Bug 287762 - There seems to be a demand for context-sensitive drag 'n' drop copying/moving/linking. Is this planned?
Summary: There seems to be a demand for context-sensitive drag 'n' drop copying/moving...
Status: VERIFIED WAITINGFORINFO
Alias: None
Product: dolphin
Classification: Applications
Component: general (show other bugs)
Version: 1.7
Platform: Ubuntu Linux
: NOR wishlist
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Peter Penz
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2011-11-28 15:19 UTC by Rob D
Modified: 2012-10-08 12:45 UTC (History)
0 users

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Description Rob D 2011-11-28 15:19:23 UTC
Version:           1.7 (using KDE 4.7.2) 
OS:                Linux

I've been using KDE (in the form of Kubuntu, which I settled on after trying Gnome and Xfce) for a couple of years now.

One of the few things that I genuinely miss, and which makes me feel just a little envious when watching users of other Operating Systems, is context-sensitive drag 'n' drop file operations in dolphin (and digiKam, amongst others)

The following paragraphs reinforce my point, but are not essential. Feel free to skip to '**here**'.

I remember the first time I saw a terminal-whizz at the keyboard, traversing file-systems, executing just the right commands, and generally getting things done faster and more efficiently than with a GUI. 'Wow!' I thought, 'There's a better way!'.

I promptly switched to Linux.

Some tasks, however, are far better-suited to a GUI, where a single click displays the entire contents of a folder, with previews of its files and subfolders.

Now, when I see people using Gnome, Windows or OSX, I find myself in a similar state of awe: With half the number of clicks, they can get their file management tasks done almost _twice_ as fast.

**here**

In a desktop environment for Linux, an Operating System renowned for being used by the pragmatic (those who wish to get things done), why is it that this simple task is inhibited by a seemingly clunky, unnecessarily complex interface?

I have read elsewhere that the 'Move here/Copy here' context menus are to avoid surprises through unexpected operations, but in my opinion, the cost of reduced efficiency is too high.

The following list of links shows I'm not alone:

http://forum.kde.org/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=92785
http://forum.kde.org/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=97108
http://www.kde-forum.org/artikel/16016/default-drag-and-drop-action.html
http://www.kde-forum.org/artikel/24486/how-to-disable-move-here-copy-here-context-menu.html
http://forums.opensuse.org/english/get-technical-help-here/applications/448068-konq-how-disable-move-here-copy-here-link-here-menu-drag-n-drop-2.html
http://ubuntuforums.org/archive/index.php/t-1554572.html

Before anyone mentions this, I know I can use Shift and Ctrl.
I do (did) use them in other Operating Systems, when I was unsure of the result of my actions - they're a good option to have, but just that - an option.
You can bring up the same context options menu in Windows with right-click and drag - once again, optional.

Dolphin is a GUI program. GUIs use a mouse (or touchscreen). Theses are one-handed devices.
I have no problem with using a keyboard modifier from time to time, but when you spend a lot of time each day copying files (as I do), it becomes very tedious very quickly.

Is there any plan to become more flexible on this front?
Is context-sensitive drag 'n' drop a feature scheduled to be developed?

One of KDE's strengths is the abundance of GUI-configurable preferences.
If this feature isn't already planned, would it be acceptable for me to implement it myself?
Perhaps an (optional) default or context-sensitive drag 'n' drop action (keeping the present behaviour as default)?
I'm not a great programmer, but one day I may get so frustrated I feel the need to code it myself.

Is there any reason anyone knows of why this shouldn't be implemented?

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
Drag a file from one location to another using the mouse cursor.

Actual Results:  
A context menu appears and no action is performed unless one of the options in the (tiny) menu is clicked.

Expected Results:  
A context-sensitive or default action (configurable in the preferences dialogue) is performed immediately (this can, after all, be undone in most cases).
Comment 1 Christoph Feck 2011-11-28 18:03:01 UTC

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 154804 ***