Computing Workshop
Bill McArthur
Session 5
Topic 1: Cut and Paste
The topic should properly be called, "Cut, Copy, and Paste", or just "Copy and Paste", because copying is much more important than cutting. Prior to cutting or copying comes the activity of "marking" or "highlighting" (see Topic 2).
A highlighted block can be cut or copied by using the right mouse button to produce a menu or by holding the control key and pressing "c" for copy or "x" for cut. Both activities place the block of text on what is called the "clipboard", which is a storage area. The stuff in the clipboard can be pasted at the cursor location by using the right mouse button to produce a menu or by holding the control key and pressing "v" to paste.
Topic 2: Highlighting Text
1. Place the cursor at one end of the block and then hold the shift key and click on the other end of the block.
2. Sweep across the block with the mouse while holding the left mouse button down, in any direction of sweep.
3. Place the cursor at one end of the block, hold the shift key and use the arrow keys to delimit the block.
4. To highlight all of the text, choose "Select All" from a "Edit" menu if available, or hold the control key and press "a".
Topic 3: Drag and Drop
This is done by "hovering" over a highlighted block or a file or folder, holding the left mouse button down, moving the mouse to another location, and releasing the mouse button. This action usually moves the object rather than copying it. To copy the object, hold the control key down during the drag and drop.
Topic 4: Highlighting Files and Folders on a List
The left mouse button can be used to highlight (or select) a file or folder with a single click. By holding the control key, multiple files or folders can be selected. Highlighted files or folders can be cut, copied, pasted, and dragged and dropped to other lists.
Topic 5: Undo
Sometimes we want to restore a situation to its original state after making a change. This action is called "undo" in the computing world. We can often find "undo" as an option in an "Edit" menu. Also, holding the control key and pressing "z" can perform an "undo", as in the case of cutting a block of text.