- KDE Plasma 6 will require users to double-click on files and folders to open them by default.
- This change is controversial for those familiar with single-click behavior in KDE Plasma.
- Click behavior in KDE Plasma 6 is configurable, allowing users to choose between single-click and double-click.
This is one of the first things I always tweak in KDE, so I love this change, but I’m curious how others feel.
Single click is for web page links, not my computer.
Way too easy to accidentally run a program with single click
not really, just set to “always ask” or when opening an executable.
Which is just another, less convenient way of turning a single click into two, no?
You’re not running executables from a file manager very often with Linux
… I am, though.
I’m talking about the typical user. There shouldn’t be a need for them to be doing that.
no, because it only applies to executables.
idk about you, but I only run executables from dolphin once every full moon, or so. And even if it was frequently, it doesn’t come close to the number of folders I open that only need a single click.
I guess it depends on habits, then. I use them all the time. Not as much as folders, but enough that I would rather the 2 have the same behavior.
Right. I use a proper launcher for anything I execute constantly - like Gnome shell or KRunner on KDE. Scripts I usually run in the terminal to see their output. So it’s really rare for me to run anything by clicking on it using Dolphin.
I’d be okay with a compromise like single click for folders, double click for files
That’s inconsistent though and possibly worse than either other option (but better than single click files double click folders at least, yeesh)
It should throw up a prompt to ask, if you really want to run it. You might have disabled that…
You mean… a prompt that needs a second click to run the program?
I appreciate the joke, but well, yes. The difference being that it’s only for executables and you need to do click-move-click rather than the usual double-click, so it’s even harder to accidentally trigger.
Yes, mine does that. Files open with one click, programs need confirmation.
That seems more like and accessibility feature, like what someone with a muscle spasm disorder would find helpful.
I mean, yeah, muscle spasm disorder or my dumb ass absent-mindedly opening files in my download folder or Jester from HR, who doesn’t know that a job application shouldn’t have the executable icon. For all of us, it improves accessibility, because we don’t need to be as cautious anymore.
Ransomware in Windows:
You need to allow macros to read this job applicationRansomware in Linux:
You need to run chmod +x application.ods.sh to read this job application
It cuts in half the average number of clicks when navigating the file manager. Accessibility or not, it’s a welcome change imo.
I think you’re not following along here. One click was the default, they’re changing it from that to two clicks by default.
Joke’s on you, I run Nix, the program won’t even start unless I steam-run it
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No it isn’t. It just doesn’t happen.
Exactly. I never need to select a link on the web to do things like rename or move them, while I do that with files all the time
Maybe the KDE devs were expecting you to do file management using the keyboard only. Or maybe they thought that linux users aren’t technical enough that they would ever consider organizing their files. Just dumb it all on the desktop and call it a day, amarite?
I’m a single click person, but I welcome this change. Those who like single click already know where to change it. This is good for new users.
It makes file system navigation much faster and more pleasant imo, I’m definitely reverting this.
How do you select without executing?
There’s a little + that you can click on the icons.
Or, you can use the keyboard arrows and spacebar.Not sure if there’s others.
Edit: Just found another one actually. Middle-clicking selects without opening.
This works better than the little + on the icons because the + behaves like a “ctrl-click.”CTRL + Click
personally, I don’t like the plus icons (I’d prefer it if they were simple checkboxes), so any one of:
- (mouse-only) drag a selection box from an empty area
- (mouse-only) right click directly, already opening the context menu to copy, cut, rename, share, etc - which is often the goal when selecting a single item.
- Ctrl+Click
- Shift+Click
- (kb-only) Arrow keys
I’ve always used the little plus sign on icons. It’s ingrained into my brain. I even did the same on windows before switching to Linux 6 years ago. Single click and the little check box on Windows.
check box
Its funny, I single click in KDE since 3.X or when ever it was introduced. But I never really used the check boxes.
I haven’t tried it but if it works the same as a mobile OS you long click to select. Single click to execute.
Edit: apparently that’s not how it works. There is a checkbox on every icon that you have to click directly on the check box to select/unselect.
I wish a long click worked on desktop though…
Doubt you’ll have to revert this. I don’t think they switch you back to defaults when updating.
