Tab order in the IDE new method

As I curse for the 300th time, I thought I would mention here one of the annoying things in the IDE
It’s trivial and so I have no hope of ever seeing it addressed given that there are so many more important issues to address, but it is this:

Add a method, change the name.
Then start trying to enter the parameters.
EVERY TIME, the IDE has whipped the focus over to the code editor, so Im typing away in the wrong space.
I cant find a way to make it go
Method name/ Parameters/ THEN code

Does it bother anyone else?

6 Likes

for me at windows 10 with 2021r3.1
if me add a method to a window and rename it right top and press enter the focus stay there
but it select all the text unwanted. focus could/should move over to parameters after enter optional.

I’m a tablet and touchpad person so I don’t really notice the focus. I find it more more annoying that the changes in the method nam/parameter area need a return.

Also they sometimes manage to get the cursor into both the code and the parameter field. That’s probably what is causing your problem.

1 Like

Don’t end your method names with an uppercase letter.

Maybe it’s different on a mac as I’ve seen a slightly different workflow.

Perhaps I should nominate it for the bugbash?

i never do

Yes, it is a shame to Tab Tab then move the mouse and click to startt coding.

I can’t say that I run into this any more. I know that the IDE did do this at one point, but it did get fixed.

When you finish typing the method name, what is the next thing you type? The TAB key should take you to Parameters, Return Type, Scope and the. The Code Editor.

On the Mac, I’ve not seen this problem for quite some time. Add a new method:

  • Focus is in the Method name.
  • Press tab
  • Focus is in the Parameters
  • Press tab
  • Focus is in the Return type
  • Press tab
  • Focus is in the scope popup
  • Press tab
  • Focus is in the code

Which all seems good to me.

Do we know what version it was fixed in?
I have many versions installed at the moment

2017r1 has an item:

#46801 IDE > Inspector Tab order when editing properties, methods, event declarations, etc. no longer sometimes gets lost.

Don’t know if that is it?

@Beatrix_Willius I can’t see that return is required in the latest version either. Enter text press tab or even just click out of the box, all works fine?

It is a SHAME the current shape of the IDE, it is not Keyboard accesible and the Tab order really sucks.

I have an “Issues” about that but…3+ years and never fixed.

But yes, this happens to me also, and not only that, this focus problem IS SO BAD that sometimes when adding an event handler and try to star writing code, focus went to the EVENT NAME… WTF, why xojo decided to have a hidden control to edit that? :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

On windows is a complete mess:

https://tracker.xojo.com/xojoinc/xojo/-/issues/53139

https://tracker.xojo.com/xojoinc/xojo/-/issues/69571

I would say it did that in 2022r1 and has been fixed in 2022r2. but not guaranted.

1 Like

I’m pretty confident that this wasn’t broken in 22r1. I would not have let us ship with that broken.

1 Like

I have to make a post in the testers channel about this.

Yes, it’s necessary to tab out of the field. That gets me now and then when I change the constant for the different versions of my app. When I forget to tab out of the constant field and immediately press run then I get the wrong version of the app.

I use every day xojo 2019r11 and the last version for a web 2 project I’m still working on.
I experimented all the “joys” of the early web 2, and noticed this strange “tab” behavior for months with the web 2. so i will extend this bug to the 2021 year also.
please note that this was not appearing all the time, but I don’t know, only in some modules. il was very painful, you had to use the mouse for every method creation.
but now it seems corrected, it did not appear for me recently.
may be xojo team did not detect it, because it didn’t appear , or too rarely, on their dev machines.

The issue with a method name ending with an upper case letter seems to be Windows only (or at least not macOS).

Just clicking out seems fine on Mac with the latest beta.

I’ve certainly had times when I’ve pasted something and then clicked or done something and the paste hasn’t stuck. I’ve never been able to reproduce it enough to report it. I’ve not noticed it for a while though.