Frame editing > Frame editor parameters Index

Frame-relevant mouse actions

With this icon you can call up one of the most important dialog boxes in Calamus SL, which can greatly increase your working speed:

In order to increase the operating speed still further, Calamus SL since SL99 for the first time offers the option to associate various mouse actions with macros (global as well as local). The exact meaning of this is described below in the Frame editing module, where you can also find the mode of operation. Here we just want to point clearly to the fact that the association between frame-relevant mouse actions and macros exists, and that both together are saved in the Key bindings file (normally CALAMUS.CKT) from now on. For users who have upgraded from earlier versions, old *.CKT files will be converted to the new format automatically on loading, but after renewed saving are no longer usable in SL98 and older Calami! In addition you should make sure that all the macros you have created will still run as expected. As some function fields and dialog boxes have been altered, this may affect custom macros created for older versions.

This dialog box controls the new mode of operation for associating macros with frame-relevant mouse actions. In order to create such an association, Key binding macros have to be present already.

The mouse-relevant frame operations always refer to the selected frame. If this was not the case, you could not apply the corresponding function to hidden frames any more. That would be bad.

Therefore the following compromise applies:

• If a frame is selected, then the frame-relevant mouse action applies to this.
• If no frame is selected, the action applies to the frame under the mouse cursor.

This is how you define frame-relevant mouse actions:

1. Click on the button New assignment to define a completely new mouse action.
2. Give this assignment a sensible name (which need not have anything to do with the macro name that you later want to associate with this mouse action): Click on the edit field that now shows unnamed, clear it by pressing [Esc] and type in the desired name.
3. In the Frame type for mouse action popup select which frame type this mouse action should be activated for. The popup lists all the standard frame types that are available.
4. After this select in the Macro assignment popup the desired macro that you want to assign to the mouse action. The popup lists all the macros currently available in the Key bindings dialog (i.e. only macros that already exist).
5. Now use the top radio buttons to select which state the frame should have.
6. With the lower radio buttons you still have to specify which mouse action has to be executed in practice so that the assigned macro is started. Not all mouse actions and states of frame can be associated with each other, as otherwise you would no longer be able to deselect any frames, for instance!
7. Finally you can specify whether one or more of the usual modifier keys should be pressed so that the mouse action is recognised as such for the assigned macro to be started.

As you will see, there is an abundance of possibilities to execute various functions in Calamus appreciably faster in the future. Try out the mouse actions already defined with the CALAMUS.CKT file to get some idea of the power of this new mode of operation.

With the > Key bindings button you can reach the dialog of the same name from the Options menu directly, so that you perhaps can still make some changes to the macro names or the macro key bindings. The frame-relevant mouse actions will be saved directly with the key bindings file (usually CALAMUS.CKT).

The diagram below shows how macros and frame-relevant mouse actions can be controlled. Please note that both definable action types always land up in the Key bindings file:

Macro assignment

Input with keyboard or mouse ...

... will be saved in the Key bindings file (CALAMUS.CKT).

Frame-relevant mouse actions

Definitions via the dialog ...

... will be saved in the Key bindings file (CKT) as well!