Channels panel right-click menu not showing with ctrl-click on Mac (without mouse)

[EricP]

The channels panel in Photo has functions to create spare channel, load to pixel selection ... When using a MacBook without mouse, this menu is not accessible though the usual ctrl-click shortcut used in MacOs and in most other Affinity right-click menus (with a few exception where there is a hamburger icon). 

It would be great to have the shortcut working or a hamburger to access the menu

[GripsholmLion]

I don't quite understand some aspects of your request. By "without a mouse", do you mean that you can't access this context menu with your Macbook's touchpad either? I found that a two-finger tap in the right places brought up that context menu as I would expect. But, of course, our touchpad settings may be different.

I was not aware that control-clicking has a purpose other than as a modifier for certain tools (and as a left-hander, I am very glad indeed that I don't need to use it often); so I can't say that I would notice if it didn't function.

As you have mentioned clicking, I assume that you use either the touchpad or another pointing device, but please accept my apologies for any misunderstanding.

By "hamburger to access the menu" I am not at all sure what you mean.

[lepr]

On 5/26/2023 at 2:04 PM, EricP said:

The channels panel in Photo has functions to create spare channel, load to pixel selection ... When using a MacBook without mouse, this menu is not accessible though the usual ctrl-click shortcut used in MacOs and in most other Affinity right-click menus (with a few exception where there is a hamburger icon). 

It would be great to have the shortcut working or a hamburger to access the menu

Definitely a bug, in my opinion.

The app's ignoring of ctrl key when the user one-finger taps on a trackpad, or clicks the left button of a mouse, that happens in only a few locations in the Affinity UI appears arbitrary and is, of course, never increasing the app functionality or enhancing the user experience. The same problem is occasionally found in places in some other apps on macOS, even some versions of Apple's own apps.

An Affinity panel's hamburger menu contains options/commands for the panel itself rather than for a selected item of the panel, therefore a hamburger menu would not be a solution for the missing ctrl key modifier in the Channels panel.

The solution is ensure consistency throughout the UI - the ctrl key should be considered in all locations of the interface, or at least all locations where a right-click or the equivalent on trackpad (I use two-finger tap) is functional.

 

[Old Bruce]

5 hours ago, lepr said:

Definitely a bug, in my opinion.

Here on my Mac running OS 11.7 I too see the lack of a context menu when using the Apple Trackpad and a Control + One finger click. This works in other panels. It is only the channels panel that it does not work. And I have the Preferences in Affinity Photo set to honour the Control + Click as a Right Click.

I wonder if it is due to the dynamic nature of the Context menu in the Channels panel. Depending on what we "Right Click" on we see different Context Menus. Although there is no problem with the different Menus in the Layers panel.

[lepr]

27 minutes ago, Old Bruce said:

It is only the channels panel that it does not work.

The failure is not only in Channels panel. Few places, but more than just Channels panel. Even if it was only in Channels panel, it would still be inconsistent with expected functionality on macOS and actual functionality almost everywhere else in the app.

 

41 minutes ago, Old Bruce said:

And I have the Preferences in Affinity Photo set to honour the Control + Click as a Right Click.

As far as I can tell, that option is concerned with only the document view, anyway, so irrelevant to the problem at hand.

 

30 minutes ago, Old Bruce said:

I wonder if it is due to the dynamic nature of the Context menu in the Channels panel. Depending on what we "Right Click" on we see different Context Menus. Although there is no problem with the different Menus in the Layers panel.

You're overthinking.

Looking at it logically, it's an oversight, or in other words, a bug.

 

[Old Bruce]

8 minutes ago, lepr said:

You're overthinking.

Mea culpa.

Your other points are also correct. This happens in the Appearance Panel in designer for example. 

[lepr]

I just found that if I ctrl-tap a smidgen below the thumbnail or baseline of a name in Channels panel, the context menu for the row does appear!

Anyway, that's a bug since the target should not be so skinny and should match the usefully sized target for two-finger tapping.

The Appearance panel is differently problematic: ctrl-tapping only raises a row context menu when performed in the empty area below all rows.

 

[Lee D]

As @lepr says if you CTRL+click in just the right place the menu will appear. However I've logged this with our developers to take a look.