Annoyed by Sticky Drop Down Menus? Find Out Why They're Not Going Away!

  • Thread starter Stephen Tashi
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In summary: I have to move my cursor over it to click on something. Why is it necessary to make the box open if my cursor is on it for a fraction of a second? Can't it just open when I click? It's a small change but it would make a big difference.In summary, many users find the drop down menus on the website to be irritating and in the way. They often open without being clicked on and can be difficult to close. Some suggest making them active only on click or increasing the delay time for them to open. Others feel that this feature is unnecessary and only serves to aggravate users. A small change to require a click to open the drop down menus would greatly improve efficiency and user experience.
  • #36
jim hardy said:
don't know how to find out resolution.
Right click on the desktop, Jim... if you have open windows, minimize them... you should see:

Screen resolution.JPG


​
 
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  • #37
Click "Screen resolution", and you will get something like this, probably with only one monitor, though...

Screen resolution(1).JPG
 
  • #38
Thanks ocr
1366 X 768

been testing those buttons. Seems so long as mouse is moving, however slowly, they don't actuate. But stopping for just an instant triggers them.
With this laptop touch pad , how smooth is the mouse motion depends on how dried out are my fingertips.
Right now I've been working with solvent so my fingertips are dried out and lightly epoxied. They slide quite smoothly.
So i can move the mouse with good control.
When they're not so frictionless they skip rather than slide
Early this morning i could feel my fingertips skipping across the pad instead of sliding, probably making brief stops between skips..
And the buttons were aggravating.
I think that's why i assumed Greg had changed something. Instead it was my fingertips that changed.

It shouldn't require a 'Suzanne Farrel' level of grace to navigate past those buttons. What algorithm decides when to open them? I think it needs longer "stopped" time.

Will fire up the desktop and try that optical mouse.don - I once bought from a thrift shop a big paper grocery bag full of mice, for a dollar. Must've been fifty of them in there.
When Windows got too much i'd just smash one.
 
  • #39
jim hardy said:
don - I once bought from a thrift shop a big paper grocery bag full of mice, for a dollar. Must've been fifty of them in there.
When Windows got too much i'd just smash one.
OMG...he was killing poor little mice! Then I realized they were not living mice. :rolleyes:
 
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  • #40
jim hardy said:
don - I once bought from a thrift shop a big paper grocery bag full of mice, for a dollar. Must've been fifty of them in there.
When Windows got too much i'd just smash one.
Perfectly understanding. I'm just hoping, for me, that it doesn't escalate to display smashing.

Save my monitor Greg. :angel:
 
  • #41
Evo said:
OMG...he was killing poor little mice! Then I realized they were not living mice. :rolleyes:

If you swing them by the cord over your head like an axe, they shatter against the floor and parts fly .
I hung them on the cubicle wall , grouped by the triggering program.

Microsoft Word was far and away responsible for the most mousicides -
have they yet made their control characters visible like WordPerfect?

WYSIWhat you can only wish You'dGet

Back on topic - I've had maybe ten inadvertent dropdowns this hour. Getting used to them.
But - search on "danger of repressed rage"
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/03/u...-dangers-of-repressing-emotional-turmoil.html
''Repressers tend to be rational and in control of their emotions,'' Dr. Weinberger said. ''They see themselves as people who don't get upset about things, who are cool and collected under stress. You see it in the competent surgeon or lawyer who values not letting his emotions shade his judgment.''

The represser's calm is bought at a great price. Recent reports have linked a repressing personality to a higher risk for asthma, high blood pressure and overall ill health.
ignoring buttons again, got to close and reopen browser to preview or post.
 
  • #42
jim hardy said:
Back on topic - I've had maybe ten inadvertent dropdowns this hour. Getting used to them.
I'm still confused how this is happening because if you keep the mouse moving through the navigation, the menus won't trigger.
 
  • #43
Greg Bernhardt said:
I'm still confused how this is happening because if you keep the mouse moving through the navigation, the menus won't trigger.
If you keep moving fast, they won't open, if you move them slowly they will open because it considers it a hover.
 
