Copying a selection out of messages doesn't work properly #9

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opened 2026-10-04 20:21:56 +00:00 by robocub · 1 comment

robocub commented

2026-10-04 20:21:56 +00:00

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Selecting part of someone's message and copying it doesn't work the way it does in Discord or a browser.

What the code does today

Desktop: the timeline is wrapped in a SelectionArea (room_timeline_widget.dart, around line 90), but its contextMenuBuilder returns an empty Container. So you can drag-select, but right-click shows no Copy menu; only Ctrl+C works, and nothing in the UI says so.
Mobile: there is no SelectionArea at all. The only option is "Copy" in the message menu, which copies the whole message (timeline_event_menu.dart, plainTextBody). You can't copy part of a message.
The timeline is a lazily-built, reversed list. Flutter selections that span many messages tend to break when items scroll out and get disposed, and can pull in sender names, timestamps or reactions. Needs checking.

Needed

Which platform, and what exactly goes wrong: no menu, nothing copied, wrong text copied, or selection jumps or vanishes?

Likely fixes

Desktop: a real context menu with Copy (and Select all in this message) when a selection exists.
Mobile: long-press to select within a message, via a per-message selectable region, with the system Copy toolbar. Keep the long-press message menu reachable, for example through a separate gesture or a menu entry.
Multi-message selections copy clean text: message bodies only, one per line, optionally prefixed with the sender, no UI chrome.

Acceptance

On Linux, Windows and Android you can select a few words inside a message, copy them, and paste exactly those words elsewhere.

Filed with LLM assistance. This is a fork-only issue; never refile it on Commet's tracker.

## Report Selecting part of someone's message and copying it doesn't work the way it does in Discord or a browser. ## What the code does today - **Desktop:** the timeline is wrapped in a `SelectionArea` (`room_timeline_widget.dart`, around line 90), but its `contextMenuBuilder` returns an empty `Container`. So you can drag-select, but **right-click shows no Copy menu**; only Ctrl+C works, and nothing in the UI says so. - **Mobile:** there is no `SelectionArea` at all. The only option is "Copy" in the message menu, which copies the **whole** message (`timeline_event_menu.dart`, `plainTextBody`). You can't copy part of a message. - The timeline is a lazily-built, reversed list. Flutter selections that span many messages tend to break when items scroll out and get disposed, and can pull in sender names, timestamps or reactions. Needs checking. ## Needed - [ ] Which platform, and what exactly goes wrong: no menu, nothing copied, wrong text copied, or selection jumps or vanishes? ## Likely fixes 1. Desktop: a real context menu with Copy (and Select all in this message) when a selection exists. 2. Mobile: long-press to select within a message, via a per-message selectable region, with the system Copy toolbar. Keep the long-press message menu reachable, for example through a separate gesture or a menu entry. 3. Multi-message selections copy clean text: message bodies only, one per line, optionally prefixed with the sender, no UI chrome. ## Acceptance On Linux, Windows and Android you can select a few words inside a message, copy them, and paste exactly those words elsewhere. --- _Filed with LLM assistance. This is a fork-only issue; never refile it on Commet's tracker._

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2026-10-04 20:21:56 +00:00

robocub referenced this issue from a commit

2026-10-04 21:28:17 +00:00

feat: "Copy selection" in the desktop message menu (#9, desktop half)

robocub commented

2026-10-04 23:31:53 +00:00

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Desktop half implemented on branch feat/desktop-copy-selection (8bc2862), CI green, not merged: when text is selected, the right-click message menu's first item is Copy selection. Mobile (partial selection inside a message) is still open, and the needs-info question stands: which platform is the reported problem on?

Filed with LLM assistance.

Desktop half implemented on branch `feat/desktop-copy-selection` (8bc2862), CI green, not merged: when text is selected, the right-click message menu's first item is **Copy selection**. Mobile (partial selection inside a message) is still open, and the needs-info question stands: which platform is the reported problem on? --- _Filed with LLM assistance._

robocub referenced this issue from a commit

2026-10-05 20:20:09 +00:00

feat: "Copy selection" in the desktop message menu (#9, desktop half)

robocub referenced this issue

2026-10-05 21:03:22 +00:00

Automated testing roadmap #46