Helm: Add mouse selection support

[ghost]

For example: I'd like to be able to do (helm-buffers-list) and click on the name or row of the buffer I want to go to.

Bonus points for opening in dired (or eshell) the directory of the (in `directory') part if I click on that specific part of the row.

[thierryvolpiatto]

Please use the keyboard, we are in emacs...

[ghost]

I do use the keyboard for everything, and I'm a long-time helm user. But, usability-wise, it's a bug, as it's a menu item and I can't click on it. Other non-emacs IDEs can do it, along with every online search-generated drop-down. Similar to how you can change or get info on items in the mode-line via clicking on them, it should be expected that you'd be able to select a helm menu item via mouse. It would also be a huge usability increase over the other emacs completion systems.

More philosophically, the emacs principle is not "no mouse", it's "however much mouse you want, which may, and usually does, mean zero".

[michael-heerdegen]

Implementing such stuff is often hairy, and the code is hard to nurse.

For me, the question is not whether we should avoid using the mouse (I myself do use the mouse a lot in Emacs), but whether it's that useful in helm to have mouse selection. Do you really _need_ it, GNRC, or do you just say it _should_ be there? I'm not convinced it would be worth the work and trouble.

[ghost]

Like I said, I'm perfectly happy using just the keyboard. I just noticed a few times recently that I'd absent-mindedly used the mouse to click on a menu item, and been a little peeved in the split-second that I figured out what was going on. It's definitely a longer-term thing, in the name of minimizing frustration for the noobs and in the name of shoehorning more lisp machine features into emacs (everything is clickable and/or right-clickable). But, assuming it was possible, where would you start?

[thierryvolpiatto]

GNRC [email protected] writes:

Like I said, I'm perfectly happy using just the keyboard. I just noticed a few times recently that I'd absent-mindedly used the mouse to click on a menu item, and
been a little peeved in the split-second that I figured out what was going on. It's definitely a longer-term thing, in the name of minimizing frustration for the
noobs and in the name of shoehorning more lisp machine features into emacs (everything is clickable and/or right-clickable). But, assuming it was possible, where
would you start?

Read the manual about input events.

As a starting point, here a function bound to mouse-1 to allow selecting
a candidate in helm (not fully working with multiline candidate, and not
fully tested anyway, expect other problems):

(defun helm-mouse-1-exit-minibuffer (click)
(interactive "e")
(mouse-set-point click)
(helm-mark-current-line)
(helm-exit-minibuffer))
(define-key helm-map (kbd "") 'helm-mouse-1-exit-minibuffer)

You will have to add also in `helm-insert-match':

(put-text-property start (point-at-eol) 'mouse-face 'highlight)

It is facultative though.

Don't expect me to introduce this in helm, it will cause many bugs and
give me a lot of work for something I consider unuseful.

Thierry
Get my Gnupg key:
gpg --keyserver pgp.mit.edu --recv-keys 59F29997

[ralesi]

With the changes referenced, is it possible to get mouse click working again? Looks like we override all mouse bindings now in helm-internal

[thierryvolpiatto]

Rich Alesi [email protected] writes:

With the changes referenced, is it possible to get mouse click working
again?

No, no mouse in helm.

Thierry
https://emacs-helm.github.io/helm/

[sboosali]

has this feature been provided? my recently installed helm ignores all mode clicks. if it has, and it's bug, i'll add information to reproduce (but I wanted to check before doing so).

if it hasn't, removing a whole mode of input (the mouse) decreases accessibility. this is blocking me from using helm.

[thierryvolpiatto]

Spiros Boosalis [e-mail] writes:

has this feature been provided?

Yes, a minimal support for mouse is provided when helm-allow-mouse is
non nil, it is nil by default (disabled).

--
Thierry

[Compro-Prasad]

The mouse just selects and doesn't execute any action.

[thierryvolpiatto]

Please read the documentation about Mouse usage (C-h m from any helm session).

[Compro-Prasad]

Thanks that helped. But I would prefer to execute the default action without a second click.

[thierryvolpiatto]

Compro Prasad [e-mail] writes:

Thanks that helped. But it I would prefer to execute the default action without a second click.

When I implemented mouse support in Helm I asked myself the same, but I
finally opted for what we have actually which covers all use cases.

--
Thierry