Re: selection bug

From: JE McGimpsey (jemcgimpsey_at_mvps.org)
Date: 06/25/04 

Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 16:06:13 -0600

In article <1gfxnub.ua7i9pc249xuN%matt@tidbits.com>,
 matt@tidbits.com (matt neuburg) wrote:

> Shift clicking is supposed to mean "extend the selection by the same
> kind of unit that formed the initial selection." For example,
> command-click to select a sentence, then shift-click in the next
> sentence: the *whole* sentence is selected. That's because you are now
> selecting by sentence, and shift-clicking extends by sentence.
> Similarly, triple-click to select a paragraph, then shift-click in the
> next paragraph: the *whole* paragraph is selected. That's because you
> are now selecting by paragraph, and shift-clicking extends by paragraph.
>
> Selection by word should work the same way. This should not depend upon
> the "select entire word" setting. Double-click means select a word, and
> now shift-clicking in a later word should select that entire word, by
> analogy with the above.
>
> If previous versions behaved the same way, then they had the same bug.
> m.

OK. I was evaluating the behavior based on your previous (incorrect)
assertion:

> In Word X and before, this would select all of "defenstration".

I'll agree that most Apple apps follow the behavior above (Finder
doesn't). It's frustrating to read the Aqua HIG though - the behavior of
Shift-click when text is selected is somewhat ambiguous. The HIG's
selection section states that

"A Shift-click should result in a continuous selection--the selection is
extended to include everything between the old anchor point and the new
active end."

But active end is defined as

"When selecting text, the point at which the user releases the mouse
button."

Which obviously has a different context when dragging vs. shift-clicking.

The ATSUI specification states that dragging when a word is selected
should extend the selection by words, but both it and the Aqua HIG are
silent on sentences and paragraphs, and in fact TextEdit doesn't extend
either - only words.