Re: patch for select in zvt

[Telsa Gwynne <hobbit aloss ukuu org uk>]

On Wed, May 16, 2001 at 04:59:14AM +0000 or thereabouts, michaeld senet com au wrote:
> Ben Ford wrote:
> > Nathan Hurst wrote:
> > >On Tue, 15 May 2001, Iain wrote:
> > >
> > >>This is a nicer way than the Windows.
> > >>iain
> > >>
> > >>>The classic solution to this on Macintosh is that a drag that starts with 
> > >>>a double-click selects words at a time and a drag that starts with a 
> > >>>triple-click selects lines at a time.
> > >
> > >Absolutely!  This is the nicest way proposed so far.  The user already
> > >understands double-click, and double-click is easy to do (you don't need
> > >to move your hands).  It's also well defined and easy to explain.
> > 
> > Hmm, yet another skill users have to learn.  Do you have any idea how 
> > hard it was for me to get my mom to even double click in the first 
> > place?  And then to stop double clicking on everything, e.g. links?

If this is purely for selection, I have never seen why people use
the left mouse button all the time. Left-click at start. Right click
at end. Damn sight easier than trying to co-ordinate clicking, holding
the button down, and dragging the mouse all at the same time :)

I suspect it's because they don't know you can do it. I remember trying
to learn to use a mouse very clearly, and I was rather annoyed when
I discovered this and wondered why no-one had told me about it before :)

> Entering the fray late, I don't see why we don't follow standard X windows
> behaviour, single click letter, double click word, triple click line.
> 
> That's just about Macintosh as described above.  And once learned it's the 
> same everywhere unixy.

Yes. This is a big help.

I still think we should go with "what xterm does". Not through some
"if it came from there it must be good" thing, but because there are
so many people who are used to it. As I say, check out the bug reports.
Few people complain that "there is no cut [or do I mean copy?] button".
(There was one, in fact, and that was from someone who simply felt it
would help Windows users.) Lots of people complain when selection 
doesn't do something they are used to from X.

Telsa