7 ms·

> Now, KDE upstream has relented on using a single-click to open files and defaults to double-click instead. Distributions like Fedora, Kubuntu, and Manjaro had

by pooper 3y ago

> Now, KDE upstream has relented on using a single-click to open files and defaults to double-click instead. Distributions like Fedora, Kubuntu, and Manjaro had been changing the upstream default anyway, so KDE developer Nate Graham suggested disabling the feature. ""Distros are closer to users and clearly the feedback they've been getting is that double-click is a better default...Let's admit it and switch to double-click by default ourselves"". This is great news. The biggest challenge for Wayland for me was I want to be able to record my screen on obs as easily as I can on x11. I don't think this has been a problem lately. There is iirc an icon up top on gnome at least which I don't want in my video but I guess I'm not supposed to be recording my whole display? I currently don't use my fedora machine much (just ssh into it when I need to) and wsl2 is good enough.

karmakurtisaani 3y ago
I prefer personally the single click approach. But this being KDE you can configure it in your on liking, so no harm done.
anneessens 3y ago
If you haven't tried single click to open before, I would highly recommend it. I used to hate it as well, but going through folders and files is so much faster now that I'm used to it. And if you think about it, a single click to open something is much more consistent UI wise.
- jlpcsl 3y ago
  Same here. This is one change that they made that really does not make any sense to me. Also with smartphones being so used these days and they all have this single click mode of doing things, well it would also make more sense to me to keep single click for opening in KDE Plasma.
  - anneessens 3y ago
    Well, I can understand why KDE made it default since it's the behaviour everybody else expects now. But it's weird that it became standard in the first place.
  - loeg 3y ago
    Smartphones are a really limited input device in a way that desktops are not. IMO it doesn't make a ton of sense to mobile-ize all desktop UX to the minimum smartphones are capable of.
- cesarb 3y ago
  Single click to open is great if what you want is to open the folder or file, but what do you use then when you want to select the folder or file without opening it? I've resorted to "vaguely dragging a square around the icon" (to select a group of icons containing just that single icon) on systems with single-click-to-open. Historically, what you had was single click to select, then something else (usually the Enter key or similar) to open the selected item; this is consistent with for instance drop-down lists (where Enter activates the default button of the dialog box containing the drop-down). Double-click was just a shortcut to "select and then do the default action". A sibling comment compared to smartphones, which use long-press to select; in my experience, both double-click and long-press can be hard for some people (for instance, I've seen people release the long-press a millisecond too early, causing it to do the single-press action instead of the long-click action).
  - anneessens 3y ago
    You can just press CTRL and click the item. And on Plasma specifically, there's a box on the corner of the item with a '+' you can click which only selects the item. Well, I don't have my desktop set up to use drop down menus, but as far as i remember, it is one click to do the action listed, not double click. Unless you mean older operating systems?
    - carlosjobim 3y ago
      "Just"... But yes, I almost always use miller columns to browse the file system on OSX. This way any folder is both select and opened on a single click. Miller columns are great and should be implemented everywhere. Imagine how good they would be for navigating large websites.
      - anneessens 3y ago
        Yes, 'just'. Do you not always have at least one hand on the keyboard? I'm not familar with Miller columns, but if you're changing the behaviour of your file browser, then I'm not sure why you're suprised single click might not work as intended.
bitcraft 3y ago
I had to do a double take regarding the single click "issue" because later in the article it is mentioned that scroll bar behavior was changed to accommodate users with RSI. So what is it KDE? Do you care about RSI or not? I'm no longer a young person anymore, and appreciate any features to prevent RSI. I think its silly to relent on the single click due to "new user pressure". At least there is still an option for it, I suppose.
- xbar 3y ago
  I like that when KDE expresses an opinion in its defaults, they are user-malleable.
- drtgh 3y ago
  System Settings > Workspace Behaviour > General Behaviour: In "Clicking files and folders" then switch the option from "Selects them" to "Opens them".
- maybenotmart 3y ago
  Since we know is a central thing on which many users wish to change it, the option is also right there in the first page when you open System Settings
whalesalad 3y ago
I record lots of dev guides for my dev team using obs. Works great for me on Debian 12 with KDE and Wayland. Full screen too. Webcam working. External usb mic working.
maybenotmart 3y ago
> The biggest challenge for Wayland for me was I want to be able to record my screen on obs as easily as I can on x11. We invested a lot of effort in Plasma6 to make screen recording on Wayland as smooth as possible. With OBS (and our native screenshot/recording tool Spectacle) it just "works". We also developed a mechanism to make screen recording/sharing work for old XWayland clients (to have things like screen sharing work from i.e. the Electron Discord app)

by pooper 3y ago

karmakurtisaani 3y ago

I prefer personally the single click approach. But this being KDE you can configure it in your on liking, so no harm done.

