Re: [External] : Re: Moving point after character when clicking latter half of it

[Moritz Maxeiner <mm@ucw.sh>]

On Sunday 9 July 2023 17:15:02 CEST you wrote:
> > > In all of the ones I'm using (other than emacs), clicking with the mouse
> > > on a character moves the point either in front of, or after that
> > 
> > character,
> > 
> > > depending on whether you clicked the left or right half of it.
> > 
> > Interesting, I never tested that before.  It explains why I am so often
> > missing the first character when I try to copy text with the mouse.  IOW
> > I personally find this an anti-feature.
> 
> I understand that the feature would be optional.
> Still, I tend to agree with you (Benjamin).
> 
> I can imagine editing text with a very large font
> (I use larger fonts as time goes by...), and in
> that case I'd see better which half of a char I
> was clicking.  IOW, that would allow me to take
> advantage of such half-char clicking.
> 
> Nevertheless, I don't really see what the feature
> adds.  You can already precisely click here or
> there to place point or select whichever starting
> (with (mouse-1) or ending (with mouse-3) char you
> like.

It allows people to not have to shift mental models when interacting with GUI 
Emacs vs. other GUI applications deadling with text.

> 
> It seems like all this would do is to halve the
> distance between such click positions - in essence
> _requiring_ even better visibility/sensing of the
> positions. 

Clicking the latter half of glyph n, as well as the first half of glyph n+1 
would result in the point being but between glyph n and n+1. The total length 
of the selection range remains the same, it is only shifted half a glyph to 
the left. I ask that you try my poc patch out before making such strong 
claims.

> And thus requiring even a closer zoom
> of the text.  IOW, instead of having to feel/find
> the start or end of a char you'd have to do that
> for the start, the end, and the middle.
> 
> Sounds like multiplying things unnecessarily,
> making poor Occam roll over in the grave.  What,
> exactly, is the improvement or use case?  Could
> someone please describe a scenario where this
> would actually help someone more?

The use case is described in my very first post, but I'll go into more detail: 
Every other GUI application dealing with text I'm using already works this 
way, including e.g. KMail (which I'm typing this email in). When using emacs, 
I have to switch my mental model from "normal GUI application" to "Emacs GUI" 
and still often misclick due to Emacs' behaving differently from other GUI 
applications.

That being said, if there's wide opposition of this being included in Emacs, 
I'll maintain it as a downstream patch as Emacs' current default behavior, to 
me, is unacceptable.