Feature Request: Carriage Return Opens Book

[BetterRed]

@chaley - thanks for the clarification.

BR

[AnotherCat]

If my understanding is correct that from the next upgrade the intended default will be that ENTER will open a viewer for the book highlighted, then I think the following should be considered.

Is Calibre predominantly a database for managing media (books) insofar as organizing, editing (e.g. metadata), transferring to devices, etc.? If so the opening of a viewer on ENTER on a highlighted book is incorrect. Databases (and spreadsheets as has been pointed out already, do not work that way). If anything, especially another application, was to be opened ENTER typically has to select a specific field within an ALREADY opened (not just highlighted) record.

Or is Calibre primarily a media player? If it is primarily a media player then ENTER opening the highlighted media item to play (read) is correct. While a media player may allow some editing of the likes of metadata that is typically only via downloads from external servers (e.g. Gracenote in the case of music being the media) and so secondary to purpose. That said, wary users such as myself will manage media in albums or folders so that an inappropriate ENTER just takes one to the underlying list of media items rather than start playing anything. {EDIT: Windows File Explorer has been mentioned in posts, the action of ENTER on a file in Explorer is it as a player, another application will be run (e.g. an installer, text editor, spreadsheet application run - it should not to be compared to a database)}

I had understood (perhaps imagined) that Calibre was primarily a database. The evidence I see is that people use it primarily as a database and read the media on external devices. I also do not recall any significant level of difficulties experienced by users opening a viewer from Calibre (I do not recall any other than the OP) and I would have thought that "V" was obvious enough , and as has been pointed out the View menu icon dropdown list advises that.

In my view Kovid had this correct in the first place and that has withstood the test of time; what seems to me is happening now is arising out of one complaint (technically misplaced in its misunderstanding the role of standards, in my view) a problem is being created to solve a problem that did not exist for most everyone else; so is just meddling. It is not something I would allow in any applications within a configuration management system under my control (although I should qualify that by making clear that my experience is predominantly with critical systems, so meddling is never tolerated; Calibre is not critical).

But it is not under my control so what will be will be. I just wanted to state a perspective for consideration (and it may explain the wariness that seems to be in the minds of some). If I have misunderstood and ENTER will not be the default or that Calibre is actually regarded as a media (books) player, then that will not be such a diversion from practice, but, in my view, still incorrect when compared with database practice.

[theducks]

I think the change only applies to New installs, where the configuration folder is Originally created.
For the most part, preferences that have been set, remain untouched (unless the old value becomes invalid due to SW changes) for updates

[chaley]

Originally Posted by theducks

I think the change only applies to New installs, where the configuration folder is Originally created.
For the most part, preferences that have been set, remain untouched (unless the old value becomes invalid due to SW changes) for updates

Nope. This is a new tweak so the default will apply until it is changed.

[itimpi]

I agree with the comments stating that if anything Enter should open the selected database record - not the viewer

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by theducks

I think the change only applies to New installs, where the configuration folder is Originally created.
For the most part, preferences that have been set, remain untouched (unless the old value becomes invalid due to SW changes) for updates

@theducks - unlike most new features the default value for the new enter_key_behaviour tweak alters current behaviour from an implied do_nothing to an explicit open_viewer.

After they upgrade to version 3.13, users who want to retain the current behaviour will need to go to Preferences->Tweaks->Control behaviour of the book list and edit the enter_key_behaviour tweak from 'open_viewer' to 'do_nothing'.

New users or existing users who want use the new feature don't have to do anything.

BR

[AnotherCat]

A simple example might be of use.

For security reasons my display is set to turn off after 3 minutes of user inactivity. Other users may have different reasons if security is not a consideration e.g. to save battery on a notebook or on a Windows tablet. Commonly one will hit ENTER to restore the display (any key will do so but I think for valid reasons many often use ENTER).

A demonstration example is that if one has Calibre as the active window with a record (book) highlighted, and if one uses the Open With plugin and has any selection in its dropdown highlighted then if the display times off and one restores it by hitting ENTER twice (easy to do if it is slow waking), or even hit any key then ENTER (as one might do if the display is slow opening) then the selected application in Open With will run.

Now that is correct behavior for a database. Currently, if one has a record selected and hit ENTER, nothing happens; if one has a record selected and an application in Open With selected and hit Enter then that application opens. That is acceptable behavior in the context of the non critical context of Calibre even though in the case of waking the display from sleep it may not have been that one wanted the selected application to run (but as one had it selected before the display turned off it is likely that the next action one wanted was for it to open). One has selected a record AND one has selected an application to run.

