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User's Guide to the Tycho List Browsers

A list browser in Tycho is a window that contains a scrolled list box from which the user can select an item. It is used, for example, as a file browser and an index browser.

Name Completion

If you enter any partial name in the entry box, and then type a Tab, all items that have the partially entered name as a prefix will be selected. If there is exactly one match, then the matching item will replace your prefix in the entry box. If there is more than one match, then the matching items are selected in the list box. You can scroll through each of the matching names using the up and down arrow keys (or Control-p and Control-n) or by repeatedly typing Tab. The matching is not case sensitive.

When you type a Tab for name completion, the prefix you have entered can have wildcard characters in a fashion similar to that used by the C-shell. Your prefix must exactly match the prefix of an item except that the following special sequences may appear:

*
Matches any sequence of characters in the string, including a null string.
?
Matches any single character in the string.
[chars]
Matches any character in the set given by chars. If a sequence of the form x-y appears in chars, then any character between x and y, inclusive, will match.
\x
Matches the single character x. This provides a way of avoiding the special interpretation of the characters *?[]\ in the pattern.

To unselect items that have been selected by name completion, type Control-\.

Navigation

A second unique feature is the ability to scroll through the list of items using standard emacs-like bindings. The relevant bindings are:

C-n
down one item
C-p
up one item
C-v
forward one page
M-v
backward one page
M-<
move to the top of the list
M->
move to the bottom of the list

The up and down arrow keys similarly move up and down one item, while the page up and page down keys move up and down one page. The home and end keys move to the top and bottom of the list, respectively. If there is a set of items selected (e.g. by the name completion mechanism), then the up and down arrow keys commands scroll through the list of selected items only, just like repeated Tabs.

It is also possible to scroll through the list using the mouse. Normally, clicking button 1 on an element selects it and deselects any other selected item. However, if the mouse leaves the listbox window with button 1 down, the window scrolls away from the mouse, making information visible that used to be off-screen on the side of the mouse. The scrolling continues until the mouse re-enters the window, the button is released, or the end of the listbox is reached.

Similarly, mouse button 2 may be used for scanning. If it is pressed and dragged over the listbox, the contents of the listbox drag at high speed in the direction the mouse moves.

Selecting Items

The more familiar features of the list browser are documented here for completeness. The browser consists of entry box for typing names and a list box containing a set of items. The entry box uses standard emacs-like key bindings. A single mouse click on an item in the list box will place that item in the entry box. A double click will proceed to open the item. What this means depends on how the list browser is configured. For example, with the file browser, it will open the selected file or directory. An item in the entry box can also be opened by clicking on the OK button or typing a Return.


Copyright © 1996, The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Last updated: 96/04/09, comments to: eal@eecs.berkeley.edu