feature request - make a copy of dragged objects on RMB click

[darthpixel]

hi

it Would Be Nice To Have an option to make a copy of currently dragged objects on RMB

seq:

- user selects an object and drags it with a mouse (LMB is held or course) 

- each time when user clicks RMB (while still holding LMB) then AFDE makes a copy of dragged objects and drops in in-place

 

this gives the ability to make objects without any additional keys or menu actions

Edited February 7, 2023 by darthpixel

[Hangman]

Hi @darthpixel,

Welcome to the forums...

Out of interest, where would you see the advantage of your suggested method over simply holding the Alt key to achieve the same thing?

[darthpixel]

well it's fine to use alt or ctrl of course but RMB click can be used when you already started dragging while key modifiers require to act before

it's not much but alt key is also a shortcut for copy+paste right?

 

ps

thanx for greatings @Hangman

Edited February 7, 2023 by darthpixel

[Hangman]

5 minutes ago, darthpixel said:

it's not much but alt key is also a shortcut for copy+paste right?

Cmd on Mac, Ctrl on Windows would be for copy + paste...

6 minutes ago, darthpixel said:

well it's fine to use alt or ctrl of course but RMB click can be used when you already started dragging while key modifiers require to act before

I guess it depends how you use it, you can simply hold Alt down from the very start and keep it held down whilst dragging which creates a copy each time you release the LMB which feels very natural, probably more natural than dual button mouse clicks but maybe that's just me because I'm so used to doing it that way.

[darthpixel]

1 minute ago, Hangman said:

but maybe that's just me because I'm so used to doing it that way.

yes it's just a matter of getting used to

(habits become the second nature)

as mentioned... using alt is pre-action while using RMB is post-action

both are very useful

[Hangman]

1 minute ago, darthpixel said:

as mentioned... using alt is pre-action while using RMB is post-action

both are very useful

Hopefully this will get passed to the development team as a feature request for consideration...

[2ddpainter]

For those who wonder what the advantage is to use the
right mouse button to copy objects instead of pressing the Alt key.

Once you have copied objects using the right mouse button.
I can not imagine that one would prefer the Alt-key method after that.

I find copying objects with the right mouse button so much simpler.
Btw: The vector graphics program "Magix Graphic Designer"
(Xara Designer) (Win only) is been copying objects this way for years.

 

[darthpixel]

1 hour ago, 2ddpainter said:

Once you have copied objects using the right mouse button.

I can not imagine that one would prefer the Alt-key method after that.

as it was my first post here on the forum i just didn't want to be such... sure 😉

but indeed this way seems to be the one

[2ddpainter]

3 hours ago, darthpixel said:

as it was my first post here on the forum i just didn't want to be such... sure 😉

but indeed this way seems to be the one

Xara Designer has this way of copying Objects via
the right Mouse Button since 1995. So i am pretty
shure you are not alone.

And to me, this way feels the most natural
to copy Objects that way.

Well most companys just copying Adobe Illustrator's method
of doing that, over and over. Instead of rethinking it.

 

 

[darthpixel]

1 hour ago, 2ddpainter said:

Well most companys just copying Adobe Illustrator's method

of doing that, over and over. Instead of rethinking it.

yes there are companies which took the lead and they have set "standards".

no-one knows why but people tends to follow blindly.

(no offence Hangman)

i should say people tends to keep status quo

[GarryP]

@darthpixel I think it’s worth noting that Serif sometimes use the right-mouse-button as the ‘missing modifier’ on Windows as Windows keyboards don’t have as many modifier keys as macOS keyboards.

Because of this, Serif might not want to use the right-mouse-button for this functionality if they want to keep that option for future expansion of the existing functionality.

In this case, is there an alternative mechanism that you would want to put forward for this?

For instance, what about a Clone Layers Tool which took the already-selected layers and allowed the user to simply click to create duplicates? (I haven’t thought that through so there may be many problems with such a tool, it’s just an example.)

[2ddpainter]

2 hours ago, GarryP said:

I think it’s worth noting that Serif sometimes use the right-mouse-button as the ‘missing modifier’ on Windows as Windows keyboards don’t have as many modifier keys as macOS keyboards.

?

i just wonder if i have miss something
by using Windows ?

Mac
Command key (or Cmd key)
Shift key

Option key (or Alt key)
Control key (or Ctrl key)

Caps Lock key
Function key

Win

Ctrl
Shift

Alt
AltGr

Caps Lock
Win-Key

[Rudolphus]

I think, the best benefit of using right click to create a copy of dragged object(s) is it is REPEATABLE. While dragging you can create as many copies as you desire by repeating right click. Using Alt/Ctrl method you create just single copy of object(s). If you want another one you have to release and repeat your Alt/Ctrl drag of object(s).

[Pšenda]

5 minutes ago, Rudolphus said:

Using Alt/Ctrl method you create just single copy of object(s). If you want another one you have to release and repeat your Alt/Ctrl drag of object(s).

Of course, it wouldn't be a problem to change this so that every Ctrl press while dragging an object creates a copy of it.

