Designer: Issue using Spacebar for Pan tool

[J.C.]

Hi all, hope someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong. This never used to be an issue for me before until a few weeks ago. It's happening to me in Designer v 2.2.0 (and 2.1.0).

Functionality I expect: Regardless of what tool I have active, if I hold the spacebar it will give me the pan tool. When I release the spacebar it will revert to whatever tool I had active.

What's happening: Specifically after I have used the eyedropper tool in the Swatches panel - the one right by the stroke and fill color displays - if I press the spacebar, the Pan tool is not activated. If I go ahead and left-click-drag on my canvas because I don't realize that, the eyedropper is used again. If I hit the spacebar at that point and I have an object selected, it will set the object's fill to whatever color I just picked up.

Is this intentional or possibly a bug? In order to avoid this happening I have to remember to switch away from the Swatches panel while I'm working, which is tough because I use swatches a lot. Is there something else I can do in preferences/hotkeys?

For the record I already set the Pan tool's hotkey to Space hoping it would fix it, but no luck.

Thanks!

Edit: OS is Windows 10 Home v 22H2

Edited September 26, 2023 by J.C.
add OS to OP

[loukash]

5 hours ago, J.C. said:

What's happening: Specifically after I have used the eyedropper tool in the Swatches panel - the one right by the stroke and fill color displays - if I press the spacebar, the Pan tool is not activated. If I go ahead and left-click-drag on my canvas because I don't realize that, the eyedropper is used again. If I hit the spacebar at that point and I have an object selected, it will set the object's fill to whatever color I just picked up.

Which OS?

5 hours ago, J.C. said:

For the record I already set the Pan tool's hotkey to Space hoping it would fix it, but no luck.

My gut feeling is that it could actually make things worse, but I didn't try it…

[EmT]

Hi @J.C.
You cannot toggle to the Pan tool with any tool whilst interacting with your selected tool by holding down the left mouse button. 
If you use the Colour Picker Tool (shortcut = I) rather than the eyedropper in the swatches panel, you will be able to toggle to the Pan tool and back to eyedropper a lot easier.

[J.C.]

7 hours ago, loukash said:

Which OS?

Sorry! I will edit the OP too but it's Windows 10 Home v 22H2 

 

  

2 hours ago, EmT said:

Hi @J.C.
You cannot toggle to the Pan tool with any tool whilst interacting with your selected tool by holding down the left mouse button. 
If you use the Colour Picker Tool (shortcut = I) rather than the eyedropper in the swatches panel, you will be able to toggle to the Pan tool and back to eyedropper a lot easier.

I'm sorry but I don't really understand what you mean. It's not a toggle but when I hold Spacebar, it activates the Pan tool only for as long as I'm holding the Spacebar down (whereas a toggle would be pressing it once to activate and pressing it again to deactivate -- just for clarity in communication, that's what I'm thinking of). This works consistently over all tools except the eyedropper while Swatches panel is in the foreground. I do not use the Pan tool as a toggle in my workflow. 

I dont like to use 'I' for the Eyedropped tool because it doesn't give me the preview bubble that dragging from the Swatches/Colors panel offers, like so: 

The Eyedropper tool from the Tools has its own utility but it just isn't a part of my workflow.

If the Spacebar is not supposed to allow me to override the current tool with the Pan tool, how come it does exactly that in all situations except when the Swatches panel is in the foreground and I've just used the eyedropper? I suspect it may be a bug?

Edited September 26, 2023 by J.C.
avoiding a double-post

[J.C.]

I have created a short video to display what I'm experiencing. Let me know what you think!

Sorry for the double-post!

[R C-R]

5 hours ago, J.C. said:

If the Spacebar is not supposed to allow me to override the current tool with the Pan tool, how come it does exactly that in all situations except when the Swatches panel is in the foreground and I've just used the eyedropper?

Odd as it may seem, it is because the color picker in the Swatches panel is not a tool in the same sense as the tools in the Tools panel.

5 hours ago, J.C. said:

I dont like to use 'I' for the Eyedropped tool because it doesn't give me the preview bubble that dragging from the Swatches/Colors panel offers, like so: 

I get the same magnifier 'bubble' with the Color Picker Tool that I get with the color picker in the Swatches (or Color) panel, the only difference being that with the former I have to click to change the crosshair to the bubble.

[Old Bruce]

22 hours ago, R C-R said:

I get the same magnifier 'bubble' with the Color Picker Tool that I get with the color picker in the Swatches (or Color) panel, the only difference being that with the former I have to click to change the crosshair to the bubble.

I find that I have to Click and Drag. A simple Click and Hold will change the colour but no "magnifier" shows up unless I drag.

[R C-R]

4 minutes ago, Old Bruce said:

I find that I have to Click and Drag. A simple Click and Hold will change the colour but no "magnifier" shows up unless I drag.

Thanks. You are right about having to drag.