Middle mouse button panning no longer works on maps...

Dang

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Marketplace Creator

One thing I did notice is that the "old" middle mouse button functionality is still, well, functional - outside the map area/plate - in the grey regions to the top and left, but for some reason not to the right or below.

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Domigorgon said: One thing I did notice is that the "old" middle mouse button functionality is still, well, functional - outside the map area/plate - in the grey regions to the top and left, but for some reason not to the right or below. Thanks for the tip Domigorgon! Just tested this, and this is true for me as well on Firefox. The map area, the blank/gray area on the right side of the map, and the blank/gray area below the map is still not functional as before, but you can indeed use the original panning function if you start outside the map on the left or top. Still hope that this crucial functionality is restored soon.

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Marketplace Creator

Devs, please, any word if this is in the pipeline?

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Domigorgon said: Devs, please, any word if this is in the pipeline? Ashton from the Roll20 Team stated a month ago Hey folks! Apologies on the delay for this fix and the impact on your games—it's tied into a few things we're working on at the moment. Rest assured that we're aware of it and hope to have a solution soon. I don't know whether the current functionality is what they call a fix, but I hope not.

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Sebwich

Pro

I really hope this gets fixed

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Ok something I hadn't really appreciated before, but now that I'm making new maps have become exceedingly annoying, is that you can't pan while doing drawing Dynamic Lighting lines! Seriously, this should have been fixed by now, and is beginning to be a disgrace that it hasn't. It is such a small, but crucial standard-feature, on EVERY bloody website on the web. We've had it for years on this very site, and now it's still broken going on near 3 months.

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Rick A.

Pro

I agree that this is very annoying. For some reason panning is possible on every layer EXCEPT the DL layer. Yes, I can use the scroll bars but I find that very clumsy; a very (early) 1990's way of moving around the screen. Kasper N. said: Ok something I hadn't really appreciated before, but now that I'm making new maps have become exceedingly annoying, is that you can't pan while doing drawing Dynamic Lighting lines! Seriously, this should have been fixed by now, and is beginning to be a disgrace that it hasn't. It is such a small, but crucial standard-feature, on EVERY bloody website on the web. We've had it for years on this very site, and now it's still broken going on near 3 months.

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Forum Champion

Marketplace Creator

API Scripter

Out of curiosity, what other websites use middle-button panning? I didn't think it was that common. (Not a challenge: I have been vocal and lobbying hard to have this fixed—there are apparently blockers. Just curious about the claims)

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keithcurtis said: Out of curiosity, what other websites use middle-button panning? I didn't think it was that common. Every other website on the entire internet that has scroll/panning bars, as far as I cal tell. You can test it out yourself very easily with the following method: Search for something on google Hold CTRL down and zoom in on the site with scroll wheel until both scroll bars are on the site (you can reset zoom level by holding down CTRL and pressing 0 "zero") Click middle mouse to see the functionality This mouse function is available on any site I've come across that have scroll bars, either vertical, horizontal, or both. When you click the middle mouse button (scroll wheel) once, a circle will appear with a dot in the middle, and arrows pointing in all the directions you can pan around on the given site, depending on your zoom level, site's size, or text formatting, with just moving around the mouse. This is the toggle-mode of that function. The other way is to hold the middle mouse button down, and you gain the same function, just it is temporary while you hold it down. I use it every day, on every site I visit.

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Forum Champion

Marketplace Creator

API Scripter

Hmm. I have never done that. I just tested, but could not duplicate this. Perhaps it is a Windows behavior, rather than a website behavior? FWIW, I googled "test", went to the Wikipedia page on "test", zoomed in until horizontal and vertical scroll bars were available. Middle click does not behave like this for me (on Mac). I'll test on ChromeOS later, but I don't have high hopes.

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Forum Champion

Marketplace Creator

API Scripter

Also FWIW, Middle click panning does work on Roll20's VTT for me, but with the same bug as everyone else.

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Maybe it is a PC functionality and not a Mac functionality. For me it works on every single site that has any type of scrollbar.

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Forum Champion

Marketplace Creator

API Scripter

Heh, since I have worked with Adobe products since the dawn of Adobe Products, the muscle memory of my fingers would be happy if the spacebar granted panning.

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Marketplace Creator

Doopty doopy doo. Bump.

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Domigorgon said: Doopty doopy doo. Bump. Thanks! Nearly forgot to do a bump :D

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Sebwich

Pro

Bump

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Sebwich said: Bump Already time for the weekly bump?! Time flies...

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Marketplace Creator

Hey, it's only been 3 months. I see on these forums people have been complaining about stuff for 10 years!

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Domigorgon said: Hey, it's only been 3 months. I see on these forums people have been complaining about stuff for 10 years! Well we're not complaining about a feature that was never there to begin with. We're just asking for a feature back, that inexplicably was removed, but is a crucial part of map making QoL, and a general, near-universal feature on websites (at least on PC). It worked for the entire time I have used this site, and then, BOOM, gone. Then we got the right-mouse functionality as a (hopefully) temporary fix, but it just isn't cutting it. I don't know about other people, but I'm going crazy that I have to switch between drawing tool and panning tool when drawing dynamic lighting lines. Before, I could just click the middle mouse button while drawing, to move around the map.

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Marketplace Creator

I started this topic here. Please go and vote for it, everyone.

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Domigorgon said: I started this topic here. Please go and vote for it, everyone. Done!

