Right-Click Panning for Graph Canvas

[maninthemiddle01]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
When working with large graphs (Analysis -> Graphs), navigating the canvas can be a bit slow since movement is primarily tied to moving the scroll bars on the left and bottom.

Describe the solution you'd like
I would love to see a "Pan" feature: allowing the user to right-click, hold, and drag the white space to move the entire canvas smoothly.

Describe alternatives you've considered
I currently use the zoom (+/-) buttons and scroll bars to navigate, but a fluid panning motion would make exploring complex maps much more intuitive.

Additional context
Since right-clicking in empty space is already used for adding elements, adding a "hold-and-drag" motion for panning would be a natural and helpful addition.

[Salomon-Mazatlan]

Hello, @maninthemiddle01

In the current development version (4.0), a panning feature has already been implemented. You can activate it by pressing the middle mouse button (although the hand cursor is not yet displayed), or by holding down the Space bar, which allows you to move the canvas.

There is still a small bug: when creating a new graph, these panning functions may not work immediately. As a workaround, you can either zoom in/out or right-click and select Fit and Center. After that, panning should function normally.

It is also worth noting that panning is limited to the area occupied by the graph elements. This behavior is intentional and helps prevent infinite scrolling across empty space.

If you are using version 4.0 and this functionality is not working on your system, please let me know which operating system you are using so I can investigate further.

P.S. I'm currently working on a major update to the graph module. Several new features are being added, including a minimap to improve navigation within large graphs. These enhancements are still a work in progress, but they are actively being developed.

Kind regards,

[maninthemiddle01]

Dear @Salomon-Mazatlan thank you for your detailed reply. I see, there is a panning feature, but my hardware may not be suitable for this, bcs if I press space I cannot move the mouse and I unfortunately also dont have a middle mouse button.

I'm looking forward to see the new tools in yellow in the development version (4.0) :) Thank you very much

[Salomon-Mazatlan]

Hi, @maninthemiddle01

I will review the panning functionality as part of the work I'm currently preparing. I had not considered the possibility that some users may not have a mouse with a middle button, or that different laptop touchpads might make the current implementation less accessible.

Additionally, I should mention that the new graph features are still at the proposal and development stage. There are also some aspects of the live synchronization that need further improvement. For example, if you make a change in any coding module, the graph should automatically update to reflect those changes in real time. This functionality is still under development, and I have not yet completed that part.

Kind regards,

[ccbogel]

@Salomon-Mazatlan You have the time to do some amazing improvements.

[Salomon-Mazatlan]

You have the time to do some amazing improvements.

Thanks, @ccbogel

Although I think I will set aside the real-time synchronization feature for now in order to make faster progress on development.

By the way, during some tests with ATLAS.ti QDPX files, I managed to get network views imported into QualCoder. I have also achieved compatibility with ATLAS.ti's native project backup formats, including .atlcb files from ATLAS.ti 7 and .atlasti files from ATLAS.ti 26.