If the default behavior of Calibre is changed so that hitting ENTER with a record selected only, and that opens a viewer (I'm assuming it will still open ones default viewer), every time one restores ones display, after it turns off, with one or more key presses one of which is an ENTER then one will find oneself with the viewer application running and oneself in that (assuming that case cannot be coded out of the default behavior in the tweak). That is not correct behavior for a database.

That is just one example of possible misbehavior for a database.

[kovidgoyal]

@AnotherCat: Why on earth would you wake up your computer by pressing enter? If you do that pretty much anything could happen, upto and including your entire hard disk being deleted depending on just what was selected before the monitor slept. Compared to that having a book opened for viewing is entirely harmless.

Anyway, since I really dont care about this either way, and lots of people dont like having enter open a viewer, I'm just changing the default value of the tweak to do_nothing, so the existing behavior is not changed and people who want a different behavior can change it to whatever they want.

[theducks]

AC
Shift (or any other modifing key) is very safe as it does nothing except wake

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Anyway, since I really dont care about this either way, and lots of people dont like having enter open a viewer, I'm just changing the default value of the tweak to do_nothing, so the existing behavior is not changed and people who want a different behavior can change it to whatever they want.

Since calibre has gone for years with nary a mention of anyone having issues with viewing a book I think do_nothing option as default is best.

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

@AnotherCat: Why on earth would you wake up your computer by pressing enter? If you do that pretty much anything could happen, up to and including your entire hard disk being deleted depending on just what was selected before the monitor slept. Compared to that having a book opened for viewing is entirely harmless.

OS is Windows 10 on all PCs - For myself, I don't wake the computer from sleep by just pressing ENTER (or any other key), I have waking from sleep as PIN protected (for security, if nothing else); ENTER then produces an Incorrect PIN so I don't need to worry.

However, I do turn on the display if it times out (which it does after a shorter delay than PC sleep) by pressing any standard key, often that turns out to be ENTER. {In critical applications I would expect one would not have displays turning off (unless hardware switched) nor computer sleeping}.

That said, as far as I am aware for Windows (since at least XP perhaps??? I cannot comment on Linux and its derivatives), any standard key is stated as valid and regarded as "safe" for re-turning on the display or for waking the PC from sleep. But I agree that using ENTER can lead to difficulties, even if just of the likes of the non catastrophic example I gave in my previous post (which types have to be handled at the application design level).

I would suggest that a very, very high percentage of users (almost all???)are unaware that issues could arise, however remote, through the use of ENTER and they accept at face value the Microsoft advice of use "any standard key" and hit whatever key takes their fancy and works. Apart from ending up somewhere unexpected I am not personally familiar with any calamitous outcomes occurring.

But that said I can imagine calamitous cases such as one having, by way of example, reached the last click to accept a hard drive format before the display turns off and on re-turning on the display incorrectly with one or more keystrokes, one of which is an ENTER, setting off an unintended format (I don't think an "O" for the required "OK" will do it but I am not inclined to test ). But to have got that far in Windows and be unaware of it is unlikely in my opinion (and in my personal case I would never have ).

But the risks are not limited to use of ENTER as, for example, the display could close when one has a bunch of files selected in File Explorer and at the last click before deleting them - if one restarts the display with the "Y" key they will all be deleted, perhaps unintentionally.

You were right, in my opinion, to have raised the use of ENTER as a general alert to the possibility of unintended consequences. Although a risk can also exist with some other keys, the risk is less.

John

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by theducks

AC
Shift (or any other modifing key) is very safe as it does nothing except wake

Yes, and if wanting to be especially wary the other modifying keys or left Shift key are not perched right beside the ENTER key, as the right SHIFT key is, and so are safer .

[Divingduck]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Anyway, since I really dont care about this either way, and lots of people dont like having enter open a viewer, I'm just changing the default value of the tweak to do_nothing, so the existing behavior is not changed and people who want a different behavior can change it to whatever they want.

+1. Good choice.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

Anyway, since I really dont care about this either way, and lots of people dont like having enter open a viewer, I'm just changing the default value of the tweak to do_nothing, so the existing behavior is not changed and people who want a different behavior can change it to whatever they want.

Thank you very much.

[10538]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

I'm afraid I find the argument that users that first figure out how to click the Add Book button, then cannot figure out how to click the View button, unconvincing.

Ah, you're not alone. That is one of the biggest problems we have in user experience design. You need to observe users performing simple tasks (without directions!) to appreciate how confusing many people find the systems we build. Part of the problem is that developers are very good with systems and have a hard time appreciating that many people aren't.

Anyway, thanks for taking up the suggestion.