Space never presses a focused button; chat toasts open the chat; plain wheel always scrolls the page

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

README.md

@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ when you're ready", "Waiting for Bob and Mika · 2/3 ready", "Bob is
 loading…") or what went wrong, with Retry or Cancel when it helps. Chat and activity open in a panel on the right (chat button or
 Tab), ready to type; it shows messages, and its "Activity" toggle adds
 joins, ready, seeks and the like between them. Joins, leaves, chat and
-other news also pop up bottom left with the person's avatar. Unread chat
+other news also pop up bottom left with the person's avatar; click a message to open the chat. Unread chat
 shows as a count on the chat buttons and, in fullscreen with the controls
 hidden, as a small chip top right.
 

apps/desktop/lib/src/schedule/ui/schedule_page.dart

@@ -501,7 +501,6 @@ class _SchedulePageState extends State<SchedulePage> {
       (byDay[DateTime(l.year, l.month, l.day)] ??= []).add(e);
     }
     return HScroll(
-      wheel: false,
       controller: _scroll,
       builder: (c) => ListView.separated(
         key: const ValueKey('schedule-board'),

apps/desktop/lib/src/shell/app_shell.dart

@@ -669,7 +669,11 @@ class AppShellState extends State<AppShell> with SingleTickerProviderStateMixin
             ),
           ),
           if (online && _shown != PlayerMode.none) _playerLayer(area),
-          Positioned(left: 16, bottom: _fullscreen ? 90 : 16, child: const PartyToasts()),
+          Positioned(left: 16, bottom: _fullscreen ? 90 : 16, child: PartyToasts(
+            onOpenChat: () {
+              if (!_chatOpen) _toggleChat();
+            },
+          )),
         ],
       );
     });

apps/desktop/lib/src/shell/motion.dart

@@ -90,17 +90,17 @@ Future<T?> showPopover<T>(
       },
     );
 
-/// Horizontal lists for mouse users: drag with the mouse, and the plain
+/// Horizontal lists for mouse users: drag with the mouse or Shift+wheel;
-/// (vertical) wheel moves them sideways. At either end the wheel is left
+/// the plain wheel stays vertical (the page scrolls under the cursor, not
-/// to the page, so a row never traps vertical scrolling.
+/// the row).
 class HScroll extends StatefulWidget {
   final ScrollController? controller;
   final Widget Function(ScrollController controller) builder;
-  /// Map the plain (vertical) wheel to sideways scrolling. Off where the
+  /// Also map the plain (vertical) wheel to sideways scrolling (at either
-  /// children scroll vertically themselves (the schedule's day columns):
+  /// end the wheel goes to the page). Off by default: one wheel doing two
-  /// there only mouse drag and Shift+wheel move sideways.
+  /// things was confusing.
   final bool wheel;
-  const HScroll({super.key, this.controller, required this.builder, this.wheel = true});
+  const HScroll({super.key, this.controller, required this.builder, this.wheel = false});
 
   @override
   State<HScroll> createState() => _HScrollState();

apps/desktop/lib/src/shell/party_strip.dart

@@ -92,6 +92,7 @@ class PartyStrip extends StatelessWidget {
               message: 'Your profile',
               child: InkWell(
                 key: const ValueKey('strip-profile'),
+                canRequestFocus: false,
                 customBorder: const CircleBorder(),
                 onTap: onProfile,
                 child: StatusAvatar(

apps/desktop/lib/src/shell/toasts.dart

@@ -43,10 +43,13 @@ ShellToast shellToastFor(ToastItem t, AvatarInfo Function(String name) avatar) {
 }
 
 /// The coordinator's toasts as cards with avatars, bottom-left: each
-/// slides in, stays [life], then slides out and collapses its gap.
+/// slides in, stays [life], then slides out and collapses its gap. A click
+/// on a chat toast opens the chat ([onOpenChat]); the rest let clicks
+/// through.
 class PartyToasts extends StatefulWidget {
   final Duration life;
-  const PartyToasts({super.key, this.life = const Duration(seconds: 5)});
+  final VoidCallback? onOpenChat;
+  const PartyToasts({super.key, this.life = const Duration(seconds: 5), this.onOpenChat});
 
   @override
   State<PartyToasts> createState() => _PartyToastsState();
@@ -101,13 +104,37 @@ class _PartyToastsState extends State<PartyToasts> {
     super.dispose();
   }
 
