JamesBranam's Blog

Navigator Window: Mulitple Selection

Hi all,

Every once in a while I hear about somebody having mouse clicking problems in the IDE. Sometimes there are problems trying to select multiple items in the Visual Designer, configuring virtual forms for multiple items, or trying to access any one of the items in the contextual menu that appears after right-clicking. There are also issues that apply to certain operating systems and not to others, and certain key combinations that are required to perform certain mouse-related actions. The causes of these problems can be various but the result is almost always the same: frustration.

If you're having problems selecting multiple components in the Visual Designer, try doing all of your selecting and clicking in the Navigator window. I've found it to be a very useful tool indeed.

In the image above, I have selected four components and right-clicked one of them (it doesn't matter which one) and chosen Configure Virtual Forms. Had I done this in the Visual Designer, depending on which OS I use, I'd probably had to use a certain key combination to get the same results. Or maybe, the components were placed close together and I kept selecting the wrong ones. This can be easily avoided by using the Navigator window. You have more precise control over which components you select.

Give it a try yourself and you'll see what I mean.

See you tomorrow.

--James

Posted at 06:14PM Apr 21, 2008 by branajam in NetBeans  |  Comments[1]