[darthpixel]

8 minutes ago, Rudolphus said:

I think, the best benefit of using right click to create a copy of dragged object(s) is it is REPEATABLE. While dragging you can create as many copies as you desire by repeating right click. Using Alt/Ctrl method you create just single copy of object(s). If you want another one you have to release and repeat your Alt/Ctrl drag of object(s).

on my default keymap ctrl doesn't have to be released and pressed again so in this meaning it's repeatable
but stil... who uses mouse he has a hand already "in-place" but to use alt or ctrl one have to use second hand

[darthpixel]

4 minutes ago, Pšenda said:

Of course, it wouldn't be a problem to change this so that every Ctrl press while dragging an object creates a copy of it.

but that's not the case
as said before we have some shortcut to create a copy even if we have copy+paste
so it's not about can we do it the other way but rather we can have another (potentially) much faster and more user friendly method (...after getting used to it)

[darthpixel]

2 hours ago, GarryP said:

@darthpixel I think it’s worth noting that Serif sometimes use the right-mouse-button as the ‘missing modifier’ on Windows as Windows keyboards don’t have as many modifier keys as macOS keyboards.

i think i might missed your point here (first sentence...  )
...i don't know about such RMB modifier

could you point one?
 

2 hours ago, GarryP said:

Because of this, Serif might not want to use the right-mouse-button for this functionality if they want to keep that option for future expansion of the existing functionality.

this is wrong way of thinking i would say

it sounds a bit ridiculous to spare some shortcuts just because we could have an unknown future feature to assign to such shortcut

(ignoring the fact that they can have it assigned already for the feature which is not released yet... but i doubt about RMB)

[Pšenda]

9 minutes ago, darthpixel said:

could you point one?

For example, changing the way objects are selected (full vs partial object selection to include it in the selection).

[loukash]

14 hours ago, darthpixel said:

no-one knows why

Mac users and Mac developers know exactly why. 

[GarryP]

1 hour ago, darthpixel said:

...i don't know about such RMB modifier

could you point one?

I’ve attached a screenshot showing one right-button-mouse usage with the Rectangle Tool on Windows, there are others.

I don’t think the right-button-mouse modifier is used with the Move Tool yet but there may be plans to, or Serif may be ‘keeping it in their back pocket’ for later.

[GarryP]

1 hour ago, darthpixel said:

it sounds a bit ridiculous to spare some shortcuts just because we could have an unknown future feature to assign to such shortcut

It doesn’t sound ridiculous if you want to keep a certain modifier for certain kinds of secondary/tertiary functionalities for ‘consistency purposes’.

Imagine, for example, if early-on in GUI design, Ctrl+C was for copy Alt+V was for paste. We would be stuck with that until today. (That’s probably a crude example but I think it’s reasonable to get the idea across.)

[darthpixel]

13 minutes ago, GarryP said:

I’ve attached a screenshot showing one right-button-mouse usage with the Rectangle Tool on Windows, there are others.

ok... i take it back

10 minutes ago, GarryP said:

Imagine, for example, if early-on in GUI design, Ctrl+C was for copy Alt+V was for paste. We would be stuck with that until today. (That’s probably a crude example but I think it’s reasonable to get the idea across.)

this is what totally support... to abandon silly things which "are there" just because... they "are there"... just because people get used to it

compare to undo (ctrl+Z) and stupid redo (ctrl+Y)

fortunately there is more and more apps which switch to ctrl+shift+Z as redo which is waaaay easier to use

(microsoft for unknown reason still sticks to ctrl+Y... as same as it sticks to not process shift+wheel to scroll horizontally... does it mean it should stay forever? i don't think so)

 

additionally please notice that i'm not voting to remove current approach but to add another one

to not mention that we have a lot of options to configure apps (so why not to add such feature configurable)

[loukash]

1 minute ago, N.P.M. said:

The problem here is that the serif developers are trying to hard to mimic the adobe way

You're missing my actual point:
MacOS never requires the presence of a right mouse button. This is literally by design.
And that was my reply to @darthpixel's claim that "no-one knows why". Mac folks do know why.  

[darthpixel]

6 minutes ago, N.P.M. said:

Ctrl+y is redo in amny programs on windows.
But Serif decided that ctrl+y is now the return to the last state of the wireframe view.
Why?
Will I use the wireframe mode constantly as opposed to redo?
Is this ecause a developer thought it needed more attention or because he/she thought a mac user is more important and dismisses the ctrl+y function on windows.
A dumb approach and I rectified it in shorkeys because in this case it was possible.

ha ha ha... we have very funny point of arguing

ctrl+Y is really not easy to use especially for the key which you use quite often

[darthpixel]

2 minutes ago, loukash said:

You're missing my actual point:
MacOS never requires the presence of a right mouse button. This is literally by design.
And that was my reply to @darthpixel's claim that "no-one knows why". Mac folks do know why.  

this old times passed and will never get back...

once we had 12 FN keys in 2 columns and 6 rows... does it prove anything but the constant and inevitable change (not necessarily the evolution)