- 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.
Shame that they gave in to the haters, single click is great. Far more intuitive too, as you’d immediately tell if you ever had to guide your parents around a computer constantly reminding them in which arbitrary situation you’re meant to double click and in which to single click.
I really don’t think it’s a matter of “haters”. It might be more logical and consistent if you have no other frames of reference, but most Plasma users come over from other OSs who all use double click (Windows, Mac, even Gnome). If a new user blindly tries KDE and keeps accidentally opening everything while trying to select it’s just an immediate and big annoyance. It’s not even clear that it isn’t a bug because there is no clear explanation of how to select and how to open.
Edit: we are of course all used to single clicking on touch screens, but there it is contrasted with the long press to see options and some “select mode” for file management. There is no system that works exactly like Plasma single-click, which makes it disorienting.
I’m also always changing this first, so i agree with the change.
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 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
I mean, this is the Internet
Yes; my post is obliquely suggesting that people are ridiculous.
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.
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.
I never thought I’d see the day
Um, I just switched from gnome to plasma about three or four months ago. I don’t keep anything at all in my desktop I didn’t realize that it was single click.
It would apply to files and folders in Dolphin (file explorer) as well.
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!
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
At least, like everything else in KDE, you can set it the way you like it (unlike some other environments that will remain nameless).
My problem with it: It was not consistent when using KDE:
In Dolpin, it’s a single click…
When downloading something in Firefox and choosing the location, it’s a double click.
Firefox doesn’t use the KDE file picker by default. You can set
widget.use-xdg-desktop-portal.file-pickerto 1 to use the desktop environment’s native picker.
Both plasma and gnome will get zero clicks from me. They are the two black holes sucking free open source software into their m{ac,s}-win core.
What DE do you use?
Emacs obviously.
DE require tremendous overhead of serv/daemons just to be able to make shortcuts/menu items clickable, I would never use such contraptions on my system.
I use a wm and have no use for polkit, dbus, logind, automount, obfuscated rights elevations and demotions, … all this crap that unnecessarily must run for the sake of aesthetics and MS-win utility.
If I needed icons on my background I would use just a light filemanager, like pcmanfm, but I don’t.
I personally also welcome this change, as I have changed that setting anyway and of those people I know, they also changed that behaviour immediately. But as long as you can change it and it isn’t forced on you to only use one method, it’s great.
Single-click and the little plus icons on everything in Dolphin are the first things I switch off after install for sure.
That and the bouncing icons when an app is loading… always thought that looked tacky.
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.
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
Main reason is Distros reverting that anyways. It was always doubleclick on Kubuntu and Fedora KDE afaik
Is this a change I’m too “command line” to care about?
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.
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.
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.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.
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 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.
The Year of Linux on the Desktop has finally come guys.
Honestly I just love that Plasma closely resembles the Windows 10/11 UI. Not that I like Windows, but because I have to deal with Windows from time to time.
Switching between Gnome UI and Windows 10/11 UI requires an effort to me. Switching betweek Plasma and Windows - almost no difference.
Plasma is fucking great!
Windows resembles the Plasma UI, not the other way around.
It’s funny, because the original KDE was definitely inspired by Windows, but Plasma has introduced enough new features before Windows now that it isn’t inaccurate to say that Windows was inspired by Plasma.
WindowsEnjoyer
Not that I like Windows
Hmm…
Seriously tho, agreed!
To be fair, windows development also included UI changes beneficial for users, so its not necessarily bad to copy those.
Of course there are many which are… questionable, we of course shouldnt copy those :D