+  void _open(ShellToast t) {
+    widget.onOpenChat?.call();
+    setState(() => t.leaving = true);
+  }
+
   @override
-  Widget build(BuildContext context) => IgnorePointer(child: ToastColumn(toasts: _shown.reversed.take(6).toList().reversed.toList()));
+  Widget build(BuildContext context) => ToastColumn(
+        toasts: _shown.reversed.take(6).toList().reversed.toList(),
+        onTap: widget.onOpenChat == null ? null : _open,
+      );
 }
 
 class ToastColumn extends StatelessWidget {
   final List<ShellToast> toasts;
-  const ToastColumn({super.key, required this.toasts});
+  /// Clicks on chat toasts; null (or any other toast): clicks pass through.
+  final ValueChanged<ShellToast>? onTap;
+  const ToastColumn({super.key, required this.toasts, this.onTap});
+
+  Widget _card(ShellToast t) {
+    final card = ToastCard(toast: t);
+    final tap = onTap;
+    if (!t.chat || tap == null || t.leaving) return IgnorePointer(child: card);
+    return MouseRegion(
+      cursor: SystemMouseCursors.click,
+      child: GestureDetector(
+        key: ValueKey('toast-open-chat-${t.id}'),
+        onTap: () => tap(t),
+        child: card,
+      ),
+    );
+  }
 
   @override
   Widget build(BuildContext context) {
@@ -139,7 +166,7 @@ class ToastColumn extends StatelessWidget {
                   duration: easeTime,
                   curve: ease,
                   opacity: t.leaving ? 0 : 1,
-                  child: Padding(padding: const EdgeInsets.only(top: 8), child: ToastCard(toast: t)),
+                  child: Padding(padding: const EdgeInsets.only(top: 8), child: _card(t)),
                 ),
               ),
             ),

apps/desktop/lib/src/widgets/app_keys.dart

@@ -4,13 +4,15 @@ import 'package:flutter/services.dart';
 import '../state/session_state.dart';
 import 'text_focus.dart';
 
-/// Tab and Shift+Tab never move focus (the app's [Shortcuts] override):
+/// Tab and Shift+Tab never move focus, and Space never presses the
-/// a button that got focus that way would be pressed by Space, the ready
+/// focused button (the app's [Shortcuts] override): Space is the ready key,
-/// key.
+/// and a button keeps focus after a click. Text fields still type spaces
+/// (their own shortcuts come first).
 Map<ShortcutActivator, Intent> get appShortcuts => {
       ...WidgetsApp.defaultShortcuts,
       const SingleActivator(LogicalKeyboardKey.tab): const DoNothingIntent(),
       const SingleActivator(LogicalKeyboardKey.tab, shift: true): const DoNothingIntent(),
+      const SingleActivator(LogicalKeyboardKey.space): const DoNothingIntent(),
     };
 
 /// The window's two app-wide keys, ahead of whatever has focus: while in a

docs/ARCHITECTURE.md

@@ -525,8 +525,9 @@ One window, `AppShell` (`lib/src/shell/`), whatever the connection state
 through for views that replace each other (the old one gone after 35%, the
 new one fading and scaling in from 0.985), `showPopover` (cards that fade
 and scale in from where they open; they scroll when the window is short)
-and `HScroll` (horizontal rows: mouse drag, the vertical wheel scrolls them
+and `HScroll` (horizontal rows: mouse drag or Shift+wheel; the plain wheel
-sideways until an end, then the page).
+always scrolls the page). Space never presses a focused button
+(`appShortcuts`): it is the ready key.
 
 - **Party strip** (`party_strip.dart`, 60 px): your avatar (profile card; 42 px like the party's),
   the Library / Schedule / Settings tabs with a growing underline (an
@@ -687,7 +688,8 @@ sideways until an end, then the page).
   **Toasts** (`toasts.dart`): the coordinator's toasts bottom left, with
   the avatar of their `ToastItem.actor` (feed and chat toasts; the app's
   own have none); each
-  slides in, stays 5 s, then slides out and collapses its gap.
+  slides in, stays 5 s, then slides out and collapses its gap. A click on
+  a chat toast opens the chat; the others let clicks through.
 
 Settings persist in two Hive boxes: `connect_form` (last form, recent
 servers and links, the profile picture and colour; saved even when a join