GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 93176
CTRL + SHIFT selection doesn't work as expected.
Last modified: 2020-12-04 18:20:22 UTC
Description of Problem: Selecting emails with CTRL+SHIFT doesn't work as expected. Steps to reproduce the problem: 1. Open a directory with many files and folders. 1a. Set to View as List. 2. Select the top file/folder 3. Press SHIFT and select the file/folder down three from the currently selected file/folder. You should now have four files/folders selected and SHIFT works as I would expect it to in this case. 4. Now, PRESS CTRL and select the file/folder two below the current selection. CTRL-Click should add this file/folder to the list of selected files/folders. You should know have five files/folders selected and CTRL works as expected. 5 Now, PRESS CTRL+SHIFT and select the file/folder two below this. The new file/folder is added to the list, but the file/folder in between is not selected. This is not expected behavior. Expected Behaviour: SHIFT+click should select everything between the previously selected item and the current item. CTRL+click should add (or subtract) items to the lists of currently selected items. SHIFT+CTRL+click should add (the CTRL bit) the new range of items (the SHIFT bit) to the current list. Currently Nautilus seems to ignore SHIFT during a CRTL+SHIFT+click, however SHIFT should also effect the behaviour of the selection. Further to this, if you use SHIFT while in "View as Icons" is behaves like CTRL. I would expect it to select all files/folders between the last selected item and the newly select item.
Could you elaborate on why this is the expected behavior?
I thought I covered it above, but I'll re-iterate to try and make myself more clear. In a selection context: SHIFT is used to select multiple consecutive items. CTRL is used to append items to the current selection (or remove them) Therefor, where a something is already selected, SHIFT in combination with CTRL should "select multiple consecutive items" and "append [these] items to the current selection."
Actually I wonder if this bug shouldn't be elevated to the whole of gnome, which seems to inconsistently use SHIFT, CTRL and SHIFT+CTRL regardless I what you think is 'expected behaviour' For example, file selection in gftp works as I would expect it too. File selection in the file picket dialog (for example in gedit2) works like Evolution does for mail selection. Once the original selection is made, the CTRL key is ignored. Nautilus works differently again. Once the original selection is made, the SHIFT key is ignored. Gnumeric seems to imply the CTRL key when the shift key is used to select the subsequent ranges. Some consistency in this area is needed. As I understanding the CTRL and SHIFT behavior I'm advocating is the same as Windows and MacOS X. I know that because one operating system (or even two ;-]) does something, this isn't justification for doing the same thing, but in this case I think it lends something to the argument. If SHIFT selection always select a range of items, and CTRL always appends then this is a consistency that the end user can experience not only on a single platform, but more universally.
Right, I understood your description above, I just wasn't sure why that was what the "expected behavior" should be. The fact that other OS's do it this way is essentially your argument (which is a perfectly reasonable argument, I might add). Regardless of where we land on this, though, you're right that we should strive for consistency across GNOME. I'm cc'ing Calum and Seth for usability input.
I guess I'd go a little further than just "the fact that other OS's do it this way" and it might be that I'm muddying the waters using the term expected behavior. Maybe I should have said 'appropriate', or 'proper' but they don't feel right either. Let me out it this way: "SHIFT and CTRL should have functionality that is different but mutually inclusive. If SHIFT is used to select groups and CTRL is used to append items, and SHIFT+CTRL does both, then the end user gets a rich control set for selection, and a consistent experience." In some application the combination of the two seem to ignore one or the other and this makes for confusion over what these keys do.
I basically agree, there have been times when I've found myself wishing that Ctrl+Shift worked as 'expected' (adding a contiguous range to an already-discontiguous selection). This is probably something I should add to the GNOME keynav spec/proposal when I get around to giving it a much-needed update :/
Moving to HIG. A standard needs to be agreed on before apps can implement it.
*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 48403 ***