MacOS Trackpad compatibility

[Xgv3]

I’m running macOS 15.1 and using darktable 5.4.0. I’m a new darktable user and I’d like to ask a few questions about the software.
I’m having problems using the trackpad with darktable. Basically, when I zoom into an image I can’t use the normal gesture of spreading two fingers apart; I have to use the mouse wheel to zoom. Then, to move around the image while it’s zoomed in I have to click-and-drag with the mouse — why can’t I just pan by using two fingers on the trackpad and sliding them? For the panel/list on the right, scrolling feels a bit slow with the trackpad, and I can’t scroll unless the cursor is over the scrollbar (I often accidentally scroll the adjustment controls instead). Finally, I'd like a feature to compare before and after editing photos (I think this feature would be great).
I hope there is a solution. 🫠

[ralfbrown]

Darktable is Linux-first, so you're seeing the Linux behavior. We barely have enough volunteer support for MacOS to build darktable, never mind special-casing UI interactions.... That can change if we ever get more devs who use and know MacOS.

[ralfbrown]

For the panel scrolling, there is a setting in Preferences|Miscellaneous named "mouse wheel scrolls module side panel by default". When enabled, you'll get the behavior you want, but you'll then have to click on sliders to activate them before you can change their values.
https://darktable-org.github.io/dtdocs/en/preferences-settings/miscellaneous/

For before/after comparisons, use the snapshot feature. Take a snapshot before editing (or temporarily select the initial state in the history module, then jump back to the final version after taking the snapshot). When you turn on the snapshot, you'll be able to compare the saved state against the current on with either side-by-side or variable-split view.
https://darktable-org.github.io/dtdocs/en/module-reference/utility-modules/darkroom/snapshots/