strange behavior when selecting multiple files/folders with shift in pantheon-files [$30]

[Eric Göpel]

When trying to select multiple files or folders in nautilus-files using "klick first file to select -> shift+klick last file to select" there's a strange behaviour.
It's not selecting files per name, it seems to do it 'geometrical', so its not selecting that you expect it to select.

Because of difficulty in explaining a screencast for you:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2lRaFHoTHleRXFrY3Q3VmZsUnc/view?usp=sharing

[swizzle (el-ferreira-deactivatedaccount)]

I can confirm i got the same bug some days ago.

[Ugur (vt.tty0)]

Same here.

[Jonathan Moerman (jonathanmoerman)]

It may be worth noting that this only happens in raster/icon view not in the 2 other views.

Two things seem to be going wrong:
- For the selection start point it does not always take the previous selected file. (I do have a double click setup here.)
- Selecting happens in the same way as selecting by mouse.

It used to work on the pantheon-files versions from before the big pantheon-files update (Partial rewrite / complete move to vala or something if i remember correctly).

I hope this behavior gets fixed soon, as it is inconsistent with every other application installed by default, including files itself (row/column).

[Eric Göpel (capstan)]

still there in final release!

[Jonathan Moerman (jonathanmoerman)]

Added a bounty: https://www.bountysource.com/issues/7840454-strange-behavior-when-selecting-multiple-files-folders-with-shift-in-pantheon-files

[Jeremy Wootten (jeremywootten)]

This behaviour is consistent with the other views if you regard the two click points as the beginning and end of a rubberband selection. However, other file managers behave differently so maybe it should be changed.

[Jonathan Moerman (jonathanmoerman)]

Some extra info: selecting a file using a mouse/touchscreen never updates the selection start.

[Jonathan Moerman (jonathanmoerman)]

I just applied your changes to 0.2.x, freya version, and it works like a charm.
Is there any chance that this fix will get published for freya as well?

[Jeremy Wootten (jeremywootten)]

Thanks for the positive feedback.

What usually happens is that after a fix is committed into the main trunk it stays there for wider testing for a while. When a new release of Freya is made it will include revisions which have been in trunk for long enough that we are reasonably confident they are stable. Once Loki is released I don't think Freya will be updated, but there could be another Freya release before then which could contain this fix. But that is ultimately up to the release manager (Cody Garver).