Selecting a label with Shift+Click doesn't work

Question

Shift+Click when pointer is over a label selects the shape enclosing a label.

Double clicking on the label selects it, but I can't move it:

It was more intuitive the last time I used it, years ago. I have to move the label, because it's not being centered when I add it:

Fixed the problem. The default label placement is "Smart Free", which doesn't behave smart, IMHO. Changing it to "Internal" fixes the problem with label placement.

Answer 1

Double-clicking a label will start yEd's inline label text editor and said editor cannot be moved.

If you want to select a label inside a node, you need to CTRL+click on the label. CTRL+click "cycles" the selection through all items under the mouse cursor (not only labels).

For completeness sake, I would also like to mention that SHIFT+click expands the selection. I.e. if you select one node and SHIFT+click another node, the second node will be selected in addition to the first node. This works for labels as well: if you select one label, you can select additional labels with SHIFT+click.

"Smart Free" supports snapping when the label is moved with the mouse. No other placement option offers that.

Comments

Thank you, it works. Is there an option to set a default label position to "Internal"?

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Unfortunately, there is currently no easy way to do this in yEd. One possible workaround is explained in copy/duplicate labeltext and label format.

However, I am a bit surprised you need that at all. If you create a new node label, the initial position of "Smart Free" behaves like "Internal: Center". If you drag and snap a "Smart Free" label to e.g. the left border of the node, it behaves like "Internal: Left". And similar for all other borders.

The behavior in your screenshots is most definitely not the default behavior for "Smart Free".