science

Triple-click

Triple-click is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Triple-click rather than just read about it. In short: Triple-click is the action of clicking a computer mouse button three times quickly without moving the mouse. Along with clicking and double-clicking, triple-clicking allows three different actions to be associated with the same mouse button.

Key takeaways

Triple-click belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Triple-click to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Triple-click from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Triple-click is the action of clicking a computer mouse button three times quickly without moving the mouse. Along with clicking and double-clicking, 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 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 contentEditable 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 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 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 (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 triple-clicking has the same time as double-click and changing the double-click setting affects triple-click behavior as well.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Triple-click

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Triple-click claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Triple-click before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Triple-click ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Triple-click

In research: Triple-click appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Triple-click in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Triple-click is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics User interface techniques, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Triple-click outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Triple-click in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Triple-click means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Triple-click out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Triple-click in simple terms?

Why does Triple-click matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Triple-click?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Triple-click.