Xfce Forum

tunsoffun

Member

Registered: 2020-12-29

Posts: 14

keyboard navigation of xfce dialogs has become harder in 4.16

TL-DR

Selection highlight and ability to navigate by keyboard is lost in xfce4-settings-manager...

Long Version:

Hi. I'm new here, but have been using Xfce for a while.

I've become accustomed to using the keyboard to make my way around most dialogs and applications in this DE. I just used a recent daily build of a Debian Bullseye netinst to setup three systems. In version 4.14 I could move selections and activate options easily with the keyboard. I added the Sid/Unstable repository and upgraded Xfce. Now, with 4.16, for instance, I open xfce4-settings-manager with a shortcut and am able to use arrow keys to move the selector among the various options like "Appearance", "Clipboard Manager Settings", "Desktop", etc.

But once I go into one of these dialogs and return to the main dialog by hitting <Alt>-S the selector highlight is gone, and I am unable to choose any of the dialogs from the main page without using the mouse.

This might seem like a minor issue, but I'm fighting maybe a decade-and-a-half of muscle memory. For me, using the keyboard is just a lot faster and more convenient than reaching for the mouse.

I imagine that this is not a "feature", since I'd expect the behavior in that case to require use of mouse at all times for making selections.

I also see evidence of odd selection highlight behavior in the UI of Thunderbird. When Thunderbird is first started, the selector properly highlights whatever folder I choose. When I switch away from Thunderbird with Alt-Tab and then return to it, the selector is still active, but it has lost its color. So, a slightly different but also more useful behavior than what I see in the settings manager, since I am able still to\ navigate within the application using the keyboard.

These behaviors are seen in all themes and icon settings installed on my systems. Themes are Adwaita, Adwaita-Dark, Blackbird, Greybird, Greybird-Dark, and High Contrast. Icon Themes are Adwaita, High Contrast, Numix, Numix Light, and Tango.

Is this a known bug in version 4.16, or possibly an issue caused by its implementation in Debian Sid/Testing?

I should mention that I also see minor issues with maximization and sizing of the Xfce4 settings dialogs that I do not see in any of the applications software on the systems. But these issues would be somewhat harder to describe, and don't really result in loss of important function.

Thanks for reading. I know the description is long.

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My most successful patches have been applied to the knees of bluejeans.

ToZ

Administrator

From: Canada

Registered: 2011-06-02

Posts: 11,007

Re: keyboard navigation of xfce dialogs has become harder in 4.16

Hello and welcome.

Just looked at my 4.16 system and I'm noticing the same issue. It sounds like this issue. It appears focus is being swallowed up by the hidden filter field.

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tunsoffun

Member

Registered: 2020-12-29

Posts: 14

Re: keyboard navigation of xfce dialogs has become harder in 4.16

Aha! I looked at www.debian.org/Bugs/ but didn't look for the actual Xfce bug list. It has been so long since I've had an adverse issue with Xfce that I hadn't noticed that the location had changed. (It has changed, right? Talk about being out of touch!)

"hidden filter field" -- sounds nefarious, doesn't it?

I appreciate your help, and the way you moderate this forum. I had forgot now nice it was.

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My most successful patches have been applied to the knees of bluejeans.