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List:       kfm-devel
Subject:    Re: active frame visualization, key bindings
From:       Tobias Anton <anton () stud ! fbi ! fh-darmstadt ! de>
Date:       2000-06-28 11:54:58
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Greetings,

As you can see, this mail will be cc`ed to Mattias

Mattias, this mail is concerning your business as i would like you to
decide you would accept a reassignment of the default keys for switching
between virtual desktops from "ctrl-tab" to "alt-ctrl-tab".

On Wed, 28 Jun 2000, David Faure wrote:

> On Wed, Jun 28, 2000 at 05:04:40AM +0200, Tobias Anton wrote:
> [...]
> > i, as a non-developer, do not see a great difference
> > between a frame, a form element, a button and a link,
> > but i do see a great difference between virtual desktops
> > and frames.
> > So, i would consider it natural to use similar key bindings for
> > navigating through form elements as for the frames, rather than
> > for the virtual desktops.
> > 
> > As it is hard for a novice to remember many key bindings
> > one at a time, we should make this as simple as possible.
> > 
> > what about ctrl-tab? why is it not enough to have the
> > virtual desktops on the "absolute" keys bound to "ctrl-Fn" ?
> > this is exotic, i think.
> > What if we would change the default binding for link navigation
> > to "ctrl-tab", moving the desktop navigation to "ctrl-alt-tab" ?
> > 
> > under windows, ctrl-tab is reserved for switching between
> > the documents in one application, that`s why i propagate this
> > setting. How about that?
> 
> I 100% agree with you.
> (Never used Ctrl+Tab, btw. Ctrl+Fn is so much faster).
> 
> Problem is: this touches the window manager, so you should talk
> to Matthias Ettrich <ettrich@kde.org> about this - he's not on this list.
> 
> > sure, this should be customizable. If someone could give me a
> > hint where to start implementing this, i will immediately add this
> > functionality.
> Implementing which ? Removing Ctrl+Tab from kwin ? Configurability ?
> Using Ctrl+Tab in khtml 

my idea is the following:

there are four levels of switching focuses in kde:

- "tab" & "shift-tab"
- "ctrl-tab" & "shift-ctrl-tab"
- "alt-tab" & "shift-alt-tab"
- "ctrl-alt-tab" & "shift-ctrl-alt-tab"

the latter should be less frequently used imo, as they are more
complicated to be reached.

We also have four switching tasks, as there are:

- switching between virtual desktops
- switching between applications
- switching between the application`s inner windows
- switching between elements in those inner windows.

in this list, the first action should be least frequently used, i think.
from the windows gui, one is used to find the key assignment like that:

elements - tab, shift tab
document windows - ctrl-tab, shift-ctrl-tab (different!)
windows - alt-tab, shift-alt-tab (as is here)
virtual desktops - unassigned

in a browsing situation, the links can be considered elements, while
frames can be compared to inner windows.

i think that this concept, expanded by shortcuts for switching virtual
desktops in kde, is superior to any other default assignment, because it
is highly logical and easy to accomodate to.

My proposal is to assign the default keys like that; Customization should
certainly be possible.
As i am finished writing the keyboard code itself, i would be willing to
do this job, both in khtml, konqueror and in kwin, if necessary.

All i need is some starting point (for konqueror, kwin and the
kontrol-panel, as i know where to start in khtml), and your agreement.

Cheers,
Tobias
--
in a world without walls and fences,
who needs Windows and Gates?

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