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Definition: handle


(1) Slang for a nickname, pseudonym, alias or username. For example, a Twitter handle is how people identify themselves on Twitter. For decades, "CB handles" have been the short but unique identities truck drivers use over citizens band radio (see CB radio).

(2) A temporary name or number assigned to a file, font or other object. Also called a "file descriptor," an operating system may assign a sequential number to each file that it opens as a way of identifying and keeping track of it. At the processing level, applications activate open, close, read and write operations by file handle rather than file name.

(3) In a drawing program, a handle is a tiny, square block on an image that can be grabbed for reshaping.




Graphics Handles
The handles are the tiny (blue) squares that are displayed when an object is selected.