Single-click or double-click in lists to start an action?

[KellyLynch]

This is question about usability.

I develop a Windows application (standalone, not Web) that contains, partially, several list controls. The controls display some type of objects. Using such control a user browses set of available objects, then he double clicks on an object to start corresponding task. Pretty usual.



I think about replacing the double click with single click in these lists:


- when user puts cursor on the item the cursor becomes ‘hand with index finger, and the item becomes highlighted ;

- single click performs action that required double click before;

- double click will lead to the same action as single click;
Well, this is close to usual mode ‘Single-click to open an item’ that Windows uses for Windows Explorer since 1998.



Me personally like single-click mode more than double-click. I have feeling that last 10 years the ‘single-click mode’ replaces the old ‘double-click mode’ while working with lists/tables. Example: Control Panel in Win7. It has single-click mode (I mean All Control Panel Items level) even when ‘Double-click to open an item’ mode is set in Folder Options.



Can someone provide any statistics that proves (or disproves) this my conclusion?

[boudino]

For browsing is single-click acceptable, but for staring action I would prefer double-click. What about if the action is something destructive? There should be more effort to start it than change focused item in the list.

[KellyLynch]

No, in my situation an active cannot be 'destructive' or just 'taking too much time to react on Stop signal'.