anneessens 3y ago

If you haven't tried single click to open before, I would highly recommend it. I used to hate it as well, but going through folders and files is so much faster now that I'm used to it. And if you think about it, a single click to open something is much more consistent UI wise.

jlpcsl 3y ago
Same here. This is one change that they made that really does not make any sense to me. Also with smartphones being so used these days and they all have this single click mode of doing things, well it would also make more sense to me to keep single click for opening in KDE Plasma.
- anneessens 3y ago
  Well, I can understand why KDE made it default since it's the behaviour everybody else expects now. But it's weird that it became standard in the first place.
- loeg 3y ago
  Smartphones are a really limited input device in a way that desktops are not. IMO it doesn't make a ton of sense to mobile-ize all desktop UX to the minimum smartphones are capable of.
cesarb 3y ago
Single click to open is great if what you want is to open the folder or file, but what do you use then when you want to select the folder or file without opening it? I've resorted to "vaguely dragging a square around the icon" (to select a group of icons containing just that single icon) on systems with single-click-to-open. Historically, what you had was single click to select, then something else (usually the Enter key or similar) to open the selected item; this is consistent with for instance drop-down lists (where Enter activates the default button of the dialog box containing the drop-down). Double-click was just a shortcut to "select and then do the default action". A sibling comment compared to smartphones, which use long-press to select; in my experience, both double-click and long-press can be hard for some people (for instance, I've seen people release the long-press a millisecond too early, causing it to do the single-press action instead of the long-click action).
- anneessens 3y ago
  You can just press CTRL and click the item. And on Plasma specifically, there's a box on the corner of the item with a '+' you can click which only selects the item. Well, I don't have my desktop set up to use drop down menus, but as far as i remember, it is one click to do the action listed, not double click. Unless you mean older operating systems?
  - carlosjobim 3y ago
    "Just"... But yes, I almost always use miller columns to browse the file system on OSX. This way any folder is both select and opened on a single click. Miller columns are great and should be implemented everywhere. Imagine how good they would be for navigating large websites.
    - anneessens 3y ago
      Yes, 'just'. Do you not always have at least one hand on the keyboard? I'm not familar with Miller columns, but if you're changing the behaviour of your file browser, then I'm not sure why you're suprised single click might not work as intended.

bitcraft 3y ago

I had to do a double take regarding the single click "issue" because later in the article it is mentioned that scroll bar behavior was changed to accommodate users with RSI. So what is it KDE? Do you care about RSI or not? I'm no longer a young person anymore, and appreciate any features to prevent RSI. I think its silly to relent on the single click due to "new user pressure". At least there is still an option for it, I suppose.

xbar 3y ago
I like that when KDE expresses an opinion in its defaults, they are user-malleable.
drtgh 3y ago
System Settings > Workspace Behaviour > General Behaviour: In "Clicking files and folders" then switch the option from "Selects them" to "Opens them".
maybenotmart 3y ago
Since we know is a central thing on which many users wish to change it, the option is also right there in the first page when you open System Settings

whalesalad 3y ago

I record lots of dev guides for my dev team using obs. Works great for me on Debian 12 with KDE and Wayland. Full screen too. Webcam working. External usb mic working.

maybenotmart 3y ago

> The biggest challenge for Wayland for me was I want to be able to record my screen on obs as easily as I can on x11. We invested a lot of effort in Plasma6 to make screen recording on Wayland as smooth as possible. With OBS (and our native screenshot/recording tool Spectacle) it just "works". We also developed a mechanism to make screen recording/sharing work for old XWayland clients (to have things like screen sharing work from i.e. the Electron Discord app)