Triple-click is the action of clicking a
computer mouse
A computer mouse (plural mice, sometimes mouses) is a hand-held pointing device that detects two-dimensional space, two-dimensional motion relative to a surface. This motion is typically translated into the motion of a pointer (user interface ...
button three times quickly without moving the mouse. Along with clicking and
double-click
A double-click is the act of pressing a computer mouse button twice quickly without moving the mouse. Double-clicking allows two different actions to be associated with the same mouse button. It was developed by Bill Atkinson of Apple Computer (n ...
ing, triple-clicking allows three different actions to be associated with the same mouse button.
Criticism of the double-click mechanism is even more valid for triple-clicks. However, few applications assign critical actions to a triple click.
Examples of usage
On text
In most text processing programs and edit controls triple-clicking with the primary mouse button (the left button for right-handers) on the text selects the entire line. If the edit control is not multiline, the entire text is selected.
Microsoft Word
A triple-click within a paragraph in the text area selects the entire paragraph.
A triple-click in the left margin (when the mouse pointer is an up-and-to-the-right arrow) selects the entire document.
Microsoft Works
A triple-click within a paragraph in the text area selects the line.
A triple-click in the left margin (when the mouse pointer is an up-and-to-the-right arrow) selects the entire document.
Corel WordPerfect
A triple-click within a paragraph in the text area selects the sentence.
A triple-click in the left margin (when the mouse pointer is an up-and-to-the-right arrow) selects the entire document.
Outlook and Outlook Express
A triple-click within a paragraph in the text area selects the entire paragraph.
Text fields
A triple-click in a text entry field (a text entry widget) selects the entire line of text. This is a standard feature of the widgets themselves, so works in most applications, on Linux as well as Windows.
Quark Express
A triple-click selects the current line.
Four clicks selects the current paragraph.
Five clicks selects the whole document.
Web browsers
Firefox 3.0
In
Firefox 3.0 a triple-click will highlight all text within any single HTML element on the page.
Firefox 3.5
In
Firefox 3.5
Mozilla Firefox 3.5 is a version of the Firefox web browser released in June 2009, adding a variety of new features to Firefox. Version 3.5 was touted as being twice as fast as 3.0 (due its TraceMonkey JavaScript engine and rendering improveme ...
and upwards, a triple-click selects the entire paragraph. If the triple click is inside a content editable element, and is on the first paragraph, it selects the text, and the opening tag of the element.
Internet Explorer 7
In
Internet Explorer 7 a triple-click will highlight all text within any single HTML element on the page. If there is an article with multiple paragraphs one can highlight an entire paragraph with a triple-click.
Opera
In
Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
a triple-click will select all text within a sentence while automatically popping up a list of commands to apply to the selected text. A quadruple-click will select all text within a single paragraph while keeping the aforementioned popup open.
Safari 3.0
In
Safari
A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in eastern or southern Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an impor ...
3.0 a triple-click will highlight all text within any single HTML element on the page. If there is an article with multiple paragraphs one can highlight an entire paragraph with a triple-click.
Chrome
In
Google Chrome
Google Chrome is a cross-platform web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, built with free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox. Versions were later released for Linux, macOS, ...
(and by extension
ChromeOS), triple-clicking any part of a Web page will cause the nearest text node to be highlighted completely.
Adjusting speed
Adjusting speed of triple-click depends on the operating system:
*On
Windows XP
Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was release to manufacturing, released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Wind ...
triple-clicking has the same time as
double-click
A double-click is the act of pressing a computer mouse button twice quickly without moving the mouse. Double-clicking allows two different actions to be associated with the same mouse button. It was developed by Bill Atkinson of Apple Computer (n ...
and changing the double-click setting affects triple-click behavior as well.
See also
*
Single-click
Point and click are the actions of a computer user moving a pointer to a certain location on a screen (''pointing'') and then pressing a button on a mouse, usually the left button (''click''), or other pointing device. An example of point and cli ...
*
Double-click
A double-click is the act of pressing a computer mouse button twice quickly without moving the mouse. Double-clicking allows two different actions to be associated with the same mouse button. It was developed by Bill Atkinson of Apple Computer (n ...
References
{{Reflist
User interface techniques