If it wasn’t default, I likely would have never tried single click, which I prefer now.
Single click was always the first setting I changed.
I’m actually kinda suspicious any Linux user would actually want a single click default.
I don’t know how requiring clocking twice instead of once is good
Avoids misclicks from opening stuff by mistake just for that alone is worth it to me.
I personally never accidentally open with 1 click, since it is engraved into my brain that 1click=open just like it is engraved that 2clicks=open for people who use double click
I meant misclicks like clicking by mistake, like you clicked the item while trying to click something else or simply clicking by mistake the physical button of the mouse… Maybe uncommon… true but when it happens that a folder or full app opens is annoying.
Oh, NixOS can’t open anything anyway
How do you select files? Probably double click?
No, there are those big plus signs appearing on the top-right corner of the icon, if you click there it selects instead of opening. I guess it’s a matter of habit, I can’t get used to it
Or you drag over the files. Or press something like Strg or Shift while clicking. I mean you have to do that anyways, even with double-click per default or you’d lose focus on the first file. And it’s rarely the case that you just want to focus a single file.
I have an extra button on my mouse that double clicks on press.
So I am extremely used to single clicking to see the extra info at the bottom. Aiming or dragging is extra work for me.
Ah okay, I can see that being useful. Seems we have a different workflow. I rarely look at that extra info at the bottom. Usually just to see how many files I selected and their total size. If I’m concerned with single files, I either don’t care for the size and extra info, or I switch to the list view and have it displayed next to each file if I’m organizing stuff. I’ll also sort them by size or whatever in that case. But I’m not concerned with the exact file info while doing regular stuff. So I wouldn’t use that use-case for a single-click very often.
I drag a box around them or Ctrl+click
Hover for 1 file selection, Ctrl+hover or Ctrl+click (better) for multiple files, or simply drag a box around items to select
That’s the windows behavior
However on kde, hover to select probably doesnt exist, and I use Ctrl+click anyway since hover to select wastes time
It’s more wear and tear on mouse buttons! It’s wasteful!
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It would only really make sense as a tablet behaviour.
Why would you be suspicious of that?
I honestly forgot that single-click is the default behavior in Plasma. I set up new desktop environments so rarely, and this is such an infuriating default behavior that I change it immediately. Glad to hear this is changing.
Main reason is Distros reverting that anyways. It was always doubleclick on Kubuntu and Fedora KDE afaik
See… I’m the opposite… I change and hip around and reinstall across various machine so often, changing the setting has just become second nature… I don’t even think about it anymore! Hahahaha
My parents found single-click much more intuitive, because everything else (web browser, phone) uses single-click.
My parents still double click everything on their mobile…
That’s hilarious lol
Oh that makes so much sense. I was wondering why single-click would ever be default.
For all those single-click fans:
- how do you quickly rename a file?
- how do you even drag-drop instead of opening stuff?
- how do you select files?
- how do you live?
Saying “well kids use web stuff and Android and dont know what a single click is” is basically neglecting the use of a mouse. I love at least 3 buttons, hovering and fast clicks.
I don’t use KDE but I suppose the click is detected on button release, not during the press. It should adress all these questions.
The click is detected immediately, see @Jomosoto@discuss.tchncs.de’s comment.
Not in any KDE release I know, and I’ve been using it since KDE 3.
Tested right this moment: if I press the mouse button down on a video, nothing happens. If I release it keeping the cursor within a ~5 pixel radius, the movie plays. If I move the cursor further than ~5 pixels, it begins a drag-and-drop operation.
This is the only way that makes sense.
Q1: Select (see Q3) + F2
Q2: Same way as double-click people. A file only opens if I click, not when I press the mouse button and drag the file around.
Q3: I draw a small selection frame over it, or press the control key when clicking (I have the hand there any, especially if my next input will be Ctrl+C/X and Ctrl+V
Q4: I just do. Sometimes I relax by playing shooters with the “invert mouse” option turned on :D
I have never had a cell phone or smart phone in my life, single-click was the default when I switched to Linux, I gave it a try and I liked it.