  • #44
Greg Bernhardt said:
From my experience and as shown in my video below it doesn't need to be fast. It just needs to be moving. The second the cursor stops it will trigger the menu.

Wish I could show you a video of me moving the cursor, it doesn't stop, but the drop downs open. My cursor is moving slowly because I have my hand on my mouse and it's just slowly drifting.
 
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  • #45
Evo said:
If you keep moving fast, they won't open, if you move them slowly they will open because it considers it a hover.
From my experience and as shown in my video below it doesn't need to be fast. It just needs to be moving. The second the cursor stops it will trigger the menu.

 
  • #46
Evo said:
Wish I could show you a video of me moving the cursor, it doesn't stop, but the drop downs open. My cursor is moving slowly because I have my hand on my mouse and it's just slowly drifting.
Are you using IE?
 
  • #47
The cursor doesn't stop, maybe slight jerkiness of the move registers a stop? I've just decided to make sure my cursor is never near the area now unless I mean to open something.

I'm using Chrome.
 
  • #48
Greg Bernhardt said:
The second the cursor stops it will trigger the menu.
there's the trouble.

What is the graininess of cursor position? How is motion detected ?
Make it a whole second maybe even 3/4 and i'll bet complaints disappear.
 
  • #49
jim hardy said:
there's the trouble.
Watch my video above. Just don't stop the cursor. Passing through the navigation shouldn't be a problem as my videos show.
 
  • #50
greg you have how many people telling you it's a problem ?

take off your IT hat for a shift
 
  • #51
jim hardy said:
greg you have how many people telling you it's a problem ?
I've tried with IE11, FF, and Chrome using your screen resolution and was able to pass through navigation without problem while moving the cursor slowly.

I will continue to consider your request, but to be honest, I like the responsiveness. Makes my functioning and moving around much quicker.
 
  • #52
jim hardy said:
greg you have how many people telling you it's a problem ?
Evidently not enough. I think it's poll time.
 
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  • #53
All with the oldies: I "work" on two 24" screens and am so long winded I have to scroll up and down the editor almost all the time. A lot of juggling to use buttons at top and at bottom. And the mouse wheel grabing the wrong scrollbar is understandable. The (...) stickiness isn't. Most software let's the rolled down menus disappear when you move out.

--
 
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  • #54
They're still really frustrating when trying to make or edit a sizeable post, screen just isn't tall enough and 'my pf' has a hair trigger.

How about a button in upper left that toggles them off/on ?
 
  • #55
jim hardy said:
They're still really frustrating when trying to make or edit a sizeable post, screen just isn't tall enough and 'my pf' has a hair trigger.

How about a button in upper left that toggles them off/on ?
*Secretly high fives Jim for bringing it up again*
 
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  • #56
Evo said:
*Secretly high fives Jim for bringing it up again*
Secretly seconding (or thirsting...) :smile:
 
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  • #57
I hate mouse over drop downs. Especially the sticky ones.

I use Fire Fox with NoScript. By forbidding scripts for physicsforums.com while reading posts offline, I have no problems with the menu drop downs. However, when I want to post, I do need to enable physicsforums.com and physicsforums-bernhardtmediall.netdan-ssl.com to get better functionality. This works out great for me since I do not do a lot of posting. The forum works quite well without scripts, if all you want to do is read. Images, videos and emoticons still work.
 
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  • #58
Nice that turtle digs under the hood! Must be Greg has a really slow XT286 in posts #49 and #51

Mine is real fast and the menus only pull up if I click (sic!) in this not-so-wide band where my pf & co reside...

[edit] correction: onder some unspecified conditions only! After posting this one, clicking to make disappear can be in the remainder of the window, too ...o_O
 
  • #59
... but, what's really annoying? Spending however long with "Q-Search toilet paper" stuck to the right margin scroll browsing, and when you want "Forums" to pop-up and stick? "Sticky" gets bashful/coy and hesitates --- looks like the connection's lost.
 
