Version: (using KDE 4.3.2) Just to qualify, this is an issue with the single-click-to-open mode. You can add an icon to the current selection by clicking on the plus or open/execute an icon by clicking elsewhere, but you cannot confidently select just one icon without first unselecting everything. This is particularly a problem in a folder with many children, where you cannot visually ensure that nothing else is selected before trying to select your icon with the plus sign. The annoying workaround is to select on a blank space first to unselect everything, and then select the icon you want with the plus sign. The only other workaround is to drag a lasso around the file you want to select, but this doesn't work well for compact views such as the detailed view.
I understand the problem, but I really cannot imagine any simpler way to solve it than > select on a blank space > first to unselect everything, and then select the icon you want with the plus > sign. The only other workaround is to drag a lasso around the file you want to > select Pressing "Esc" to clear the current selection is not really easier, I suppose. Do you have any suggestions?
> Do you have any suggestions? I can imagine a solution for the bigger icon modes: Have another button besides plus/sign that means "select just this." It could be a circle. This button could be on the top-left and the plus/minus signs could go on the top-right. I'm not sure how this would translate to the detailed view. Perhaps similarly, the circle button could be on the left, over the icon, and the plus/minus signs can be right to the right-side of that button, or they could be at the right-most end of the icon name. The only downside to this approach is that the user would need to intuitively understand what the circle button means, and also there would be more clutter. Maybe the correct approach is to switch the roles of the circle button and the icon itself. The circle button would execute/open and selecting the icon would just select it.
(In reply to comment #2) > The only downside to this approach is that the user would need to intuitively > understand what the circle button means, and also there would be more clutter. Yes, this would indeed be a problem. IMHO, the benefit of saving a single mouse click, mouse move or Escape press in the described use case is too small to justify such a change (which would also be non-trivial to implement).
> Yes, this would indeed be a problem. IMHO, the benefit of saving a single mouse > click, mouse move or Escape press in the described use case is too small to > justify such a change (which would also be non-trivial to implement). I don't think it's just a matter of saving a mouse click, but a matter of intuitively using the filesystem. I would think users would want a way to "select just this icon" in a confident way. That said, I cannot think of a better way to accomplish this. Perhaps users like me can just resort to double-click mode.
There is a way to make sure that only one icon is selected. Just right click the target icon, then left click on it. Any other selected icons are de-selected by this action, and you are left with one icon selected. With such a simple action available to achieve this, a UI change should not be necessary.
By a simple user point of view the click on the + sign should select *only that icon* and if you want to select more icons you should press the "ctrl" key, as it was in the past, and have a choice in settings to change this behaviour allowing to select other icons without press "ctrl" my 2 € :-)
pier, the + sign expanding the selection has been explicitely added to avoid having to use the Ctrl key, for: - people that don't like to use a keyboard, or only have an on screen keyboard (think tablets) - people that are handicapped, and only use one hand.
Resetting assignee to default as per bug #305719
Click in no-man's land, press escape, lasso, and right-click. These are all pretty intuitive ways to clear any possible selection. Plus, the premise: > This is particularly a problem in a folder with many children, where you > cannot visually ensure that nothing else is selected ... isn't strictly true, because the status line tells you, e.g. "4 Files selected". I would support a more visually engaging indication of whether any files are selected - e.g. some small bright-colored icon in the status bar that would appear and remain as long as at least one file is selected. (Could be a checkmark, a star, a plus sign - whatever. My personal preference would be a single green plus sign when one item is selected, or two stacked when multiple items are selected.) (Here's a simple mock-up of that idea: http://i.imgur.com/kjWRzpU.png )
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