Entering a whole note sets a quarter note

Hi all,

I've searched without success, so here's my question:

I'm entering a score using the keyboard, nothing special. And I can enter any note by simply hitting the keys for duration and pitch, eventually changing octave and altering semitone. No problem while entering the score.

But whenever I'm entering the very 1st note in an edit, there's something strange.
1) I select a measure or the rest in an empty measure, select a whole note for duration, hit a pitch, and it's a quarter note that's set (same for other note durations). The 1st note is always a quarter. So I have to stop, go back, and fix the duration.
2) I select the measure, rest or note next to the one I want to start editing in and hit cursor to go to the right one. Now I select a whole note for duration, hit a pitch, and it's the whole note I wanted to add.

Why does 1) always place a quarter note and 2) the duration I selected?

Thanks,
Hans

(Mac OSX 10.11 and 10.13, Musescore 2.3.2)