Re: Usability: Keyboard & list, copy & paste

[Eric Windisch <southpark nni com>]

On Wed, 11 Aug 1999 05:12:56 Zakaria wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I've been using gnome for about 3 months, so far so good but 
> I think it need some improvement in these quirk (more features :)
> 
> The problem:
> 
> 1. When I presented in a list box, usually files I have no *fast* way
>    to selecting one of them with keyboard, I have to scroll down and
> clicking 'em
>    instead type the first name of the item (file name) with my keyboard
> like Windows
>    do :(

This is carried from motif and the mac, afaik. In gtk which
provides this "flaw" is not a part of gnome, however gnome is 
dependant on it.  I believe the main reason for this is that
Gtk is reasonable and doesn't have a text entry for something that
will not accept a text-entry. Perhaps, if while the menu is opened
the user may press the button and then narrow the search and remove all
items from the menu that do not begin with that letter then 
if the character was "n", provide a "[a-m][p-z]" submenu.


> 
> 2. In linux (X in general) as you probably know to copy we select the
> text and 
> to paste we middle click the mouse. It's a *great* feature but it's

It is great, very easy to use.. maybe TOO easy.  This has always
been one of my pet peevs' with Unix, for the same reasons you have.

> has some 
>    weakness, imagine that you want to copy path name
>    (/pub/linux/X11/GNOME/binaries/redhat/RPMS/i386/ for example) to and
> edit box
>    in gftp. So you select the text and you go to gftp to paste it but
> unfortunately 
>    the edit box is already filled with another path. So there is only 3
> (three) 
>    choises that all is uncomportable (for me).
>    (a) you clear the edit box by selecting the edit box content by mouse 
>        and hit the delete and lose your previous copied text.
>    (b) you clear the edit box by selecting the edit box and clear the
> content by
>        keyboard (shift arrow the delete) and paste it with mouse. That's
> to many
>        step (for me too :)
>    (c) you paste the _clipboard_ in the begining of the edit box and
> delete the         
>        remaining text (the old one). This is to many step either.
> 
> The proposed solution:
> 
> 1. Make the list widget (list box & combo box) response to keyboard when
> they have
>    the focus. Instead limiting to first letter the widget could make
> this way :

read above.

>    When first key pressed it search the list for item that has first
> letter with
>    that key if the item found the widget select the item and paint the
> first letter
>    with different color, when it's not found it beep the speaker (or
> play sound
>    if you have soundcard). When you press the next key it search the
> list for item
>    that have first two letter same with first + next key and select them
> then paint
>    the first two letter with different color too. It goes that way and
> the backspace
>    will work as usual (deleting the last key)
> 
> 2. Have a context menu (left click menu) in every edit box and have one
> of the menu
>    to clear the edit as it function. Or have one of the menu to prevent
> selecting
>    as a way to copy as it function.

A flag could made available to set the text box for 
"replace text when paste event occurs". For example in gftp
perhaps the text should just replace what was previously there.
But in the case of Balsa, you can specify more then one item 
in the "to" textbox, so perhaps it should provide a menu.
I personally do not like right-click context menus, because 
from personal experience (dealing with my family) newbies 
do not grasp the concept of them (which is why in windows,
only features a more advanced user would use are found in them,
and if a newbie wants to do it there are other ways to do it, ala
file menu). Perhaps the textbox widget should provide an integrated
button which pops down a menu if the widget is not selected for 
"replace text on paste".

> Or .... 
> do you have a better idea to deal with my problem above?

yes, read above.
> Regards,
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Zakaria <zak@telkom.net>
> --
> "I am a human so I have all the right to be wrong"
> 

--
Eric Windisch

"Universities are places of knowledge.  The freshman each bring a
 little in with them, and the seniors take none away, so knowledge
 accumulates."