"Fake" selected notes, and the concept of hotspot

[ShibuyaCyana]

The problem

If we enter a note, it looks like MuseScore will select it automatically, with the input cursor placed after:

But it's really just a fake selection. We can't change its duration with number keys - they set the length for the future input note instead.

There are some other strange interactions surrounding this fake selected note:

1. Pasted content overwriting this note, rather than placing after cursor:

2. Can't delete notes by consecutively hitting backspace:

The solution

Since that fake selected note is just a weaker form of a real selected one, we can just make an explicit concept for it: the hotspot note.

And to solve problems mentioned before, a hotspot note should behave like:

1. The freshly input note in note input mode becomes the hotspot;
2. No cursor presented = no hotspot note.
3. The actions that can be applied to it can always be applied to a "real" selected note, like changing pitch or adding articulations;
4. Some actions, like changing duration and pasting, apply to the next input notes or the position after cursor instead, unlike a "real" selected note.
5. If the hotspot note is deleted by backspace, the note (or rest) before it would become the new hotspot, allowing consecutively backspace deleting.
   A possible visual mock-up:

This will clarify the behavior around this fake selected note, and lead to more functionalities. Of course, the drawback is a new (and kinda weird) concept for new users.

[MarcSabatella]

There is nothing "fake" about the selection. The note is 100% selected, as you can see if you try a command that actually operates on the selected note, like Up/Down to change pitch, or Shift+Q/W to change duration. The duration commands were never intended to operate on the selection while in note input mode - as you observe, they are for setting the duration of future notes.