Duplicating a block does not attach it to the mouse pointer

[NoMod-Programming]

This is the default behavior in scratch 1.4 & 2.0, and makes it much easier to program, especially with large scripts, as the position of the duplicated blocks can get confusing to some users.

[tmickel]

@rachel-fenichel This seems like it would require a little bit of refactoring of how drags work, maybe. Any thoughts?

[towerofnix]

Just dispatch the dragstart event on the new duplicated block? (Assuming HTML5 drag and drop.)

[rachel-fenichel]

Is the only way to duplicate a block through the right click menu?

[towerofnix]

In Scratch 2.0 you can also use the duplicate tool, it looks like a stamper in the toolbar.

[rachel-fenichel]

@liam4: thanks for the fast response! Is there any way to duplicate a block mid-drag? For instance, Blockly has keyboard shortcuts for this as well.

[sbgp-review]

We'll also need to consider how this works on tablets where there is no
cursor.

On Wed, Jun 15, 2016 at 12:46 PM, rachel-fenichel notifications@github.com
wrote:

@liam4 https://github.com/liam4: thanks for the fast response! Is there
any way to duplicate a block mid-drag? For instance, Blockly has keyboard
shortcuts for this as well.

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[towerofnix]

Just happened to post our posts at the same time :)

In the paint editors you can hold down shift when using the duplicate tool to make it so that after you've placed down a shape it'll still have the same shape in its hand (a copy). It doesn't look like the same functionality works for blocks (or sprites, for that matter).

[NoMod-Programming]

@sbgp-review It seems that there might need to be different behavior depending on the type of grammar used. In vertical grammar, it would make sense to attach the block to the mouse pointer when it is duplicated, and this is the case in earlier versions of scratch. However, in horizontal grammar, because the blocks are smaller, and because it is geared towards a touchscreen, it would make more sense to just have the block placed like it currently is.

[rachel-fenichel]

Scratch 2.0 behaviour: if you use the duplicate tool it creates a new block slightly down and to the right of the old block. It does not attach to the mouse pointer for a drag.

If you right click on a block and click "duplicate", it will duplicate and attach to the mouse pointer. It will follow the mouse pointer until you click again.

This is interesting because you don't have to have the mouse clicked at all times during a drag. That is, drags always happen with a sequence of mouseDown (pickup), mouseMove, mouseMove, mouseMove, mouseUp (drop).

To have the scratch behaviour we need the drag to be mouseMove, mouseMove, mouseDown (drop), mouseUp (do nothing).

Still looking into how hard this is.

[tmickel]

@rachel-fenichel If you happen to touch this code when doing the mouse/touch refactors, might be worth considering :)