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List:       kde-usability
Subject:    Re: key activated toolbars
From:       Casey Allen Shobe <cshobe () softhome ! net>
Date:       2003-11-19 1:33:52
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On Tue, November 18 2003 15:45, William Leese wrote:
> Visibility and learnability: it's much easier to teach someone to press
> a single key than to have them learn 5 key combinations.

But the 5 key combinations are infinitely faster.  You're talking about merely 
changing the location of the toolbar to somewhere more convenient on the 
screen, which I just cannot see the benefit of.

If I bring up a whole toolbar with a shortcut, how then do I choose the 
appropriate icon?  I either have to go through a list with the arrow keys 
(slow), or follow a variable-placement toolbar around with the mouse 
(annoying).

OTOH, I can currently be typing in kword, move my mouse to the bold button, 
click it, continue typing, and then click the mouse again without moving it 
since it's still over the same button.  Or I can simply hit Ctrl-B, as 
mentioned.  I don't need to learn every keyboard shortcut, after all, but 
merely those which I use.  Since these should be consistant across 
applications, it's only a matter of time before I have memorized that Ctrl-B 
means Bold.  The keyboard shortcut is shown in the menu (and IMHO should be 
in the toolbar tooltip).  I just don't see any advantage to having a toolbar 
in a variable place, rather than somewhere consistant.

Of course, you can always drag the toolbar to the middle of the window and 
have a floating toolbar, which would seem to cover your desire.

See screenshot at http://www.somerandomdomain.com/~cshobe/images/screenshots/
floating_toolbar.png .

-- 
Casey Allen Shobe
cshobe@softhome.net
Jabber: sigthor@jabber.org; ICQ: 1494523; AIM/Yahoo: SomeLinuxGuy
Despite the rising cost of living, it remains a popular activity.
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