At first, I like to say that I personally like the Move/Copy/Link pop-up menu which appears before completing a DND action. Last week, a close Windows user used my computer and complained about the inefficiency when moving files because of the pop-up menu. WISH: Add an option to have "Move" as default DND action without showing the pop-up-menu. See also a similar request for Digikam: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=224257
You can hold the Shift-Key to force a "move" without having a pop-up. Or Ctrl for copy. And Alt for Link. Windows default behavior depends (IMHO) on whether the destination is on the same partition (drive letter) or not.
Thanks for the hint. I am aware of the keys. If someone is used to use the mouse only, pressing additional keys seems odd. Yes, in Windows the default action is Move on the same drive and Copy when the file is dropped on a different drive. I also use Windows at some computers and this behavior feels quite natural.
*** Bug 406122 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
(In reply to Julian Schraner from comment #3) > *** Bug 406122 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. *** Thank you !
(In reply to Gregor Mi from comment #2) > Thanks for the hint. I am aware of the keys. If someone is used to use the > mouse only, pressing additional keys seems odd. > > Yes, in Windows the default action is Move on the same drive and Copy when > the file is dropped on a different drive. I also use Windows at some > computers and this behavior feels quite natural. odd is the polite way to phrase it. I would go as far as user-hostile.
> Windows the default action is Move on the same drive and Copy when the file is dropped on a different drive That's unpredictable magic behaviour. Especially on Linux where one tends to use partitions more. This is one of the cases where explicit trumps implicit especially for something so critical as file moving. KDE isn't in the business of making a 1:1 Windows clone. IMHO even as an option it's a step in the wrong direction and this should not be implemented.
Also, an option where? Not in dolphin for sure. At most it could be a global setting in some KCM affecting all applications.
(In reply to David Edmundson from comment #6) > > Windows the default action is Move on the same drive and Copy when the file is dropped on a different drive > > That's unpredictable magic behaviour. Especially on Linux where one tends to > use partitions more. > > This is one of the cases where explicit trumps implicit especially for > something so critical as file moving. macOS also has the same behavior as Windows, FWIW. So implementing that wouldn't be "copying windows" but rather "being consistent with general user expectations." And consistency is a goal of ours, as is usability which inherently incorporates a degree of conforming to cross-platform user expectations. However in the interests of trying to be smarter, maybe it would make sense to show the drop menu explicitly for the case of DnD operations across partitions/disks. However for the common case of drag-and-drop file operations on the same partition, I think defaulting to move is a sane choice. It's not about copying Windows but rather being "Simple by default". Asking the user for their intention makes sense when the intention is ambiguous or potentially destructive, but always asking is an annoyance. Either way, moving to KIO since this doesn't actually involve Dolphin itself at all.
*** Bug 224257 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
>macOS also has the same behavior as Windows, FWIW. So implementing that wouldn't be "copying windows" It still is, that's the sole rationale you've presented is that we should seek to make a clone of what's there without addressing that it's a better usability to /not/ do unclear random things especially with data. It's bad form to mark a bug as confirmed when there's clearly a discussion to be had.
(In reply to David Edmundson from comment #10) > >macOS also has the same behavior as Windows, FWIW. So implementing that wouldn't be "copying windows" > > It still is, that's the sole rationale you've presented is that we should > seek to make a clone of what's there without addressing that it's a better > usability to /not/ do unclear random things especially with data. I presented the view that when dragging a local file from one location on a partition/disk to another location on that same partition/disk, moving is the "common case," and that it's annoying to ask the user every time when we can predict that they're likely to want to move a file much more often than they are to copy it. That's a distinct argument from "we should do it because everyone else does it too."
To me, Nate's proposal is a smart advancement compared to my original wish. Nowadays, I would not argue with making a clone of something else but having the possibility to enable an option to work as effective as possible. E.g. most of the file operations I normally do on the same partition are "Move" and - to a much smaller extent - "Symlink". Between different partitions, it is unclear, therefore I like Nate's idea to just keep showing the popup in this case. Two additions: - I think David's concern is perfectly valid: unclear or random things should not be done to files. Therefore, one possibility would be that the default operation when dragging a file is indicated by an overlay icon (or even text: "Move file(s)") at the mouse cursor that makes it clear what the drop operation will do. - The generalization of the above proposal would be a choice box: "Default file operation when dragging files between folders on the same partition: [ Show Popup (default) | Move | Copy | Symlink ]"
FWIW, Tranter Madi has submitted a patch that implements the above behavior of optionally allowing move-by-default for local devices on the same disk: https://phabricator.kde.org/D27951 We won't move ahead without your approval, David, so there's no rush should you prefer to enjoy your vacation rather then debate this. :) Once you're ready, would you like to continue discussing here, or should we do it in the comments section of the patch?
I found this bug while I was about to submit one as I was pointed in direction from my post on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/kde/comments/frbn8s/questions_about_dolphin_help_with_configuring_it/ I just wanted to chime in on David Edmundson's concern and my takes on it as an end user who will be affected by the "unpredictable magic behaviour". 1. While having Windows/macOS-like "magic behavior" is nice, I don't feel it's necessary. Personally, I would be more than happy to have it default to ALWAYS MOVE, even if it is a destructive operation on the source directory because it's being moved to another partition/disk. 2. Assuming that the "magic behavior" does get implemented, while I understand the concerns, I think there are ways around it, some of which have been mentioned already. I'm in favor of just showing the context menu/choices iff the move operation is going to another partition/disk. It likely won't affect everyday normal use of Dolphin when browsing in the /home directory, and remove any uncertainties when browsing through other directories.
*** Bug 423356 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Here are some patches that will implement this behavior: kio: https://phabricator.kde.org/D27951 plasma-desktop: https://phabricator.kde.org/D27998 Unfortunately they never landed. I am hopeful that they will, someday. :)
New user here, coming from Windows - I also find it unnecessarily cumbersome to have to use modifier keys just to move a file. This seems to be an extremely prevalent issue throughout the web - it took me a while to land on this thread, but I've found many going back nearly a decade. i.e. here's discussion about this from early 2011: https://forum.kde.org/viewtopic.php?f=224&t=92785 Although there's some argument to be made for the "explicit" nature of having a menu or using a modifier, I see absolutely no downside to allowing a system option so that those who are coming over from other systems, or who prefer unified behavior across their systems, to achieve that behavior.
Hi, user coming from Windows and OSX here. I actually reached this bug when searching for "kde disable context menu when moving files" in Google, which redirected me to this reddit thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/kde/comments/b8ql3x/how_do_i_disable_that_dropdown_menu_that_appears/ So it seems that it is definitely a nuisance. While I agree the menu is dang useful, it also gets in the way everytime I need to move a file quickly, as I tend to forget what Ctrl/Shift/Alt do to files when dragging them. KDE years ago, to me, was very advanced with a plethora of options - kinda the opposite of Gnome and other DEs. Now, it's simpler yet still powerful with the same bunch of options to configure everything... ...everything but this behavior!!! So yeah, the menu is good, let's keep it, but PLEASE let's add a small settings window somewhere for the user to choose the default action when dragging files to any folder. If we want to get nifty, we can do it per local/remote folder, or whatever, but honestly this context menu appearing EVERYTIME I drag a file is driving me crazy. I appreciate the efforts made on this, and I also agree that it's user expected behavior as the other OSes also do it the same way. If I move my relatives to Linux (and KDE is a great option because it works almost like Windows, which is great), they'll definitely be thrown off by that and ask me "Hey how do I disable this menu?" so yeah...
Duping to older bug to preserve history. Will migrate relevant information there. *** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of bug 154804 ***