Allow users to disable Ctrl+click behaviour on address bar

nick29

I frequently copy and paste URLs from the address bar, and lately I keep running up against the (new?) Vivaldi feature whereby holding Ctrl while clicking on the address bar causes the URL to update (removing the part of the path that comes after where you click the mouse) and then triggers navigation to the updated URL.

It's a frustrating behaviour because when quickly copying URLs via Ctrl-A / Ctrl-C I've got into the habit of pre-emptively holding down Ctrl before I click the address bar so I can then quickly tap A ("select all") then C ("copy"), but now instead of the expected behaviour (select all on the URL and then copy), this causes me to navigate to a new (and often non-existent) URL.

I've only run into this recently, so I'm wondering if it's a new feature? It also seems to be Vivaldi-specific: I can't reproduce it in Firefox, Chrome, or Edge.

Either way, I find it annoying because (a) it forces me to slow down and (b) frequently causes me to unintentionally navigate away from the page whose URL I'm trying to copy.

It would be great to at least be able to disable it in Settings (personally I think it should be disabled by default, since it's so at odds with other browsers, but I'd be happy with the ability to disable it).

iAN CooG

I actually use this feature a lot but I see that it could be actually configurable, so here's my upvote.

Pesala

@nick29 Give us Command for Copy Page Address instead. Or, Copy Page Address on Tab Context Menu, which allows one to copy the address of background tabs.

Copy Page Address is already available on the page context menu, so you can save a lot of time if you can learn a new habit.

Context menus often lack access keys for some items, and Copy Page Address is one of them.

(VB-68978) Page Context Menu Missing Some Access Keys

The menu mock-up below would be better, but the keyboard only route suggested by nomadic is the best workaround for now.

nomadic

@nick29 If you want a workaround for now or you want to potentially speed up this action even more, you could make use of a keyboard shortcut.

The default shortcut for focusing the address bar is: Ctrl + L or F8

You can find this in: Settings → Keyboard → the Page expandable menu → Focus Address Field

That way you don't even need the mouse and can skip the Ctrl + A.

nick29

@Pesala said in Allow users to disable Ctrl+click behaviour on address bar:

Copy Page Address is already available on the page context menu, so you can save a lot of time if you can learn a new habit.

Hmm, it does perform the same function but it's not the same. I find keyboard faster and more comfortable than mouse (I work on my laptop mostly so I often don't have a mouse - just a touchpad). So for me a context menu is always slower than a keyboard shortcut, and so it wouldn't be an acceptable alternative. Thanks for pointing out that this is an option though!

rluik

Skip the Ctrl+A part. One click in the address field already selects it all by default.
Of course you could have the same problem with the Ctrl from Ctrl+C but I couldn't let it pass by that you need one less step.

nick29

@nomadic

The default shortcut for focusing the address bar is: Ctrl + L

Brilliant! Thanks for that - that's very useful to know, and you're right, it's better than what I was doing before.

I still think the Ctrl+click behaviour should be optional and ideally not the default, because it's both counter-intuitive (there's no reason to expect it) and different from all other browsers, and so it goes against expectations (and, in my case, muscle memory!) In the mean time this is really good to know though - thanks!

nick29

@rluik said in Allow users to disable Ctrl+click behaviour on address bar:

Skip the Ctrl+A part. One click in the address field already selects it all by default.
Of course you could have the same problem with the Ctrl from Ctrl+C but I couldn't let it pass by that you need one less step.

Thanks. Fair point, but tbh it's really the "pre-emptively pressing Ctrl as I click" part that's the problem: even if I get out of the habit of pressing Ctrl-A, I'll still run into this issue pressing Ctrl-C.

But also, I shouldn't have to think about this! These actions are muscle memory that I have from years and years of using lots of different browsers, and they've always worked fine in all browsers (including, I think, Vivaldi in the past) until now, when I keep having to remember to slow down in order to avoid accidentally navigating away from the page!

Pesala

@nick29 said in Allow users to disable Ctrl+click behaviour on address bar:

I shouldn't have to think about this!

One always has to relearn something when switching software. Someone switching from Vivaldi to another browser might complain about the lack of the go to parent folder feature.

Some say that it always good to have options, but I disagree. Software can quickly become harder to use overall because there are too many options, and after five years of supporting users on this forum I can confirm that that is so.

One seemingly tiny change, like the recent decision to remove the spacing above tabs in maximised windows by default may have put a stop to the questions about how to remove the space, but now we see questions about how to restore it.

iAN CooG

@Pesala said in Allow users to disable Ctrl+click behaviour on address bar:

One seemingly tiny change, like the recent decision to remove the spacing above tabs in maximised windows by default may have put a stop to the questions about how to remove the space, but now we see questions about how to restore it.

Whining about a one-time setting that once set can be forgotten for good? I'd dub whoever does that as an idiot, sorry for speaking frankly. Set your option as you prefer and shut up.

nick29

@Pesala said in Allow users to disable Ctrl+click behaviour on address bar:

One always has to relearn something when switching software. Someone switching from Vivaldi to another browser might complain about the lack of the go to parent folder feature.

Firstly, I'm not switching software: I've been using Vivaldi as my primary browser for several years. This is something that I've only run into recently, so I'm assuming it's a recent(ish) change to existing behaviour.

Secondly - as I mentioned in my original post - as far as I can see this behaviour doesn't exist in most other major browsers (I checked a few others before posting).

So this is a behaviour that goes against expectations and that can cause loss of work by triggering an unintentional / unexpected navigation away from the page. It's not a minor aesthetic issue.

Pesala

@nick29 said in Allow users to disable Ctrl+click behaviour on address bar:

I'm assuming it's a recent(ish) change to existing behaviour.

It has been a feature longer than I can remember.

This similar request to Disable the Breadcrumbs Ctrl+Click Feature is from December 2018.

nick29

Footnote: there's another aspect to this functionality that makes it even more frustrating. It slices URLs not just by "/" but also by "-" so if you click part-way along a URL that contains dashes (like this page does) it cuts off the end of the URL (eg. "allow-users-to-disable-ctrl-click-behaviour-on-address-bar" --> "allow-users").

I'm struggling to see any possible benefit to that functionality: it creates the possibility of a misclick taking you to a 404 (because in 99.9% of cases a URL sliced at a - is not going to take you anywhere useful) and potentially losing work on the page you were on.

mib2berlin

@eccles
The feature request got one up vote in two years, it seams nobody else need this.

Cheers, mib

bibbinut

I am not experiencing this particular issue at all whilst using the Ctrl + click behaviour on the address bar whilst using Vivaldi.

Am in IT and test and troubleshoot many different browsers on many different OSs on a daily basis.

LonM

Thank you for your request. As this post has had less than 5 votes over 4 years it will now be archived. You can make a new request if you feel it is still needed in the browser.