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Gadgets are programmed graphic images that appear in a window, requester, or screen.

Like icons, gadgets often have a raised three dimensional appearance and when selected appear to sink into the screen.

Like icons, they are selected with the mouse.

Cancel the selection of button-type gadgets by moving the pointer off the gadget button before releasing the selection button.

Window Gadgets:
Window borders often contain several gadgets for moving windows, changing their size, scrolling (moving) their contents, and closing them.

Window borders can contain any of the following gadgets:

Text Gadget:
A text gadget is a rectangular box within a requester or window for entering a file name, drawer name, or other text.

The following keyboard shortcuts can be used for editing text within a text gadget:

  • Del
    Erases the character highlighted by the cursor.
  • Backspace
    Erases the character to the left of the cursor.
  • Right Amiga+X
    Erases all the text in the gadget.
  • Right Amiga+Q
    Retrieves the information that was in the gadget before the text was changed.
  • Left Arrow
    Moves the cursor one character to the left.
  • Right Arrow
    Moves the cursor one character to the right.
  • Shift+Left Arrow
    Moves the cursor to the beginning of the line.
  • Shift+Right Arrow
    Moves the cursor to the end of the line.
  • Shift+Del
    Erases the character highlighted by the cursor and all characters to the right of the cursor.
  • Shift+Backspace
    Erases all the characters to the left of the cursor.
When you are finished entering the text, press Return to perform the action.

Title Bar:
The title bar is a gadget that identifies each window or screen in the system.

The title bar of a disk window also contains:

  • The name of the disk.
  • The percentage of the disk that is full.
  • The number of free bytes available for storage in Kilobytes (K) or Megabytes (M).
  • The number of bytes in use for existing data.
The Depth gadget:
The Depth gadget changes the depth position of a window or screen. Selecting the depth gadget on the front-most window on the screen moves it to the rear.

Selecting the depth gadget on any window other than the front moves it to the front.

A window brought to the front with the depth gadget is automatically selected. Holding down Shift while selecting the depth gadget on any window always sends it to the rear.

Zoom Gadget:
The Zoom gadget provides a quick way to switch between two different window size/position settings.

The zoom gadget toggles between two window sizes and positions. The first use of the gadget zooms the window to a preset size and position.

Selecting the gadget again returns the window to its original size and position. The window may be moved or resized to change its zoomed or original position.

Sizing Gadget:

  1. The Sizing gadget allows you to change the size of a window. To size a window:
  2. Point to the sizing gadget. Hold down the selection button and move the pointer. An outline of the window appears with its lower right corner following the pointer.
  3. Release the selection button. The window is redrawn to the size indicated by the outline.
The sizing operation can be cancelled by pressing the menu button before releasing the selection button.

Scroll Gadgets:
The Scroll gadgets move the area inside a window to show unexposed icons without changing the window's size.

Use scroll gadgets after resizing a window or choosing 'Show All Files'. Scroll boxes, scroll bars, and scroll arrows are all scroll gadgets.

Scroll bars are the highlighted rectangular areas inside the scroll boxes. They indicate how much of a window's contents is visible. When the scroll bar completely fills a scroll box, all of the window's icons are visible.

When the scroll bar fills half of the scroll box, only half of the window's icons are visible.

To see the area of a window that is not visible:

  1. Point at the scroll bar.
  2. Hold down the selection button.
  3. Drag the scroll bar to an empty area of the scroll box. The viewing area is redrawn to show the new position when you release the scroll bar.
Another method to move the scroll bar is:

  1. Point to an empty area of the scroll box.
  2. Click the selection button.
The scroll bar moves towards the area where you pointed.

Scroll arrows are for scrolling continuously through the viewing area of a window. By pointing to a scroll arrow and holding down the selection button, you shift the viewing area in the direction of the arrow.

Move the window contents one pixel at a time by holding down Shift while selecting a scroll arrow.

Close Gadget:
Selecting the close gadget closes the window and removes it from the screen.

If the last window of an application program is closed, the program is usually exited.

Action Gadgets:
Action gadgets are found in requesters, Preferences Editors, and other windows, usually at the bottom of the window.

The most common action gadgets in Workbench windows include:

  • Save
    Implements and saves any changes to program settings and closes the window.
  • Use
    Implements changes to program settings without saving them and closes the window. Rebooting the Amiga returns to the default or previously saved changes.
  • Cancel
    Cancels changes to program settings that you made in the window. The settings in effect prior to opening the window remain the same.
  • OK
    Acknowledges and closes a requestor.
  • Retry
    Retries the current operation after you have attempted to correct what the requester indicates is wrong, such as a disk error or a write-protected disk.
  • Continue
    Starts next step of operation.
  • Help
    Displays help information.
Additional Gadgets:
In addition to the gadgets described previously, there are several other types of standard gadgets used by the Amiga programs.

Always read your application documentation before attempting to use them.

Check Box:
Check boxes indicate if an option is turned on or off. When an option is on, the box contains a check mark, 'tick'. If the option is off, the box is empty. To change the check box setting, click on the box.

Cycle Gadget:
Cycle gadgets contain lists of options. The displayed option is the selected option.

Pointing to the cycle gadget and repeatedly clicking the selection button cycles through the list, showing the available options.

Cycle backwards through the list by holding down Shift while selecting.

Radio Button:
Radio buttons allow you to select one option from a fully displayed list.

Each option in the list has a radio button next to it. Selected radio buttons are highlighted and appear indented.

Unselected radio buttons remain one colour and appear raised above the screen.

Select a radio button by clicking on it. The previously selected option in the list is automatically deselected.

Scrolling List Gadgets:
Scrolling list gadgets allow you to select from options displayed in a scrolling list.

A scrolling list shows all of the available choices when scrolled, rather than one option at a time. To select an option, click on it. The selected option is highlighted.

In some scrolling lists, you can select more than one option.

Scrolling list gadgets also contain scroll arrows and a scroll bar similar to window scroll gadgets.

If a text gadget appears under the scroll gadget, you can type in a choice not displayed in the scrolling list, such as a new file name for saving information.

Slider Gadget:
Slider gadgets allow you to select a value within a given range. These are similar to scroll gadgets in that you drag a slider bar through a slider box to select a specific value.

The slider value shown next to the slider is the value associated with the current position of the slider bar.

To change the value, drag the slider bar. When the desired value is shown, release the selection button.


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