The current behaviour is atypical on Mac.
Steps to reproduce:
Select a file or folder in the left-hand navigator panel
Press the Enter key
A new file is created
Expected behaviour (based on Mac default behaviour in similar environments):
Select a file or folder in the navigator panel
Press the Enter key
The current file or folder enters rename mode, with the file name highlighted
This is very unexpected behaviour on this platform, and results in the creation and deletion of many new, unnamed files, which are not easy to get rid of. It takes many clicks to be able to reverse this unnatural scenario, get back to normal (because âundoâ also doesnât undo this action), and finally get back to the intended behaviour.
This is very frustrating to a user expecting the default OS behaviour, because it creates many steps to remedy. Itâs not easily learnt, also, because every other native app works this way.
E: If the intent was to make it easy to create a new file, Iâd highly recommend moving that action to shift+Enter, or cmd+Enter, or something similar. It honestly seems that creating a new file isnât the most common function from the tree, which is why the OS and other apps donât default to that.
Well, except for the fact that Scrivener is an outliner and not a file manager, and within the outliner software realm (on any platform), pressing Enter to make a new line in the project/document/file/etc is entirely normal and standard⊠we did anticipate some people might try to treat Scrivener more like a file manager anyway.
Go into Scrivener âž Settings and in Behaviors: Return Key, disable Creates new item in list, outline and corkboard views.
By the way the keyboard approach for renaming is the Esc key (which still works even with the above setting).
It takes many clicks to be able to reverse this unnatural scenario, get back to normal (because âundoâ also doesnât undo this action), and finally get back to the intended behaviour.
Itâs not only the OS, but also other apps that use the OS standard, which is a standard for a reason. Iâve been a UX designer on this platform for 30 years, and I fully understand why these standards exist.
Deviating is fine if you have a really good reason to. In this case (also been using Scrivener for 10 years) it does not seem warranted. Iâd recommend doing usability research with specifically Mac users, but this feels more like either a Windows standard being ported to Mac or just a myopic design decision that hasnât really taken into account why the OS standards exist.
Yes, Iâm aware I can change my own defaults. Thatâs not my point.
I agree that shift+Return or command+Return should be enabled to create a new document (when the Return Key âCreates new itemâ is unchecked). When I unclick this box, I cannot discover a keyboard way to create a new file (since Return now renames the entry).
While Finder-like behaviour may be a standard in certain types of programs, it generally is not in programs where you build indented outlines and then flesh them out with long-form text somehow. The ideal there is toward speed of entry and ease of manipulation of the outline on par with how text would be edited in an editor itself.
I wouldnât necessarily agree this is as standard as you assert though. Enter is often using for loading or switching from a selection interface to an editing interface, such as in Notes, often with panels of a single window, but sometimes having the effect of loading a window.
For outlining, this is a standard that goes back decades, and if anything is more prevalent on the Mac than Windows within outliner software (I donât know of any OS file manager or overall system that uses outliner conventions that heavily, certainly not Windows, where F2 renames and Enter loads). But if youâre convinced itâs not, thatâs fine too, Iâm just letting you know what lineage the software comes from and why it works the way it does.
âN / Ctrl+N is the only dedicated keyboard way of doing it at that point. I wouldnât mind seeing a modified Enter behaviour to create new lines in the binder too, with it off.
macOS defaults to renaming the selected file when Return is pressed.
OmniFocus, OmniOutliner, mind-mapping programs, etc., default to creating new entries when Return is pressed. (Command+Return is used to rename the entry in OmniFocus.)
For that reason, Iâm happy that Scrivener includes the checkbox in Settings![1]
I tried several other programmes I have, and cmd+N seems to be the standard. Interestingly, that already seems to be the keyboard shortcut for this action in the Project menu (New Text) in Scrivener, too, so this action seems to have two shortcuts, which is even more nonstandard.
Iâd stick to cmd+N as the shortcut and allow Enter when focussed on the tree to do what it does everywhere else in the OS and in other native apps (rename).
E: clarification
E2: Is this possibly the result of allowing a few superusers to dictate design? Iâve encountered that before, and itâs really hard to resist, but it can easily compromise the experience of average users. Having two keyboard shortcuts kinda leads me to think that, especially when the main shortcut is actually the standard. I am not a superuser of this app (not a casual user either), and making new files doesnât seem to be the biggest use case for the tree, though I can see that being a major use case for superusers. Thatâs not an easy balance to strike.
cmd+delete does send items to the trash, but then you have to deal with the trash, which is more clicks. Yes, you can delete the trash in bulk, but if youâve been sending things there other than obvious mistakes, itâs more work to go through.
No matter how you look at it, this creates more work.
Renaming is a huge use case. You create new files, yes, but a lot of writing is restructuring, moving things, and renaming files. You make new files on purpose and on occasion, but then spend lots of time editing, moving, and renaming things. Writing is usually 10% of a project, with editing and restructuring being 90% of your time (unless youâre writing short things or donât care).
I certainly agree that restructuring is a huge fraction of the total time. I donât spend much time worrying about the names of things until Iâm fairly confident in the final structure, though.
