Select Text

The purpose of selecting (or defining or highlighting) text is to mark it as a block which will be subject to further commands. Selecting text is the first step in moving, copying or editing text. Text which has been selected appears on the screen either with a colored background, or in reverse colors (white print on black background). See Selection Color.

Nota Bene offers the user two options for the way defined text is treated. The Windows standard text definition option (the "transient" option) is the default. The Nota Bene text definition option (the "persistent" option) allows the user to move the cursor away from the defined block. This allows the user to move text without first using the Windows standard procedure of copying to the clipboard (See Move text, Method 3). For more information about the traditional NB text definition option, see Persistent selection option.

Several ways of selecting text are listed below. For additional methods, see Select text: keyboard shortcuts.

To select a word, line, sentence, paragraph or document: Click Edit, Select, followed by Word, Line, Sentence, Paragraph or Entire Document.

To select a word: Place the cursor on the word you wish to define and double click the left button of the mouse.

To select a block of text: Use one of the following methods:

•	Place the cursor at the beginning of the block you want to define, hold down the left mouse button while you drag the mouse to the end of the block, then release the left button.

•	Place the cursor at the beginning of the block you want to define, hold down the Shift button while you use any of the directional keys (4 arrow keys or Page Up, Page Down, Home, End) to move to the end of the block.

•	Click at the beginning of the block you want to define. Move (without clicking) to the ending position and Shift+Click to select to that position.

To select a block of text from cursor to a specified character: Place the cursor at the beginning of the block you want to define, then click Edit, Select, To Specified Char (or press Ctrl+Shift+F12). Then type a single character. For example if you type a period, the text from the cursor to the next period will be selected.

To extend the selection: Hold down Shift and click the end of the block or use any of the directional keys to move to the end of the block.

To release the selection: Press Esc or click anywhere on the screen.