[Usability] Switching between tabs with Ctrl+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab and "recency list"

["Adam Purkrt" <purkrt gmail com>]

Hello there,

I'd like to discuss/suggest a well known and handy feature I miss in GNOME.


So, is there any reason why Ctrl+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab aren't/shouldn't  
be used to switch forward/backward between tabs in e.g. gnome-terminal,  
gedit, other tabbed applications?

Ctrl+Tab (resp. +Shift+Tab) is in my opinion a good, convenient standard  
and should be in GNOME by default.


Anyway, tabbed applications should (in my opinion) use an internal  
"recency list" when switching between tabs.


It would work in the same way one can switch between windows with alt-tab  
in metacity (now in the latest versions, e.g. 2.13.89).

Another good example of the switching between tabs (using Ctrl+Tab and  
Ctrl+Shift+Tab) is Opera web browser. (But e.g. Firefox has no "recency  
list" and Ctrl+Tab simply select next tab (with looping), Ctrl+Shift+Tab  
previous tab).





I know there are already shortcuts for switching tabs, but:

1) They aren't standardized (Ctrl-Alt-PageUp in gedit, Ctrl-Pageup in  
gnome-terminal for example)

2) Ctrl-Alt-PageUp/Down isn't much convenient (three keys instead of two,  
can't be accomplished easily by one hand)

3) Switching in gedit/gnome-terminal doesn't loop

4) No "internal recency list".





The "internal recency list" I'm talking about works like that:

* A program maintains an internal (linked) list of tabs, the active tab is  
the first on such list.


Switching then works in this way:

* Press and hold Ctrl, press Tab (keep holding Ctrl) = start switching,  
select (or switch directly to) second tab (in the list) and remain in  
switching mode

* Still holding Ctrl, press Tab = select (or switch directly to) next tab;  
in the case we are the end of the list, wrap around to the initial tab

* by repeated pressing of Tab (while still holding Ctrl) select the tab  
one wants to switch to

* Release Ctrl = done switching, do the actual switch to selected window,  
move this window to the top of the list, the initial window becomes the  
second.

* To cancel switching, return to initial state = (while still holding  
Ctrl) press ESC

(and Shift-Ctrl-Tab would go from the oldest tab=end of the list to the  
more recent ones)




Example:

four tabs are open - tab1, tab2, tab3, win4.

Recency list in the beginning is:

win2(active, most recent) -> win4 -> win3 -> win1


User switches - using the sequence "press and hold Ctrl, press Tab,  
release Tab, press Tab, release Tab, release Ctrl" - from win2 to win3

The list after this switch is:

win3 (active) -> win2 -> win4 -> win1


Then the user do the sequence "press and hold Ctrl, press Tab, release  
Tab, release Ctrl" - and with this switches form win3 to win2

The list then looks like this:

win2 (active) -> win3 -> win4 -> win1






Newly opened tab would of course become the first on the list.






With regards,
Adam Purkrt