Re: Low-hanging fruit

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From: Smylers
Subject: Re: Low-hanging fruit
Date: 16:41 on 20 Jul 2006
Peter da Silva writes:

> > If different menus didn't re-use access keys then there would only
> > be 26 or so actions in the entire application with access keys.
> 
> Good. There should probably be only half a dozen menu items in the
> whole application with shortcut keys...

I said access keys, not shortcut keys.  Are we talking about the same
thing here?

> a dozen at the most though that's pushing things... if you need a
> keystroke command structure for the application then you HAVE TO build
> it from scratch using meaningful mnemonic combinations with a
> command/qualifier or object-verb structure if normal rocket scientists
> are going to remember it.

I completely agree with you.

But the purpose of menu access keys is _not_ that they are committed to
memory and used blind.  It's to provide a way of navigating a menu that
you can see in front of you by using the keyboard.  You don't need to
remember anything because the characters that you need are highlighted
in front of you.

You can cut by pressing Ctrl+X; that involves remembering that
particular keyboard shortcut.

Or you can activate the menu bar by pressing F10, then decide that you
want the 'Edit' menu, so press E because that's the underlined character
in its name.  While looking at the edit menu you decide that 'Cut' is
the option you want; "t" is the underlined letter, so T is what you
press.

You no more need to remember menu access keys to navigate a menu with
the keyboard than you need to remember the exact position of menu items
to see where to click with the mouse.

Smylers
There's stuff above here

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