| name | DM Qt-Native Input Architecture |
| description | Architecture of the single-owner Qt-native input pipeline. Required reading before implementing the R-* tasks in todo_inputrefactor.md. |
DM Qt-Native Input Architecture
Background
The previous input system relied on a dual-pipeline: DMInputManager (a Qt event filter) handled state tracking and attempted to suppress FreeCAD UI, while Coin3D SoEvent callbacks (event_cb in DMBase) handled actual tool logic. This split ownership led to unresolvable conflicts, such as the impossibility of suppressing a FreeCAD context menu while simultaneously allowing Coin3D to see the right-click MouseButtonPress event naturally.
To fix this, Direct Modeling now uses a Single-Owner Qt-Native architecture, heavily inspired by complete UI-replacement add-ons like PieMenu.
Core Design Principles
-
Total Suppression via Qt:
When a DM tool is active, DMInputManager intercepts all relevant Qt events (MouseButtonPress, MouseButtonRelease, MouseMove, KeyPress, KeyRelease, ContextMenu, ShortcutOverride) and returns True to prevent them from propagating to FreeCAD or Coin3D.
-
Direct Dispatch:
Instead of waiting for a Coin3D event_cb, DMInputManager calls standard input methods on the active tool directly.
-
Standardized Coordinates:
All mouse positions are passed as native Qt Top-Left (x, y) coordinates. The old Coin3D Y-inversion hacks are removed. FreeCAD's native view.getRay(x, y) natively understands Qt coordinates.
Event Pipeline Flow
User Input (Qt Event)
│
▼
DMInputManager.eventFilter
│
├─► Unrelated Event? ──► return False (Let FreeCAD handle it)
│
├─► Update Global State (_last_qt_pos, modifiers, button states)
│
├─► Active Tool Exists?
│ │
│ ├─► Construct strict Qt event_dict:
│ │ { "Button": event.button(),
│ │ "Modifiers": event.modifiers(),
│ │ "Position": (event.pos().x(), event.pos().y()),
│ │ "Key": event.key() } (if keyboard)
│ │
│ ├─► Dispatch to Tool:
│ │ tool.on_mouse_press(event_dict)
│ │ tool.on_mouse_move(event_dict)
│ │ tool.on_key_press(event_dict) ... etc.
│ │
│ └─► return True (Swallows event completely, blocking native UI/Coin3D)
│
└─► No Active Tool?
└─► Handle global hotkeys (D, E) / Selection rays
└─► return False (Let FreeCAD operate freely)
Implementation Rules (for R-001 through R-005)
DMBase Interface
DMBase drops the self.view.addEventCallback(...) logic. It now implements:
def on_mouse_press(self, event_dict): pass
def on_mouse_release(self, event_dict): pass
def on_mouse_move(self, event_dict): pass
def on_key_press(self, event_dict): pass
def on_key_release(self, event_dict): pass
def on_context_menu(self, event_dict): pass
Right Clicks
Right clicks generate MouseButtonPress (Qt.RightButton) and subsequently ContextMenu events in Qt. DMInputManager intercepts both. The tool should typically execute its finish() logic on on_mouse_press when the button is Qt.RightButton. ContextMenu is purely intercepted and suppressed to avoid FreeCAD menus.
Modifier State
Always reliably tracked inside DMInputManager from KeyPress and KeyRelease events, accessible via DMInputManager.get_instance().is_shift_down(), etc. Do not trust instantaneous modifiers heavily.
Drag Pattern
Retains the QTimer polling pattern (DragTimerMixin), reading _last_qt_pos on update ticks, because real-time 3D ray-marching/rendering on every MouseMove event would stall the UI thread.