- Ctrl + Click, F2
- Just drag and drop the file
- Ctrl + Click
I prefer single click, but I agree that there are situations where double click is more convenient
That sounds way worse than double click haha. I have set F2 to Volume (the rest is the normal F keys)
Volume what? Mute?
Dont know, I think F1 F2 are up and down, F3 is normal again and would be mute.
I am weird and didnt like sticky Fn keys like it is preconfigured on Thinkpads
Single click is so much better. Vastly superior.
How do I live? Without carpal tunnel.
Same, but I use double click. Send like single click is a lot of mouse dragging.
Nope, not really. If you have a list of files you single click on the name, not the icon. That selects it. No dragging.
Okay okay I give it a try
Select: click on the + sign.
-
F2
-
Click and hold
-
Many ways, usually I just drag a box around the files. If there’s many in different places, ctrl + click
-
More convenient without having to double click everything lol
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The Year of Linux on the Desktop has finally come guys.
When I first switched to KDE, this issue took up roughly 15 seconds of my time as I saw what was happening and went exploring for the setting to change the behavior. Apart from having to change the setting again from time to time, I have spent exactly zero seconds thinking about it and exactly zero seconds wondering which approach was the “best” since then. I wonder how honest it is for this site to refer to a “debate”; it’s hard for me to imagine anyone giving a shit beyond setting their own system up the way they like it.
I mean, this is the Internet
Yes; my post is obliquely suggesting that people are ridiculous.
I used kubuntu for an year on an old ProBook and I just assumed that the trackpad buttons were broken and sent a double click.
I discovered this issue only today lol
It’s not a holy war issue for me, but it is the first thing I change when I’m on a fresh KDE system. While I haven’t had any angst about it, I’m selfishly happy for the change. I realize there’s just a different group of people who will now have to make the opposite adjustment, but dem’s da brakes.
And, I have to admit it might be less likely to throw off someone coming from Windows defaults.
KDE is an open source desktop environment. If we didn’t debate how to make the UI/UX as intuitive as possible, the project would be dead in the water. The entire Libre movement is built on debating how software should work, and then making it work that way.
You don’t have to contribute, but don’t throw shade at the people who do.
Equating a debate over the default behavior of mouse clicks—behavior that can be changed in ten seconds—with the very essence of the free software movement is so comically misguided as to be downright sad.
I think it’s great. I think it’s impossible to use dolphin with single click since it goes into folders or starts files when clicking on them once.
Anyone knows the historic reason for single click? Plasma was inspired by some older system?
I think it was windows 98 that introduced “hovering on an item” = single click and single click = double click. Disabled by default of course
Oh god, I’d forgotten the dark days of windows UI introduced with the active desktop update
It was introduced by “Active Desktop”, which came with IE4. So if you installed IE4, you also got this on Windows 95.
Use the terminal mostly anyway, but navigating deeply nested folders when you have to double click is slightly annoying so I can see the appeal.
I don’t see why they can’t just have the folders behave differently.
Just make opening folders single click & executing/opening everything else double click.That would annoy everyone. I like it.
Bash is superior, but if I’m going to use the UI I just use tree view in Dolphin so I can expand folders with a single-click while seeing the directory structure.
I could definitely be remembering wrong, but if I remember correctly there was a TechOverTea video by Brodie Robertson featuring Nicco Loves Linux aka Niccolo Venerandi where this topic came up in which there was the mention of I think something to do with carpal tunnel, and a weird drag-to-select bug or something.
My memory is a little hazy here.
A day of sorrow indeed… No, joking aside. I gather most people use double click anyway, so this is a good change for that reason. I’ve never really understood it myself (the primary function of the left click being “select” when everywhere else it’s “open” or “go to this thing”?? Alien stuff).
I’m just glad KDE listens to it’s users and adapts to them. Looking forward to the release!
At least, like everything else in KDE, you can set it the way you like it (unlike some other environments that will remain nameless).
Its only open on things not meant for file management like web browsers, or when people use their monkey extensions as input device, instead of a mouse with 3 buttons and a scroll wheel ;D
I’ve been using my install script for so long, I’ve forgotten that single click was the default. I guess that’s at least one extra line I can remove.
They can change the default settings as long as they leave the option to change it available.
This is wholesome in a strange way.
I’m also always changing this first, so i agree with the change.
