Objects > Action Buttons

Action buttons are objects you create in your sketch that you can press to perform a variety of actions: hiding or showing objects, moving or animating objects, linking to a different page in your document or to a web site, scrolling the sketch window to a particular position, playing a sound, or making a presentation. Use action buttons to conveniently repeat frequent actions or to help explain the mathematics of your sketch to others.

Button Type and Properties	Command	Prerequisites	Action
Hide/Show Buttons and Properties	Hide/Show	One or more objects	Hide or show the selected objects
Animation Buttons and Properties	Animation	One or more geometric objects or parameters	Animate the selected objects
Movement Buttons and Properties	Movement	One or more pairs of points or values. The first object of each pair must be free to move or vary. (In other words, the first object can be a point that's free to move or a parameter.)	Move or vary the first object of each pair toward the second object of the pair
Presentation Buttons and Properties	Presentation	One or more action buttons	Present the action buttons simultaneously or sequentially
Sound Buttons	Sound	One or two functions	Make a sound defined by the function(s)
Link Buttons and Properties	Link	None	Link to another page, another sketch, or a location on the Internet
Scroll Buttons and Properties	Scroll	One point	Scroll the window based on the location of the point

To create an action button, choose a command from the Edit | Action Buttons submenu. Once you’ve created an action button, you can do several things with it.

•	Start the button’s action by pressing the button body (not the handle) with the Arrow tool. (If a button stays down after you press it, this indicates that its action is still continuing. Click the button a second time to stop its action.)

•	Start the button’s action by selecting it and pressing the Enter key. Press Enter a second time to stop its action.

•	Select the button by clicking the handle (not the body) with the Arrow tool. Once the button is selected, you can hide it, clear it, and perform other actions on it.

•	Change the button’s font, size, style, and color by first clicking the handle to select it and then using the Text Palette.

•	Move the button to a different position by using the Arrow tool to drag the button’s handle.

•	Change the button’s label by double-clicking it with the Text tool.

•	Change the button’s properties by choosing Edit \| Properties or by choosing Properties from the Context menu.

You can create a keyboard shortcut for an action button, so that it performs its action when you press a key on the keyboard. In the button’s label, insert an ampersand symbol (&) before the letter that you want to use as the shortcut. That letter will then be underlined to indicate the keyboard shortcut. For example if you label an animation button Animate &Point, the P will be underlined, so that the button appears as Animate Point. On the keyboard, P will be the shortcut key.

To perform the button’s action, press the shortcut key on your keyboard. To stop the action, press the shortcut key a second time.

The keyboard shortcut works only when the action button is visible.

If several action buttons have the same keyboard shortcut, then pressing the key starts all of their actions.

Note

Keyboard shortcuts are not case-sensitive unless there are separate buttons with uppercase and lowercase shortcuts for the same letter. For instance, if a sketch has a single button labeled Animate Point, you can start the action by pressing either “P” or “p.” If a sketch has buttons labeled Animate Point and Hide all points, pressing “P” activates the former, and pressing “p” activates the latter.