Text Selection

Text selection is available in Timeline preview, Contacts inline previews, and full-screen reading. It gives keyboard-first and mouse-driven copying for a current line, a visual range, or the full wrapped body.

Overview

Use text selection when you need to copy a quote, reference number, address, or full email body without leaving the terminal. Herald-owned selection tracks preview rows directly, so copied payloads can include plain text, rich HTML fragments, or image data where the platform clipboard supports them.

Screen Anatomy

Area	What it shows
Wrapped body lines	The preview/full-screen body after Herald wraps text to the current width.
Scroll offset	The current top line in the preview body.
Cursor selection	The active preview row used for yy line copy and visual-range start.
Visual selection	Highlighted range between selection start and end.
Mouse drag selection	Herald-owned mouse selection across preview rows when mouse capture is enabled.
Pending line copy	A one-key waiting state after the first y.
Mouse-selection mode	Terminal mouse mode toggle that changes whether terminal-native selection is easier.

Controls

Key	Context	Preconditions	Result
v	Timeline preview/full-screen	Wrapped body lines are available.	Toggles visual selection and starts at current scroll line.
j / down	Visual mode	Visual mode active.	Extends selection downward.
k / up	Visual mode	Visual mode active.	Shrinks or moves selection upward.
y	Visual mode	A range is selected.	Copies selected wrapped lines and exits visual mode.
y then y	Preview/full-screen	Body lines exist and visual mode is not active.	Copies the current visible line.
Y	Preview/full-screen	Body lines exist.	Copies the entire wrapped body.
Mouse drag	Timeline or Contacts preview	Mouse capture is enabled and selectable rows are visible.	Selects the dragged preview range for copy.
m	Timeline	Any Timeline state.	Toggles mouse-selection mode.
esc	Visual mode	Visual mode active.	Cancels visual mode.

Workflows

Copy a Range

1. Open an email preview.
2. Scroll to the first line.
3. Press v.
4. Use j/k to adjust the range.
5. Press y.

Copy the Current Line

1. Open an email preview.
2. Scroll until the desired line is at the current body offset.
3. Press y.
4. Press y again.

Copy the Whole Body

1. Open an email preview or full-screen reader.
2. Press Y.

Copy With the Mouse

1. Open a Timeline or Contacts preview.
2. Drag across the preview text while Herald mouse capture is enabled.
3. Press y to copy the selected range.

Use Terminal Mouse Selection

1. Press m.
2. Use your terminal’s native mouse selection.
3. Press m again to return Herald to its normal mouse mode.

States

State	What happens
No body loaded	Copy keys have nothing to copy.
Visual mode	Navigation changes the selected range instead of just scrolling.
Pending yy	Herald waits for the second y; any other key clears the pending state.
Rich clipboard	On supported platforms, Herald writes richer HTML or image payloads along with plain text when the selected preview row carries that data.
Full-screen	Same copy controls apply with more body lines visible.
Clipboard unavailable	Copy command can fail if the operating system clipboard command is unavailable.

Data And Privacy

Text selection reads body text, HTML fragments, and image metadata that are already represented in the preview document and writes selected payloads to the operating system clipboard. The clipboard may be visible to other local applications according to your OS security model.

Troubleshooting

If copying the wrong line, remember that yy copies the current scroll line, not necessarily the row your cursor highlighted earlier.

If selected text has unexpected wrapping, widen the terminal or use full-screen mode before copying.

If clipboard copy fails, verify the local clipboard command for your platform is installed and available.

Screenshot Placeholders

Related Pages

• Timeline
• Global UI
• All Keybindings