  • #60
I use the hover-over feature on the first post preview in the discussion list a lot and today was the first time that the LaTeX equation images appeared, albeit it took a little time, which I assume is because of the MathJax server. Has this always been an available feature or have I just not waited long enough? And I was also wondering if the hover time causing this "Stickyness" thread has any part in the LaTeX rendering? I do like that part of hovering. +1
 
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  • #61
It is really annoying when something intended to make it easier is making it so much more difficult.
The menus that drop down, remind me of weeds that pop up, and then are deliberately made hard to kill.

If a drop down menu is activated at the wrong time, for any reason, there should be a cancel at the bottom of the list, or the drop down menu should deactivate on leaving the area.

If I want a drop down menu I will click on it.
How do I turn off the “sensitive to hover” option ?
 
  • #62
Baluncore said:
If a drop down menu is activated at the wrong time, for any reason, there should be a cancel at the bottom of the list, or the drop down menu should deactivate on leaving the area.

It's not a completely satisfactory solution, but my cardiologist was able to stand down when I learned that the dropdown is dismissed by clicking in the empty area to the right of the big "Physics Forums" title at the top left. I've decided to pretend that that white area is the cancel button that ought to be at the bottom of the dropdown, or the close/dismiss icon that ought to be at the top right.
 
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  • #63
Nugatory said:
by clicking in the empty area to the right of the big "Physics Forums" title at the top left.
Agreed, but having to go back to click on a neutral zone is a work around that needs urgent repair.

I see the hover feature as a controlling behaviour. My attention is being diverted by an unnecessary interruption. As my mouse travels back to PF from another window on another screen, it arrives at PF and can land anywhere. The trail shows me where it went, but by then I am blinded by a drop down menu. I should not have to go out of my way to recover from an over-sensitive feature. If it was a naughty child I would apply some discipline.
 
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  • #64
Does anyone know of something capable of killing the hover sensitive drop down menus. I can disable that if I need a menu.
I tried adblock plus but it can't see the menus.
 
  • #65
Baluncore said:
Does anyone know of something capable of killing the hover sensitive drop down menus?

I'm guessing Greg could do it. Not sure why he won't (or can't?).
 
  • #66
Problem solved. I have found a really good way to avoid those hover sensitive drop down menus. I click on the cross in the very top RH corner of the screen and then go do something more productive, such as moderate another forum. I seem to be spending less time on PF now. I guess there is an unconscious limit to the unnecessary annoyance I will tolerate.
 
  • #67
Baluncore said:
Agreed, but having to go back to click on a neutral zone is a work around that needs urgent repair.

Clicking a neutral zone is very quick and easy. Much faster than clicking a close button at the bottom.

Baluncore said:
Does anyone know of something capable of killing the hover sensitive drop down menus.

What screen resolution are you using? I think most people having trouble are using a very low screen resolution so the navigation takes up a much larger part of the screen. In this video I show how you can move through the navigation without it triggering.
https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/stickyness-of-drop-down-menus.799464/#post-5086670

LCKurtz said:
I'm guessing Greg could do it. Not sure why he won't (or can't?).

This is a not a standard setting I can tweak, so it's not trivial. Also part of me enjoys it.

Baluncore said:
I guess there is an unconscious limit to the unnecessary annoyance I will tolerate.

I am truly sorry to see you frustrated
 
  • #68
Goodbye.
 
  • #69
Baluncore said:
Goodbye.
Sorry to see you go. I'm also enormously annoyed by these popdowns that should have been pull-downs
 
  • #70
It is one thing swiping a tablet with a management finger, it is quite another preparing and providing intelligent and accurate answers to technical questions.

I run 4 screens. The control system monitors are on three, the bottom left is were I can work. All screens are 1920 x 1080. The problem I had often occurred when returning the mouse to the bottom left screen after handling a control event. The drop down minefield across the entrance was a real pain.

If the system is optimised for low resolution tablets, then only the users of low resolution tablets will use it. As I pointed out, avoidance has resolved the problem for me.
 

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