There are a number of ways to select files in Pics.io.
If you want to select one single asset without opening it in preview mode, use one of the following options:
Mouse over the center of a thumbnail. A little empty box will appear in the very top left corner of the thumbnail. Once you click on it, the Infopanel will appear on the right.
Use the shortcut key - press Option (for Mac OS) / Alt (for Windows) and make left-click on the asset you want to select.
Press Cmd (for Mac OS) / Ctrl (for Windows) and make a mouse-click on the necessary asset.
When you want to select a sequence of assets, hold down the Shift key on the keyboard and make left-click on the first file you want to select. Without letting go of the Shift key, select the last file in the sequence.
To select individual files that are not in sequence, hold down Cmd (for Mac OS) / Ctrl (for Windows) on the keyboard and select each file you need with the left click of the mouse.
Multiple selections
Pics.io allows you to browse between collections, saved searches, and assets related to keywords, or even gather assets by performing different searches in real-time to make selections of the desired data at the same time.
Basically, opening a collection, selecting a particular keyword, using a saved search, or performing a real-time search will return a selection of assets.
NB! Browsing through Archives, Inboxes, and Lightboards to make multiple selections across all of them is not supported, therefore, the assets can be selected only within one section at a time.
The word selection will further be referred to any of the above-mentioned options to return assets.
To select multiple assets within a selection, click «Select all» at the bottom action toolbar. A shortcut Cmd (for Mac OS) / Ctrl (for Windows) + A can be used as well.
When one or more asset is selected, buttons «Select all» and «Deselect all» will appear in the bottom action toolbar suggesting you perform either.
Tip: The number of selected assets appears in the action toolbar at the bottom. It helps you track how many files are selected.
NB! The buttons «Select all» and «Deselect all» perform actions within a particular open collection. That means they do not affect any of the assets that were previously selected in other selections.
Bulk operations on a selection
When you are done gathering your files from different places, the final result will appear in the separate selection that can be opened and viewed by clicking the number of assets selected in the action toolbar.
The selected assets then can be shared outside as a collection (website), downloaded, copied, added to a collection, trashed, or archived.
To empty the selection, click the cross (X) button within the action toolbar.
Properties within the Infopanel can also be modified for the whole selection, the assets within it can be linked together for quick access or assigned a keyword, tagged in bulk, and added to a collection.
Learn more about the Infopanel and its widgets here.
Shortcuts in Pics.io
There are a number of shortcut keys that help you apply quick changes to the selected file(s):
Cmd (for Mac OS) / Ctrl (for Windows) +D - mass download of all the selected files
Cmd (for Mac OS) / Ctrl (for Windows) +P - flag all the selected files as approved
Cmd (for Mac OS) / Ctrl (for Windows) +X - flag all the selected files as rejected
Cmd (for Mac OS) / Ctrl (for Windows) +U - unflag all the selected files. You can read more about the flag feature here.
Alt+1-5 - give all the selected assets the same star rating. The digit key you press corresponds to the number of stars you give to your files.
Cmd (for Mac OS) / Ctrl (for Windows) +6 - mark all the selected assets with red color
Cmd (for Mac OS) / Ctrl (for Windows) +7 - mark all the selected assets with yellow color
Cmd (for Mac OS) / Ctrl (for Windows) +8 - mark all the selected assets with green color
Cmd (for Mac OS) / Ctrl (for Windows) +9 - mark all the selected assets with blue color
Cmd (for Mac OS) / Ctrl (for Windows) +0 - remove any color marking from the selected assets
These and some other shortcut keys can be retrieved at any time by pressing Cmd (for Mac OS) / Ctrl (for Windows) + /.