Friday, May 13, 2011

Kindle Skills - No Dragging and Dropping - Copy and Paste

If you have difficulty dragging files from one place on your computer and dropping them elsewhere, you aren't alone. I hear more complaints from people whose "mouse got away" from them than probably anything else.

Dragging and dropping is a learned skill, takes lots of practice, and as simple as it may sound to some, can be a real curse for others. Fortunately, with Windows there is always more than one way to do something. And - believe it or not - this applies to your favorite Mac users too.

One of the most valuable skills you can ever learn on a computer is the old Copy and Paste routine. Copy something from one place, then Paste it somewhere else. When you think about it, this little skill can really help you if you have difficulty dragging files from one place to another. If you can highlight (select) something, you can right click and Copy it. Then you can right click somewhere else (where there is a blinking cursor) and Paste it. Don't you just love it?.

The right mouse button is the key. This button gives you choices wherever you decide to use it. On a Mac, you can press the CTRL key and click with your single mouse button and get your choices that way (think CTRL+click). Once you right click something and see the choices, move the mouse pointer to what you want, then choose it with a single left click.

When you are copying text or images, the key to perfect pasting is making sure you always know where that blinking cursor is. The blinking cursor is the indicator that tells you where you can type. If you don't see it, you can bang on that keyboard all you want and you won't see a thing. If you see a blinking cursor and type, you will see what you type immediately, with the blinking cursor to the right.

When you are copying Files, you don't need to worry about the blinking cursor, but you do need to right click on the file to select it, then choose Copy. Then you need to open the folder where you want that file to be sent to and right click in a white (empty) area within the folder where the other files are. You must be careful not to right click on any of the actual files in that folder or when you choose Paste, you could end up replacing a file with the one you want to simply add to the list.

The difference between Cut and Copy:
When you have something highlighted and use the right click to see your choices, you should see Cut as well as Copy. If you choose to Copy something, the original will be left alone. If you choose to Cut instead, the original highlighted material will be removed (deleted). Then when you paste it somewhere else, it will be effectively moved.

Keyboard Commands:
CTRL+C = Copy (whatever is highlighted/selected) This includes images in most instances, and certainly text and files.
CTRL+V = Paste (wherever you see a blinking cursor - pasting replaces typing)


On a Mac:
command+C = Copy (whatever is highlighted/selected) This includes images in most instances, and certainly text and files.
command+V = Paste (wherever you see a blinking cursor - pasting replaces typing)

Kindle Skills - From the Desk of Mrs. Wizard - If you have a Kindle you will love this book! Get a sample and see.

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