Besides the usual use of the mouse to control the elements of a graphical user interface (buttons, scroll bars etc.) the mouse is heavily used in the network editor. Many important functions like selection of units and links need the use of the mouse. The mouse buttons of the standard 3 button mouse are used in the following way within a graphic window:
Selects a unit. If the mouse is moved with the button pressed down, a group of units in a rectangular area is selected. If the SHIFT key is pressed at the same time, the units are deselected. The direction of movement with the mouse to open the rectangular area is not significant, i.e. one can open the rectangle from bottom right to top left, if convenient.
If the left mouse button is pressed together with the CONTROL
key, a menu appears with all alternatives to complete the current
command sequence. The menu items that display a trailing '!' indicate
that the mouse position of the last command of a command sequence is
important. The letter 'T' indicates that the target unit in the info
panel plays a role. A (~) denotes that the command sequence is
not yet completed.
Undo of a selection. Clicking on a selected unit with the right mouse button only deselects this unit. Clicking on an empty raster position resets the whole selection.
Selects the source unit (on pressing the button down) and the target unit (on releasing the button) and displays them both in the info panel. If there is no connection between the two units, the target unit is displayed with its first source unit. If the button is pressed on a source unit and released over an empty target position, the link between the source and the current (last) target is displayed. If there is no such link the display remains unchanged. Conversely, if the button is pressed on an empty source position and released on an existing target unit, the link between the current (last) source unit and the selected target unit is displayed, if one exists. This is a convenient way to inspect links.
In order to indicate the position of the mouse even with a small raster size, there is always a sensitive area of at least 16x16 pixels wide.