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	24 Feb 2016 19:10:59 -0800 (PST)
Date:	Wed, 24 Feb 2016 18:10:59 -0900
Message-ID:	<CAC4O8c_VGVSJ293PtQOj-YNan0TYnYadJHAQ8iAXN8ccg4pK9A@mail.gmail.com>
Subject:	[geda-user] exactly how is moving between sides/layers supposed to work, and more generally...
From:	"Britton Kerin (britton DOT kerin AT gmail DOT com) [via geda-user AT delorie DOT com]" <geda-user AT delorie DOT com>
To:	geda-user AT delorie DOT com
Reply-To:	geda-user AT delorie DOT com

I've always just muddled through on the basic knowledge that:

  Select->Move selected elements to other side, followed by a click
       would put parts on other side

and

  Select->Move selected to current layer
       would move already selected traces to the current layer

In going through documenting everything I found the more useful B hotkey which
sends the hovered element straight through the board without requiring a
pre-select or additional click.

These are all useful operations but the interface is painfully inconsistent
about them:

1. Select->Move selected elements to other side (Shift-B)
       Can handle sets of selected elements, but requires them to first be
       selected and then the selection clicked after the menu item is activated
       to send them to the other side.  The hotkey sends selected items to the
       other side immediately, but doesn't do anything if nothing is selected.
       Alternately, iff nothing is selected before the menu item is activated,
       a single subsequently clicked element is sent to the other side

2. Select->Move selected to current layer (Shift-M)
       Ignores elements (its name should change to reflect this).  When either
       the menu item or the hot key is activated, the selected
       lines/arcs/polys/maybe_other_things are moved to the current layer.
       If nothing is selected nothing is done.

3. Info->Key Bindings->Flip Object (B)
       If hotkey is used, the hovered element is sent straight through the
       board.  If menu item, a subsequent click is expected and the clicked
       item is sent through the board.  The selection is ignored.

These could and should all work the same way.

How I think it should work:

     Like 2. above, with the additional behavior that if nothing is selected
     the hovered element is sent.

Why I think it should work this way:

     They can all work the same

     It's efficient

     It can work the same way for hotkey or menu item, with just the additional
     behavior of 'select-hovered' for the hotkey

     IMO in general the menu items that lock the interface in an
     "expect-a-click" state to find out what to act on tend to be confusing and
     inefficient, and weirdly inconsistent because hotkeys never do that.  For
     example, what is Ctrl-X (Cut to buffer) without a selection even doing,
     and why?  The menu item and hot key for it seem to both behave in
     different and wrong ways when there is no selection.  It also should work
     as I propose above.

Opinions welcome, including how addicted people think they are to the existing
behaviors.  I believe the changes I'm talking about would be compatible with
existing *efficient* habits: 1. and 2. require a pre-selection for hotkeys to
work anyway, and 3. wouldn't change as far as hot key goes, but could get a
sane behavior if the menu item was used.

Britton

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