---
title: The three rings: Shift, Option and Control
source: https://arazioformac.com/docs/the-three-rings
---

# The three rings

Arazio puts three different menus on three different modifier keys. Which one
you get depends on which key you are holding when the ring appears.

| Hold | You get | For |
|---|---|---|
| <kbd>⇧</kbd> Shift | **Formats** | Converting the file into something else |
| <kbd>⌥</kbd> Option | **Tools** | Changing the file without changing its format |
| <kbd>⌃</kbd> Control | **Actions** | Doing something *with* the file |

You can [change which key opens which ring](/docs/make-it-yours) if these do
not suit you.

## ⇧ — Formats

What the file can become. A HEIC offers JPG, PNG, WebP, AVIF, TIFF, GIF, BMP
and PDF; a MOV offers MP4, MKV, WebM, M4V and the audio formats.

The ring holds up to eight, chosen for the file you are dragging. Arazio has
283 conversions across 43 formats in total — [the format pages](/docs/formats/heic)
list every one.

## ⌥ — Tools

Things that change a file but leave it the same kind of file. Compress a PDF,
resize an image, rotate it, trim a video, split one, merge several, normalise
audio, strip the metadata out of a photo.

There are 14 of them, and which appear depends on what you are holding — you
cannot normalise a JPEG, so that tool does not appear over one.
[Every tool](/docs/tools/compress).

## ⌃ — Actions

The ring that is not about conversion at all. Six things to do with a file:

- **AirDrop** — the share sheet, without opening Finder's menu
- **Shelf** — park it somewhere to pick up later ([more](/docs/the-shelf))
- **Copy** — put the file itself on the clipboard
- **Move** — pick a destination folder and move it there
- **Copy Path** — put its full path on the clipboard
- **Terminal** — open its folder in Terminal

These work on **any** file, including ones Arazio cannot convert: a `.sketch`,
an application, a folder, a mixed selection of all three.
[More on file actions](/docs/file-actions).

## Changing your mind mid-drag

You can let go of one modifier and press another without dropping the file.
The ring changes under your cursor. If you decide against the whole thing,
move back to the middle — the dead zone — and release; nothing happens.

Dropping outside the ring entirely is an ordinary drag, so be careful where you
let go if there is a folder underneath.

## Next

[Many files at once](/docs/many-files-at-once) — the same gesture, with a
selection.