Native input fields behavior

[Bauke]

Hello

 

At this moment, the input fields in the Affinity programs behave in a way that is not native to OSX. I don't know if this is a deliberate choice, but I feel like it would be nice if they behaved consistent with other OSX apps. I also noticed that not every input field behaves the same in Affinity.

 

An example in the Transform palette:

- When hovering over an input field, the cursor should transform to the text-selection icon.

- Clicking in an input field yields the expected behaviour; you can start typing where you pointed the cursor. This works perfect.

- When using the tab key to jump from field to field, I expect the content of that field to be selected so I can immediately start typing thus replacing the previous content.

 

But right now, if I start typing, my typing replaces the quantity while the units (i.e. px or mm) stay put. I get that you designed the input field this way because in most situations, the designer wants to adjust the size in the same unit. But when this is not the case, a few extra actions are required to clear the input field. Often I want to use the expressions in those fields like "sh" or "sw/2" (which are terrific by the way!). So if I jump to the height input field and type "sh" and press enter, nothing happens because it keeps the px unit and thus the expression is incorrect.

 

In my opinion, this wouldn't be a problem if the whole content of the input field was selected on tab-jumping to it; if I just wanted to change 200 px to 400 px I could type "200", and Affinity would automatically append "px" (as it does now), but if I wanted to use expressions, I wouldn't be hindered by the sticky unit.

 

I'm looking forward to hear your opinion!

 

Bauke