Double click is a shortcut

John Gruber mentioned in passing that people are confused about when to double-click and when not to. It's true, but that doesn't just apply to users. I've seen many application developers not knowing (or simply not caring) about when to use a double-click, and when not to.

The simple matter of the fact is: Double-clicks are a shortcut.

Look at the Finder: A single click selects an object. A double click opens it. A double click here is simply a shortcut for a single click ("select this item") plus the most common menu item used on this item ("File" -> "Open").

Many users are simply never taught that this is why to double-click. Many think "Files are always double-clicked".

In the dock, you can't select an item. So, a single click already triggers an action.

I won't count minimizing windows by double-click here. Why? Because it's actually a historic feature. Back in System 7, you couldn't minimize windows. There was a title bar with a close button and a zoom button. Someone wrote a nice extension called "WindowShade" that rolled up a window into a title bar. Since they couldn't add a widget to every window, and single clicks already dragged the window, they just decided to use a double click. When that extension got rolled into the system with System 7.5, the shortcut stayed, and never got removed, even after MacOS 8 added the collapse box widget.

I don't know why this feature even still is in OS X. We have a "minimize" widget taking up valuable screen real estate. Why even leave something like that in? So many newbies accidentally trigger this and wonder where their window has gone.

Reader Comments: (RSS Feed)

Jens Ayton writes: Once upon a time, the double-click-as-a-shortcut thing went hand in hand with the idea that single-clicking in data was for selection, except in tool-based apps. It seems to me that this relatively clean model was brutally murdered by the advent of the web browser, where the distinction between data and controls is often unclear and what happens when you click somewhere is essentially random.

Eric writes: I often wonder what the use of the minimize function is since I never actually use it intentionally, preferring spaces or hiding. When it does happen, it is because of an accidental double click on the title bar or the minimize button. I wish I could turn it off completely.

Steven Fisher writes: Isn't the default for the double click minimize OFF?

Uli Kusterer replies: ★ Steven, last I checked it wasn't. But that may have changed in the meantime. I always go through the prefs to set up a few standard things, so I might not have noticed it was already right.

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