Pressing AltGr while typing a text with the Text tool should not switch to the Dropper tool

[crossrulz]

Discussed in #509

^{Originally posted by raphschru March 4, 2026}
On an AZERTY keyboard, when writing text using the "Text" tool from the palette, if I press AltGr to type alternate characters such as ~#{[|`^@]}, it switches to the "Dropper" tool, just like Ctrl does. At least while typing text with the Text tool, pressing AltGr should not switch to the Dropper tool. I think it also applies to QWERTZ keyboards (actually whatever keyboard layout that requires pressing AltGr to type alternate characters).

[svelderrainruiz]

I can do this

[svelderrainruiz]

i was able to reproduce the dropper appearing on the icon editor when pressing alt gr using a QWERTY keyboard (that has an alt gr key) by switching my keyboard layout from ENG US to ENG INTL.

After switching to ENG US, alt and alt gr behaved the same way (not showing the dropper).

[svelderrainruiz]

alt gr fires 2 separate events that end up calling key down, Key down Ctrl, then Key down Alt. Other keys fire the event structure once. I will mark the #531 as draft to see if i can do something like a state machine with a shift register. I suggest we add this topic to the next Steerco's agenda.

[crossrulz]

I started digging into this again. While in the typing mode of the text tool, the dropper tool cannot be accessed. If you just select the text tool and not click in the preview, you can get the dropper tool by holding the Ctrl key.

The actual problem comes from the case structure hierarchy in the KeyDown.vi. If the CTRL key is pressed, there is no path to apply a character. AND the Ctrl and NOT Alt in the KeyDown.vi is the simple fix here.

With respect to the two key down events, I don't think this is a problem. I would want some more feedback on this, but I don't see an issue with the Alt GR key activating the dropper when not in the typing mode.

[svelderrainruiz]

I started digging into this again. While in the typing mode of the text tool, the dropper tool cannot be accessed. If you just select the text tool and not click in the preview, you can get the dropper tool by holding the Ctrl key.

The actual problem comes from the case structure hierarchy in the KeyDown.vi. If the CTRL key is pressed, there is no path to apply a character. AND the Ctrl and NOT Alt in the KeyDown.vi is the simple fix here.

With respect to the two key down events, I don't think this is a problem. I would want some more feedback on this, but I don't see an issue with the Alt GR key activating the dropper when not in the typing mode. I will try to test on a real azerty keyboard just in case.

You were correct @crossrulz, Alt+GR double firing threw me on to a rabbit hole... i now used the simple fix you mentioned and confirmed it work for both Altgr and ctrl+alt on a keyboar that has alt gr available.

I ammended the commit from my forks feature branch, built the PPL and tested it, it is ready for review on #531