4.11.5 Configuring word-by-word selection

PuTTY will select a word at a time in the terminal window if you double-click to begin the drag. This panel allows you to control precisely what is considered to be a word.

Each character is given a class, which is a small number (typically 0, 1 or 2). PuTTY considers a single word to be any number of adjacent characters in the same class. So by modifying the assignment of characters to classes, you can modify the word-by-word selection behaviour.

In the default configuration, the character classes are:

• Class 0 contains white space and control characters.
• Class 1 contains most punctuation.
• Class 2 contains letters, numbers and a few pieces of punctuation (the double quote, minus sign, period, forward slash and underscore).

So, for example, if you assign the @ symbol into character class 2, you will be able to select an e-mail address with just a double click.

In order to adjust these assignments, you start by selecting a group of characters in the list box. Then enter a class number in the edit box below, and press the ‘Set’ button.

This mechanism currently only covers ASCII characters, because it isn't feasible to expand the list to cover the whole of Unicode.

Character class definitions can be modified by control sequences sent by the server. This configuration option controls the default state, which will be restored when you reset the terminal (see section 3.1.3.6). However, if you modify this option in mid-session using ‘Change Settings’, it will take effect immediately.