Left and right keystrokes in folder compare

[shovavnik]

The left and right keys behave differently on Windows and Mac when comparing folders. I think the Windows behavior is much more consistent and actually provides more options, so it should be applied by default to the Mac version too.

In Windows:

• left and right move the selection from side to side without expanding or collapsing
• shift+left and shift+right do the same thing but also add the option to select BOTH sides, which is important for drilling down with Set as Base Folders and the like
• ctrl++ and ctrl+- expand and collapse nodes

On Mac:

• left and right expand and collapse nodes, usually (I believe that sometimes it behaves differently but can't reproduce it right now)
• ctrl++ and ctrl+- do nothing
• there's no way to move the selection from side to side with the keyboard, and no way to toggle between selecting one side and both sides

The key shortcuts on the Mac actually force me to use the mouse, which is annoying, and don't implement all the behavior supported by the Win version.

Would you consider applying these Windows shortcuts by default on the Mac?

[Aaron]

Thanks for the feedback. We intend to have a keyboard shortcut for moving between the left and right, but are still auditing our shortcuts and we'll get some of these in there. We only just added in a set of defaults hotkeys in the current release.

[nikolaus]

Just another perspective: please keep left and right as shortcuts for expanding and collapsing nodes. I use this all the time and would hate to start copying files when I'm just trying to show folder contents.
Thanks!

[Zoë]

In Windows:

Left/Right move the "cursor" side to side, clearing any existing selection, and without expanding or collapsing
Alt+Left collapses the current node or moves up to the parent if the node isn't a folder or if it's already collapsed.
Alt+Right expands the current node or moves down to the first child if the folder is already expanded.
Shift+Left/Right shifts the current selection between left, right, and both.
Numpad+ and Numpad- expand and collapse nodes, Numpad* expands all subfolders. Ctrl++/Ctrl+- don't do anything.

The Alt+Left/Right behavior is what a standard treeview does if you use just the Left/Right arrows, and the Numpad+/-/* shortcuts match the standard treeview.

On Mac:

Left/Right behave like Windows' Alt+Left/Right. That's the standard treeview behavior for those keys.
Alt+Left/Right expand or collapse all subfolders. That's also the standard treeview behavior.

For the next release I'll add Shift+Left/Rightcommands that work identically to their Windows counterparts. The behavior is similar enough to Windows' unshifted Left/Right that I don't think it's worth including different shortcuts for those too. In hindsight, that's probably how the Windows shortcuts should have originally been implemented too. AFAIK, Mac's don't use the numpad for expanding/collapsing treeviews.

nikolaus: All of the copy commands require a three key combination, like Cmd+Alt+Arrows, so you shouldn't need to worry about that too much.

[nikolaus]

Oh ok, perfect! I misunderstood the first post - I thought "move the selection" meant take the selected item and move it, rather than change the selected item.
Thanks!

[mwgray]

Hi Craig,

Sorry to revive an old thread, but could we possible get the windows-like functionality exposed as an option, or make the commands bindable in the preferences menu? I spend a lot of time in the windows version for BC, and the OS X navigation drives me nuts.

Thanks!