Re: Whatever happened to the Secondary Selection?

["Charles Lindsey" <chl clerew man ac uk>]

On Sun, 21 Aug 2016 14:07:48 +0100, Carlos Garnacho <carlosg gnome org>  
wrote:

> I agree with this. IMHO it replaces one set of problems with an
> entirely new set:
>
> - Can't work cross windows

Not sure what you mean by that. It is certainly possible to make a  
secondary selection in foreign windows and have the stuff appear in the  
original window.

Window managers can make this more awkward by changing the focus on you  
when you don't want it (but I can now see how to fix this in my system).

> - Combined use of mouse and keyboard and intermitent use of modifiers
> sounds dreadful for a11y, and just bad in terms of user interaction.

For my demonstration system, I have chose to use Ctrl in combination with   
mouse buttons, but that is not cast in concrete, and if ever we get around  
to implementing this thing properly, then the precise "Look and Feel"  
would have to be discussed. In the meantime, let us get some feedback from  
the people who have downloaded and tried my system. There is nothing like  
hands-on experience to see if something is going to be useful.

> - Ctrl and/or Shift + button press may have already other implied
> actions (eg. Ctrl+mouse drag is rectangular selection in
> gnome-terminal, Ctrl+button press open links, etc), this seems a
> counterpoint to the Ctrl-X/C/V issues

The use of Shift is well established for extending a selection, and my  
system retains that for the secondary selection.

I was aware of the clash with gnome-terminal, and that is discussed on the  
webpage.
> And generally, if secondary selection workings still need explaining
> after these many years, ...

I think it was never fully understood in the first place, and the systems  
that initially used it (Xview, Olit and Motif) have gone out of fashion  
(and the Motif version was spoiled by a horrible Loof-and-Feel).

--
Charles H. Lindsey ---------At Home, doing my own  
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