16 days ago - Shurenai - Direct link
Your memory is correct, Repairing and upgrading is done with repair tools; IE, Stone Axe, Claw Hammer, and Nailgun, and by right clicking with it.

Given that you're pulling blocks out of the creative menu, it's possible the blocks you're interacting with simply dont have an upgrade path.. Not every block accessible in creative has an upgrade path, or even in some rarer cases, may be missing repair material entirely.

That said, the way you describe right clicking as simply breaking the block, It sounds like you may have remapped your keys at some point as the other user says; Though, alternatively, you may be properly upgrading the block but the resulting increase in mass for the block from upgrading is causing it to collapse from insufficient support.

Exactly What block are you trying to upgrade, and Where are you trying to upgrade it?

If you craft a stone axe and basic building block frame instead of pulling it out of the creative menu, does it upgrade as expected?