Shortcuts and Neat Tricks in Ponga

You'll find that Ponga adheres to most of the Internet standards that make sense to manipulate windows, tabs, and the like. Here are a few shortcuts that may not have been obvious but can be very useful. (Note: Command on a Mac is generally equivalent to Ctrl on a Windows computer. We'll use Command here, as in Command-x to cut text.)

Manage Browser Tab Clutter

To keep from cluttering your browser, Ponga does not spawn a new tab for each picture you open. Sometimes, however, it can be useful to see two pictures side-by-side.

• Use Command-Click on any picture link to open it in a new tab.
• Use Shift-Click on any picture link to open it in a new window.
• Use Option-Click (or right-click on a two-button mouse) to copy a link

Speed Your Way Putting Names to Faces

You'll typically recognize people you know in the gallery very quickly. Key commands can make it easy to make quick work of the challenge. Here are the most useful shortcuts:

• Use Return to select the marked selection (below "Add Name" the default when you open the Gallery and have portraits waiting for you.)
• Use Tab to advance from "Add Name" to "Skip" or "Ignore"
• Use Shift-Tab to return from "Skip" or "Ignore" back to "Add Name"

Tricks with Previews

You may have already discovered the fun of previews. These are the little pop-ups that appear when you mouse-over a selection. This article will show you how to manage the preview behavior but there are also some neat tricks you can use.

Sometimes, to tell a story or illustrate an example, you want to point to a picture somewhere on the web. You want to give credit but also point to it in an uncluttered way. Here's how to do just that.

When you find the image (or really any link) you want to use and you want to hide the clutter of a link. Here's what you do.

1. Find the link (it might be for an article, for an image, or even a piece of media like video or audio.)
2. "Right-click" or otherwise use your browser to copy the location or link (depending on your browser.)
3. Paste the link, then space or hit return to tell Ponga to pull in the external content (give a second to reach out to the Internet).
4. Then hit Post.

The only trick here is to not add other non-link content in that post. The result is a preview that effectively hides the clutter of the URL. To find that URL again, all you have to do is "right-click" to use your browser to copy the link location or open it in another tab.

You can then add your comment or tell your story in the post that follows.

Search

So far, Ponga has very limited search functions besides searching by the named people in the picture. If you remember a picture based on the title, but not who is in the picture, you can find it by using your browser's search function.

1. Go to the All Pictures view in the Library.
2. Make your browser window the size of one image tile, then use your browser's search function (usually Command-f) that will highlight the word in the preview of the title and bring the picture into the visible area of your browser.
3. Found your picture!

If you have other functions you'd like shortcuts for, tell us about that too. As the Ferengi say, "we're all ears." Hit us up in the Live Chat window at left and you'll have our attention. ⏎