Buttons ​

This chapter explains use of Hyperbole buttons. There are several kinds of Hyperbole buttons: buttons that are created one at a time and stored in files (explicit buttons); buttons that can be activated by name anytime (global buttons); and buttons defined by textual patterns where one definition can create an infinite number of buttons (implicit buttons).

Hyperbole buttons are embedded within textual documents; they may be created, modified, moved or deleted. Each button performs a specific action, such as linking to a file or executing a shell command.

There are three categories of Hyperbole buttons:

explicit buttons ​

created by Hyperbole, accessible from within a single document;

global buttons ​

created by Hyperbole, specific to each user, and accessible anywhere within a user’s network of documents;

implicit buttons ​

created and managed by other programs or embedded within the structure of a document, accessible from within a single document. Hyperbole recognizes implicit buttons by contextual patterns given in their type specifications (explained later).

Explicit Hyperbole buttons may be embedded within any type of text file. Implicit buttons may appear only within document contexts allowed by their types, which may limit the kinds of documents or the locations within those documents at which such buttons may be found. All global buttons for a user are stored in a single location and are activated by typing their names, rather than by direct selection, the means used to activate explicit and implicit buttons.

To summarize:

Button Category   Active Within        Activation Means      Managed By
========================================================================
Explicit          a single document    direct selection      Hyperbole
Global            any document         typing its name       Hyperbole
Implicit          a matching context   direct selection      other tools

A click on a Hyperbole button may activate it or describe its actions, depending on which mouse key is used. Buttons may also be activated from a keyboard. (In fact, many Hyperbole operations, including menu usage, may be performed from any standard character terminal interface, so you need not be anchored to a desktop all day). See Smart Keys. There is also a key that shows you how a button will behave before you activate it, see Smart Key Operations.