- 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.
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.
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 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.
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 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
Kinda disappointed actually. It’s in my top ten best features if KDE. Single click is so much faster and easier. No other OS has gotten this right.
As long as they dont take it away. But since most people now won’t know it’s there they are unlikely to find out just how great it is.
It’s great except when there’s no “white space” to easily do a drag select. Or I’m just an idiot and do it wrong.
I use ctrl-click to select
My left hand is busy
In Dolphin, there is a “+” icon in the top right corner on hover for selection.
Windows had it for ages
Windows had it for ages
Windows single click never worked right. I don’t use the little check box or selection. I use both Windows and Linux, and windows stays in Double click even though I have been doing single on KDE since as long as I can remember.
Single click is for web page links, not my computer.
Way too easy to accidentally run a program with single click
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.
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)
not really
Which is just another, less convenient way of turning a single click into two, no?
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.
You’re not running executables from a file manager very often with Linux
… I am, though.
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?
This + some other quirks are what have kept me off KDE for a good while. I understand wanting to do things differently, possibly easier – but it’s hard to break old habits.
What DE do you use?
So instead of changing to double click from the settings, you switched DEs?
It’s not so crazy. Most people choose a DE for the defaults
I’m sorry, but this to me, sounds insane and kind of lazy. You can’t go to the settings and make a couple of changes??? People really can’t do that?
I can understand why someone don’t want to use GNOME, because the defaults can suck for some people. And not everything is configurable. But KDE? Can be configured about anything imaginable. While I understand that not everyone want to go full in to learn everything, I still don’t get the default setting for a simple switch like double/single mouse click is a big deal not to use the environment.
If you really like KDE and are used to it, then you won’t change to something else just because the next update changes the default value (for new installations only BTW) of mouse click setting.
It may mean the user doesn’t think their use is similar enough to the people who make the distro/DE, or trust the distro makers’ decision making ability.
If a distros’ makers think snaps are a good idea, or that the distro shouldn’t by default show available security updates, or have a UI that hides how many open instances there are of a program unless you hover over an icon, or hides the titles of those open programs, or hides panels; then the way I use a PC is too different from the way they do - and there are likely more things in the background that we disagree with which can’t as easily be changed like UI settings.
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.
Ok but when do we get to change the drag and drop behavior so it just moves the folder instead of opening a menu
Please do not change that, I love being able to copy via drag and drop instead of just moving because this way, my clipboard is not polluted unnecessarily
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.
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.
- 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
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.
Select: click on the + sign.
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.
-
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
-
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.
This is the only way that makes sense.
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 truely is the darkest timeline
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.
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-picker
to 1 to use the desktop environment’s native picker.
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.
No one wins no matter what they choose. Those of us who have switched over to single click either now need to adapt or make the tweak.
I guess this a good default for bringing over Windows converts
Unless they’re overwriting our settings to defaults we really don’t need to do anything. This is for new installs.