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Andrew Searles

Roll20 Team

Hey Folks, First let me say that I'm sorry this has been an issue for you all for so long. I can see how the loss of Auto Scroll (the ability jump into a mouse mode that continuously scrolls based on mouse movement), especially while making dynamic lighting shapes, is really frustrating. Making it easier to draw those dynamic lighting lines easier is something I'm really passionate about, but that's a different topic. For this issue, I'd love to provide some context and history. First, Auto Scroll was lost when we implemented a new backend rendering engine on the VTT. That rendering engine is called  Babylon.js . It is our hope that, eventually, this new rendering engine will get us new abilities that we didn't have before as well as improve the performance on the VTT. We planned to slowly implement this rendering engine over time as we start new work, allowing us to still focus on improvements while upgrading our "behind the scenes" tech. The first feature that used this rendering engine was the new Doors and Windows update which required the entire Dynamic Lighting layer to be rebuilt in Babylon.js and to lay on top of our previous rendering engine. But how does that effect Auto Scroll? I'm glad you asked! Auto Scroll is default browser and operating system functionality. Specifically, it works on Windows and Linux. That's why, if you're a windows user, it's available on every single website. Each website doesn't have to implement it, it just comes out-of-the-box for them.  BUT, because Babylon.js is now handling all of the input control in the application, the browser's default functionality no longer works out-of-the-box.  When we started to implement Babylon.js that's when we lost that functionality. The fix Ashton mentioned was us trying to give back the ability to pan with the middle mouse button. But, in order for us to fully support Auto Scroll functionality, we would have to rebuild it ourselves. We are still looking into the best solution for this. There are many other factors that we have to consider. Our first goal is to make sure that you can pan around the map while creating a polygon so that you don't loose the continuous shape you are trying to create. I know that this is not exactly what you want to hear, but I hope the extra context gives you a better understanding of how we're approaching this issue. Thanks again for keeping our eyes on this issue and giving us your feedback. If you'd like to talk with me directly, please feel free to schedule a time to chat with me! <a href="https://calendly.com/acsearles/auto-scroll-issue" rel="nofollow">https://calendly.com/acsearles/auto-scroll-issue</a>

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Thank you! This is the type of transparency that should give you a lot of backing and patience from your community (at least from me), rather than being more and more unhappy with the situation. Knowing the cause, and what steps are being made is great. It also gives us a way to understand why it hasn't been fixed yet. Remaking a functionality in a new engine isn't just a copy/paste job, and you need it to not only work with, but also not interfere with everything else. Again, thank you for letting us know. It is immensely appreciated.

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Adam Caramon

Pro

Kasper N. said: Thank you! This is the type of transparency that should give you a lot of backing and patience from your community (at least from me), rather than being more and more unhappy with the situation. Knowing the cause, and what steps are being made is great. It also gives us a way to understand why it hasn't been fixed yet. Remaking a functionality in a new engine isn't just a copy/paste job, and you need it to not only work with, but also not interfere with everything else. Again, thank you for letting us know. It is immensely appreciated. Agreed! Thanks for providing all of that context Andrew - great to see that a Roll20 staff member is pulling back the curtain a bit and explaining their decision-making rather than just keeping the userbase in the dark and ignoring questions.  I hope this level of transparency continues. -Adam

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Rick A.

Pro

Add my thanks as well! This type of response can generate an unbelievable amount of goodwill among members who have been frustrated by some of what has been happening (or not happening) on this site. Adam Caramon said: Kasper N. said: Thank you! This is the type of transparency that should give you a lot of backing and patience from your community (at least from me), rather than being more and more unhappy with the situation. Knowing the cause, and what steps are being made is great. It also gives us a way to understand why it hasn't been fixed yet. Remaking a functionality in a new engine isn't just a copy/paste job, and you need it to not only work with, but also not interfere with everything else. Again, thank you for letting us know. It is immensely appreciated. Agreed! Thanks for providing all of that context Andrew - great to see that a Roll20 staff member is pulling back the curtain a bit and explaining their decision-making rather than just keeping the userbase in the dark and ignoring questions.  I hope this level of transparency continues. -Adam

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Marketplace Creator

Agreed. Thank you for providing some clarity, if not an outright solution. I sympathize with the difficulty of switching to a new rendering engine, but I also hope you eventually restore some form of quicker (and less janky) panning/scrolling, however you do it.

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Andrew Searles

Roll20 Team

Hey folks, I know it took a while, but you can now pan while holding down the middle mouse (scroll wheel). This is not the Auto Scroll feature that some of you are very much missing, but my hope is that this will get everyone past the blocker where they can't pan while making polygon shapes. For the Auto Scroll feature, I do not have a timeline for when we would add that base browser feature back for everyone. I'm sorry that might not be what you want to hear. If you'd like to talk about it and why we can't prioritize that right now, here is a link to my calendar. I'm very open to talking about it and I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions.  <a href="https://calendly.com/acsearles/auto-scroll-issue" rel="nofollow">https://calendly.com/acsearles/auto-scroll-issue</a> Thanks again for your feedback, it helps make Roll20 better.

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Good to hear Andrew! Just tested, and can confirm that I can pan while making polygon lines (I'm on PC using Firefox, in case this doesn't work for everyone). That's at least a very important part of the functionality restored. The rest of the Auto Scroll is a convenience/accessibility function of not having to hold down the the middle mouse button, and I can personally live without it, though it might still be an issue for people with diminished finger-functionalities. I'm sure this issue will be fixed in the future, but at least making polygons (especially dynamic lighting on big maps), is no longer an issue.

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Marketplace Creator

You still can't pan while using Fog of War tools, though. Meh.

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Domigorgon said: You still can't pan while using Fog of War tools, though. Meh. Good point. Never use that myself, so wasn't something I checked.

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Andrew Searles

Roll20 Team

Domigorgon said: You still can't pan while using Fog of War tools, though. Meh. Oh man, sorry we missed that. I've created another ticket and we'll see what we can do to fix that.

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