http://chiclassiccomp.org/docs/content/computing/Sun/softwar...
p. 104:
6.7. Secondary Selections
A secondary selection is a selection you make while holding down a function key. The action takes place when you release the function key. This feature lets you do many Copy, Paste, Cut and Find shortcuts with function keys.
The secondary selection is always underlined. It lasts only as long as you hold down the function key. During that time, you can adjust the secondary selection the same way you adjust a primary selection.
You can also scroll while making a secondary selection, as long as you continue to hold the function key down. That way, you can adjust the selection to encompass characters that aren't currently visible in the window.
With secondary selections, you can do editing operations that require both a source and a destination, such as duplicating and moving text. Secondary selections also let you perform an operation without changing the current primary selection and insertion point.
You've already learned one method for copying text from one place to another:
- Select some text and press [Copy].
- Select the destination and press [Paste].
For an easier way to duplicate text, use secondary Paste. The example changes "strawberry" to "strawberry vanilla":
- Click LEFT to set the caret where you want the text copied.
- Hold down the [Paste] key while selecting the text to be copied. The text is underlined to indicate that it's a secondary selection.
- Release the [Paste] key. The secondary selection is pasted at the caret.
NOTE: When you use secondary Paste to get text from another window, be sure the pointer is in the "to" window when you first press the [Paste] key; otherwise the keyboard focus will shift and you'll paste in the "from" window. The secondary selection is pasted into the window that has the keyboard focus at the time you press the function key.
You can use secondary selections to specify operands for [Copy], [Paste], and [Cut], as well as for [Find].
To delete text without changing the insertion point, use secondary Cut:
- Hold down the [Cut] key while selecting the text you want to delete.
- Release the [Cut] key. The text is deleted and placed on Clipboard. The caret remains in its original position.
To set the insertion point for the destination without losing the primary selection, use secondary Copy:
- Make a primary selection.
- Hold down the [Copy] key while setting the caret by clicking LEFT.
- Release the [Copy] key. The primary selection is copied to the left or right of the secondary selection, depending on which end you clicked nearest to. The caret moves to the end of the insertion.
Finding a Secondary Selection
To search for a secondary selection, hold down the [Find] key while selecting text. The secondary selection is searched for when you release the function key, and the first occurrence that's found is highlighted. The search is in a forward direction, but you can reverse it by holding down [Shift-Find] while selecting text. This is a handy way to search without changing the Clipboard or the current primary selection. Note that the search begins at the caret, not at the secondary selection.
Stopping a Secondary Selection
When you start a secondary operation -- for example, hold down [Paste] and select some text -- and then decide you don't want to complwete the operation, press the [Stop] key to reset the window.
NOTE: If a text window gets stuck so it makes only secondary selections, press the [Stop] key to reset the window.
[Also there is a comprehensive Table 6-2: Quick Editing with Secondary Selections, on page 109, that I won't transcribe, but you can look at in the pdf if you're interested. There's even a way to SWAP: Exchange locations of primary selection and secondary selection: Make primary selection: pending-delete; Make secondary selection: [Control-Copy] then regular [Paste].]