  class="mod1 mouse">Left</kbd>, it means that you should first press the <kbd
  class="mod1n"></kbd> key, carry out a left click while <kbd
  class="mod1n"></kbd> is held down, and then finally release the key.
</p>

<p>
  Available modifiers depend on your platform:
</p>

<h3>Linux Modifiers</h3>

<ul>
  <li><kbd>Ctrl</kbd> (Control)</li>
  <li><kbd>Shift</kbd></li>
  <li><kbd>Alt</kbd></li>
  <li><kbd>Win</kbd> (Super/Windows)</li>
</ul>

<h3>OS X Modifiers</h3>

<ul>
  <li><kbd>Cmd</kbd> (Command, "windmill")</li>
  <li><kbd>Ctrl</kbd> (Control)</li>
  <li><kbd>Alt</kbd>  (Option)</li>
  <li><kbd>Shift</kbd></li>
</ul>

<h2>Scroll Wheel</h2>

<p>
  Ardour can make good use of a <dfn>scroll wheel</dfn> on the mouse (assuming
  it has one), which can be utilized for a variety of purposes. Scroll wheels
  generate vertical scroll events, <kbd class="mouse">&uArr;</kbd> (ScrollUp)
  and <kbd class="mouse">&dArr;</kbd> (ScrollDown). Some also emit horizontal
  events, <kbd class="mouse">&lArr;</kbd> (ScrollLeft) and <kbd
  class="mouse">&rArr;</kbd> (ScrollRight).
</p>

<p>
  When appropriate, Ardour will differentiate between these two different
  scroll axes. Otherwise it will interpret ScrollDown and ScrollLeft as
  equivalent and similarly interpret ScrollUp and ScrollRight as equivalent.
</p>

<p>
  Typically, scroll wheel input is used to adjust <dfn>continuous
  controls</dfn> such as faders and knobs, or to scroll vertically or
  horizontally inside a window.
</p>