Bug 456503

Summary: Holding CTRL when using the Freehand Selection Tool starts as freehand selection rather than polygonal selection
Product: [Applications] krita Reporter: oktopuse
Component: Tools/SelectionAssignee: Krita Bugs <krita-bugs-null>
Status: RESOLVED INTENTIONAL    
Severity: normal CC: wojtryb
Priority: NOR    
Version First Reported In: 5.1.0-beta1   
Target Milestone: ---   
Platform: Microsoft Windows   
OS: Microsoft Windows   
Latest Commit: Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description oktopuse 2022-07-09 08:38:08 UTC
SUMMARY
The behavior of holding CTRL when using the Freehand Selection Tool has changed to no longer be respected until after the first click (click and drag / hold) has been performed when using the tool.

STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Create a new document
2. Enable the Freehand Selection Tool
3. Hold CTRL
4. Click and drag

OBSERVED RESULT
The selection being made is a freehand selection.

EXPECTED RESULT
What I observe in 5.0.6 and previous versions is that doing the above workflow starts with the selection being a polygonal selection right away (and then becomes freehand if CTRL is released). So I would expect to be able to hold CTRL before clicking and get polygonal selection behavior on my first click rather than needing to do click -> CTRL while click is down -> polygonal behavior.

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Windows: 10
Qt Version: 5.12.12

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
N/A
Comment 1 Wojtek Trybus 2022-07-09 09:01:51 UTC
This is expected behaviour now and a consensus on how to combine two features that used to clash.
Modifiers before the initial click let you to override selection mode (add, subtract, for ctrl is replace), while ctrl after initial click is polygonal selection.
I guess it also unified krita with other painting apps.
Comment 2 oktopuse 2022-07-09 10:08:16 UTC
(In reply to Wojtek Trybus from comment #1)
> This is expected behaviour now and a consensus on how to combine two
> features that used to clash.
> Modifiers before the initial click let you to override selection mode (add,
> subtract, for ctrl is replace), while ctrl after initial click is polygonal
> selection.
> I guess it also unified krita with other painting apps.

I see; thanks for the quick response! I'll try to get used to the new behavior then or maybe see if directly using the Polygonal Selection Tool works well enough for how I use selections, since my initial attempts with the new Freehand Selection Tool behavior have a little uneven / jagged start before I manage to hold down CTRL most of the time. It might just take some practice on my part.

If the goal is unifying the behavior with other painting apps, having a modifier for the opposite tool switch to go from Polygonal Selection Tool to freehand selection temporarily while CTRL is held like Photoshop's behavior would be a perfect replacement to guarantee an initial "crisp" selection edge like the old Krita behavior. Just throwing the thought out there though, not expecting that to be treated as a formal feature request here!
Comment 3 Wojtek Trybus 2022-07-09 11:02:07 UTC
I believe you can get used to it, as you know how it's supposed to work. It's still a massive improvement over randomly switching to a different mode.
If you have a clear idea how to improve it further great to krita-artists.org If it's good and you get enough attention there, maybe you'll manage to convince deif lou (who implemented this change) to revisit this topic.
Though I'd say the new behavior seems to work quite well.
Comment 4 oktopuse 2022-07-10 01:10:28 UTC
(In reply to Wojtek Trybus from comment #3)
> I believe you can get used to it, as you know how it's supposed to work.
> It's still a massive improvement over randomly switching to a different mode.
> If you have a clear idea how to improve it further great to
> krita-artists.org If it's good and you get enough attention there, maybe
> you'll manage to convince deif lou (who implemented this change) to revisit
> this topic.
> Though I'd say the new behavior seems to work quite well.

For sure, I didn't mean to imply the fix was a net negative as I'm sure those who were expecting CTRL to be a selection mode toggle before didn't like it starting out as a polygonal selection when going to use it.

I'll try to get used to the new behavior and will post a feature request on krita-artists.org if I can't figure out a way to get the kind of selections I am used to. Thanks!