Double-click on server should start connection

[Ralfinator]

In many places in the game, when there is a list of things and a green button below the list, double-clicking something in the list is the same as clicking once and then clicking the green button. That is great as it means I don't have to move my mouse all the way to the green button.

But not so in the server list: in "Multiplayer" - "Browse public games", double-clicking an entry in that list does nothing. I think it would be great if double-clicking a server would join the game. I intuitively expect that to happen and every single time I wonder why my double-click is ignored.

This is just a tiny thing, but many tiny things make the game feel as polished as it otherwise already is.

[ssilk]

Doubleclick is never used as input in Factorio and a Mac-User will never come to the idea of double-clicking anything.

Besides that: the long way to the right bottom is somehow not very intuitive, too.

[Rseding91]

Double click currently works to load/save games. I don't see an issue with making it work to join games too.

[ssilk]

Double click currently works to load/save games.

Didn’t know that... but I’m a Mac user...

[Rseding91]

Double click currently works to load/save games.

Didn’t know that... but I’m a Mac user...

Do macs not have mouse buttons? I don't understand how an operating system makes any difference in being able to click a mouse button two times in rapid succession

[ssilk]

Hehe, so try to hold you on something strong: Normally macs also don’t use right mouse button.

And it works.

[Rseding91]

Hehe, so try to hold you on something strong: Normally macs also don’t use right mouse button.

And it works.

Sure, but what does that have to do with being able to double click? Double click is not left + right button, it's "left -> left" with a very little amount of time between clicks.

[Kyralessa]

Hehe, so try to hold you on something strong: Normally macs also don’t use right mouse button.

And it works.

Sure, but what does that have to do with being able to double click? Double click is not left + right button, it's "left -> left" with a very little amount of time between clicks.

Maybe he's saying Mac users don't have fast enough reflexes?

[Koub]

I'ts just an interaction they're not used to. It's a bit like driving a manual for someone who has never seen 3 pedals in a car.
This reminds me old memes about Mac users lacking the coordination to use more than one button on a mouse, the one fingered hand when the buttonless mouse came out, and the rage of portal players when they realize they can't open a blue portal. Ah old times

[Oktokolo]

I'ts just an interaction they're not used to. It's a bit like driving a manual for someone who has never seen 3 pedals in a car.

That is, why every action has to be rebindable to other keys, buttons, or combinations of both. As a trackball user i very well know that because i have no mousewheel...
For Mac users, the doubleclick could be replaced by the shortcut that is used in MacOS to start the application under the mouse pointer.

[ssilk]

Cmd-O? Hm. It makes no sense, because a Mac user opens an application just by clicking on it. From the Mac perspective it would make sense too press ALT while clicking. For “alternative open”.

Not really.

And Yes, there are apps, like karabiner to rewrite any event to any other event.

And I researched a a bit: especially elderly or handicapped people have really problems with double click. For their luck the OS normally allows to set the timing of it.

There are also videos of how to do it:
https://youtu.be/06sybXkutH0
Strange...

[Rseding91]

The whole "mac users don't do double clicks" thing just doesn't matter when something *also* work through double-click. The other ways to do the action aren't going anywhere.

[Oktokolo]

Cmd-O? Hm. It makes no sense, because a Mac user opens an application just by clicking on it. From the Mac perspective it would make sense too press ALT while clicking. For “alternative open”. Not really.

I obviously am not a Mac user, so i don't know, what Mac users expect.
But don't the Mac users have some standard shortcut for "perform the standard action on the item under the mouse pointer"?
Lists of things wich have a default action assigned to them seem to be such a basic concept - they certainly have that on the Mac too (they probably even had it first).

[ssilk]

As said: a single click calls the standard action on Mac.

[Oktokolo]

As said: a single click calls the standard action on Mac.

So Mac users expect a single click on a server in the multiplayer server list to initiate a connect instead of just selecting the server and displaying some information?

[Koub]

How to mac users select something (without actually executing the default action on it) then ?
[Edit] nvm, I'm off topic. The idea is if Mac users don't know to double click, let them do all their interactions with a single click, I'm fine with it. If I can banefit from the usual interactions (with single and double click when appropriate) on PC, I'm very fine with it

[ssilk]

So Mac users expect a single click on a server in the multiplayer server list to initiate a connect instead of just selecting the server and displaying some information?

Your interpretation. I just answered questions.

What I initially wanted to say is, that double-click is the short way to add more functionality without changing the UI. But it’s in many cases not the best way....

[Oktokolo]

Your interpretation. I just answered questions.

I accept that you don't want to reveal what shortcut Mac users are trained to use for "executing" list items where mere selection is also a useful thing to have. I will not ask further questions about that.

[Ralfinator]

What I initially wanted to say is, that double-click is the short way to add more functionality without changing the UI. But it’s in many cases not the best way....

Double-clicks are a very common piece of UI language on many platforms, and well-understood by many people. Last time I was on a mac, even there opening a file in the file explorer was done by a double-click. And as mentioned above by others, even Factorio already uses double-clicks in some places. A double-click is IMO way better than having to move the mouse half-way across the screen.

"Not the best way" is a red herring I think -- basically nothing anyone ever does is the best way to do things. The goal here isn't to make the best UI that can possibly exist (I doubt "UI quality" even has a maximum like that). The goal is to make something that works well for as many people as possible.

[ssilk]

Please quote me correctly: I said “in many cases not the best way”. I meant: It makes things more complicated than it needs to be. Not always, but often.

You made “Not the best way” out of it. Not what I said.