Open Radar

 
Summary: It is no longer possible to select multiple non-contiguous ranges of files when viewing the contents of a folder as a List in the Finder.

Steps to Reproduce: Open a folder containing many files. View as List. Click and drag to select a range of files. Hold down the command key and click and drag to select a second additional range of files.

Expected Results: The second range of files, designated by the second click-and-drag action, is added to the selection.

Actual Results: The Finder interprets the second click-and-drag action as a copy/move action.

Regression: N/A.

Notes: Up until recent version of Mac OS X, it was possible to select multiple non-contiguous ranges of files. In List view, as Icon view, clicking and dragging in the white space around the files allowed one to select files with a selection marquee. By holding down the command key and starting the click-and-drag action in the white space, one could select a second (or third, etc.) range of files to be added to the initial selection. Unfortunately, now the Finder interprets clicks in the white space as clicks on the file. This means that the Finder cannot unambiguously distinguish between click-and-drag actions intended to select a range of files, and click-and-drag actions intended to copy or move the current selection of files.

Command-click-and-drag could still allow two different actions, if the original marquee selection method were brought back to List view, and if clicks on the white space around files were distinguished from clicks on the files in List view (as it is in Icon view).