[aidos]

More crucially, when did we lose the ability to click and hold on the first checkbox and then drag down the list to set them all the same way!

> 1982: Dragging through a field of check-boxes flips the state of the first and assigns the new state to all other boxes dragged through.

[earthnail]

On iOS you can swipe with two fingers to select multiple rows. One of the more hidden features. Mentioning it to show that we didn’t lose it everywhere.

[exiguus]

What comes close are multi-select patterns. Often drop-downs where you can use the ALT-Key or dragging to select one or more items. Basically the same as in your beloved file-explorer and the list view. To archive a select all, usually there is a "select all" checkbox.

[jfengel]

I don't know when I would use that. If that's something a user would do often I probably want some other design component.

In part it's because I don't like check boxes. They don't have great feedback about what's going to happen. If I designed a UI where someone is likely to check a lot of boxes, I would feel I had done something very wrong.

Sometimes it's unavoidable and so the framework might as well allow it. And as a user, designers often do things I wouldn't have. But I can say I don't miss having that feature.

[mewpmewp2]

Maybe when you have e.g. a list of items/pictures/datasets you want to select to perform some action with, e.g. download, export, or perform some bulk job on?

[jfengel]

With pictures I'd rather use select features: draw a box, shift click, etc.

File choosers usually do something like that, rather than a separate check box component. You select the icon rather than a check box near the icon, so it's slightly clearer what it is you want operated on.

Ideally you'd find other ways to narrow the list. A long list of items is a UX disaster waiting to happen. The more you can categorize your data beforehand, the better off you are. If you can make it all-or-nothing, you're less likely to mis-click.

[paradox460]

I really wish more file choosers would adopt both. Checkboxes are good for making complex, discrete selections that persist through accidental clicks. I can't tell you the number of times I've made a discrete selection of several items, only to lose it because the click misregisters on background instead of the icon

[yokljo]

Blender does this. It's sick.