The desktop, which I referred to, is not based on x11, but borrow some features of nextsteps desktop. And if we’re going to be pedantic, the kernel is BSD, not Unix. Mac os terminal supports middle mouse copy paste (if you plug in a mouse with 3 buttons). It can be enabled in other apps with 3rd party software.
Would it be possible to implement this feature as an input server addon? If so, then it can be a 3rd party addon, thus no change would be necessary on Haiku side.
That’s a bug in the design application, because text can’t be inserted in a canvas, since that’s not a text field.
I miss a way to assign a function over the mouse buttons, to assign this as the scroll to the middle button pressed, in my case it can be very useful. 
1 Like
No, it’s not a bug. Figma, Miro, and other similar design prototyping apps allow for directly pasting in text to the canvas. They automatically create a text box to store pasted text in.
If Button2 already does something other than inserting text, it doesn’t make sense to insert text as well, so it’s a bug.
No, it isn’t. Many of these applications were made with Windows and Mac users in mind, where they don’t have to worry about accounting for middle-click paste.
The developers shouldn’t have implemented using Button2 to insert text when porting the program to X. It’s a feature you have to deliberately implement.
There’s nothing to port most of the time, since many are web apps.
Haiku programs aren’t web apps, and no matter what it’s still a bug (maybe one in the web browser), not something wrong with using Button2 to insert text.
Haiku programs aren’t web apps,
They’re not, but there are users who’ll need to use some alongside Haiku programs. Additionally, middle-click paste is almost exclusively a Linux feature; to be more accurate, exclusive to X11. It doesn’t exist anywhere else.
no matter what it’s still a bug (maybe one in the web browser)
No, it’s not. Web browsers have to support it whenever present since power users expect them too, just like every other app on their systems.
When newcomers from Windows and macOS come to Linux, middle-click paste often confuses and annoys them. Those users don’t need to have that when checking out Haiku. As for those who do want middle-click paste. it could just be done on a per-app basis or a system-wide option, maybe paired with a whitelist/allowlist for more granular control. It is after all, very much a power user feature.
1 Like
They’re not, but there are users who’ll need to use some alongside Haiku programs.
So let’s make sure WebPositive implements it in a way that doesn’t cause compatibility issues, right?
Additionally, middle-click paste is almost exclusively a Linux feature; to be more accurate, exclusive to X11. It doesn’t exist anywhere else.
It also exists on Wayland (in fact it was implemented due to popular demand.)
No, it’s not. Web browsers have to support it whenever present since power users expect them too, just like every other app on their systems.
If a web browser implements something that breaks sites, then there’s a bug in the web browser. Especially something very far from a “power user” feature, since it’s the equivalent of drag-and-drop for text, except you don’t have to drag anything.
No, it really isn’t. I’ve done onboarding with new Linux users in person for years (including for a school) and the number of them who knew about middle-click paste can be counted on one hand.
That would be not implementing middle-click paste, unless the developers want to implement a middle-click paste whitelist/allowlist; websites could either be added by the user or hardcoded in and users just report what websites have issues with it. Got a bad feeling about this, though.
As with most things in Wayland, this is dependent on the compositor. A couple examples:
- KDE Plasma Wayland did not have middle-click paste until 2020
- Sway/wlroots did not have middle-click paste until 2018
- Enlightenment got the feature as early as 2014
No Wayland compositor is compelled to implement middle-click paste until either the developers want it or are pressured to by users.
Haiku is seemingly not entirely beholden to interaction expectations from Linux, Windows, macOS, or anything else. In the end, it will be up to the developers on how to implement it (if they want to). Some UX decisions can already be changed to be more familiar, such as the deskbar placement or standard keyboard shortcuts.
Make no mistake, I do use the feature quite extensively on Linux. But I do recognise based on both first-hand experience and observing others that it is not exactly a good idea to have by default. If it must be in Haiku, it should only be optional; this way, both power users and everyone else benefit.
1 Like
I think that X11 feature is not needed for Haiku. Haiku is not X11-based and it don’t need to mimic it. Middle click is already used for other purposes such as canvas scrolling or showing symbol list in Pe editor.
6 Likes
No, it really isn’t. I’ve done onboarding with new Linux users in person for years (including for a school) and the number of them who knew about middle-click paste can be counted on one hand.
But does that mean the number of people who won’t be confused by such a feature can also be counted on one hand? I don’t think so. I think there are also a great deal of people who don’t even know the keyboard shortcuts for cut and paste, and just use context menus for those. So maybe we should remove those shortcuts as well?
That would be not implementing middle-click paste, unless the developers want to implement a middle-click paste whitelist/allowlist; websites could either be added by the user or hardcoded in and users just report what websites have issues with it. Got a bad feeling about this, though.
I suggest that you come to such conclusions about a feature only after trying to implement it, not before.
As with most things in Wayland, this is dependent on the compositor. A couple examples:
But since all major Wayland compositors have already implemented the necessary protocol extensions, for all purposes Wayland is another window system that supports the primary selection.
It would be better to just let applications do what they want with middle-click, in lieu of changing them all individually. Haiku is not a system wherein middle-clock paste is the norm and has to be necessarily implemented, unlike in Linux with Wayland.
1 Like
Couldn’t we just make the button adjustable in the Mouse Preferences? If someone really wants to have it, then they just change the function there “for themselves” and others leave it out.
Finished
4 Likes
That seems agreeable, as long as it is not set to paste by default.
2 Likes
that’s the solution i prefer.
1 Like