Re: Standard Middle-Click Functionality

> > >What about all the people who don't have a middle mouse button? I
> > > hope you aren't planning on relying on this to be the only way to
> > > do something.
> >
> > If you have a wheel mouse, wheel-click = middle-click.  If you have a
> > two-button mouse, EmulateThreeButtons in your XF86Config allows right
> > and left together to work as middle click.  The only time it's really
> > a problem is if you don't have a mouse at all, in which case you
> > probably aren't running KDE.
>
>Or if you have already made the change to XF86Config to emulate three
>button mouse but it just doesn't make any difference, it still doesn't
>work. Maybe my mouse doesn't register both buttons clicked together?
>
>In any case, this was supposed to be for the benefit of beginners and
>basic users. Do you really think that beginners will just happen to try
>doing a simulataneous left and right mouse click? If they don't already
>know the trick, they won't do it, and they won't read the XF86 man
>pages so they won't discover the trick on their own. And that's why
>hidden or secret functionality is a bad idea.

I quite agree with the fact that this can't be the only way to deliver help, 
but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be a general improvement. If you don't 
have a middle mouse button, this won't work for you. However, middle mouse 
buttons are extremely common, and it would only be an improvement for those 
who do have them. The fact that it would not benefit some users is not a 
great issue, as it would not harm them either.

This would be of use to users who do have a middle mouse button, and result 
in no change whatsoever for those who do not have a middle mouse button.

I would say this is somewhat like have the right-click cause a pop-up menu 
to occur. If anyone installs KDE on a macintosh system, meaning they likely 
have only one button on their mouse, they have the added trouble of having 
to ctrl-click to get that menu. However, it doesn't harm them that the menu 
is there for people who do have two button mice. This is simply an 
improvement which would benefit those with three-button mice.

Also, this would be no more hidden functionality than right-clicking on an 
item for a pop-up menu or middle-clicking to paste if it is at all widely 
used. I will admit, if this were only implemented in a couple programs, it 
would be hidden functionality, but if it were implemented throughout KDE it 
would just be a difference between KDE systems, GNOME systems, and Windows 
systems. That is acceptable. People always need to learn some things when 
switching desktop environments. Although it should be made as easy as 
possible, features should not be avoided just so that people do not need to 
learn them. The only times features should be avoided is when they would 
make it impossible to use a system without learning them. This would not 
replace the help system, or standard tool-tips. It would simply add another 
method by which help can be gotten, making it easier to learn how to use a 
new program, although it might not make learning a new desktop environment 
any easier.

This would be of the most benefit to users experienced with the system but 
new to a particular program, but would not harm users new to the system in 
general.

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