The Hand
The Hand is your reach into the world. It picks objects up, puts them down, throws them, hands them to a building, and opens inspection panels.
A click inspects, a hold picks up
Press and release quickly on a supported target and the Hand inspects it: the panel opens with what it is and what state it is in. Hold the button over a pickable object instead and the Hand picks it up. The pickup begins only after the hold passes the click threshold, so a quick click does not grab and drop.
Carried objects include villagers, animals, felled trees, wood bundles, loose rocks containing ore and miracle orbs. The creature cannot be picked up; holding the button over it pets or slaps it, depending on your hand movement. The Hand can carry several objects of the same kind and releases them together, and pickup is disabled while a placement tool is active.
Setting down and throwing
The object stays in your hand when you let go of the pickup button. Click again to release it. A gentle click sets it down; a cursor flick before the click can throw it, at a speed taken from how fast the cursor was moving. Camera drags clear the throw gesture, and an earlier flick expires after a short delay.
A villager thrown hard enough ragdolls and lands where physics puts them. A gentle release close to the ground sets them down carefully.
Handing materials to a building
Carry a log to a building site and click: it goes into the site's ledger as material the builders can use. Hold the button over the site instead and the Hand helps with the work as delivered materials allow.
A finished storehouse takes the same click and puts the load into stock. A site that already has all the material it needs returns the click to an ordinary release.
Inspecting what you point at
Villagers, buildings and walls answer the cursor with what they are, and a click opens a panel: a villager's job and mood, a building's stores and work in progress, or a wall's condition.
Standards, flags and orbs
The Hand carries a maniple's standard, which you plant to give the maniple its order. Release sets the standard down. With a leash selected, plant the creature's flag with F or a double-click on the ground to mark its work area, and click the flag to remove it. The Hand carries a miracle as an orb, which you pour out or throw.