Standardization of Function Keys

[Trans <transfire gmail com>]

Hi--

I am new to the list and am a recent convert to Gnome 3. Out of all
the latest DE's I've used (which is just about all of them) I think it
is clearly the stand-out. Thanks for all the hard work!

I have joined the mailing list b/c I would like to make a (serious) suggestion.

A long time ago I used an early DOS-based application, I believe it
was a spreadsheet, but I do not recall the exact program at this
point. However I do recollect the interface which I thought was
especially intuitive. Running along the bottom of the screen was a
menu, and each menu item could be selected via a function key. F1 for
the first menu item, F2 for the next, and so on. Pressing a function
key might bring up a sub-menu, and the same correspondence applied to
the sub-menu.

I have always wanted to see a window manager that provided the same
functionality. When pressing F1 the first menu would drop down --in
modern applications this is typically the `File` menu. Pressing F1
again would invoke the first sub-menu item, following the example, in
many modern applications this would be `New`. To further improve upon
this idea, Shift+Function Key would select menus in reverse order. So,
function keys F1->F12 would apply from front-to-back/top-to-bottom,
and Shift-F12->Shift-F1 would apply from back-to-front/bottom-to-top.
The API for menus will need to allow for a way to carve out gaps for
things like "most recent files", e.g. like GEdit's File menu provides.
(These you might notice are already mapped to number keys.) These kind
of dynamic menu items would simply be skipped in the consecutive
mapping of function keys.

So, why do I think this would be advantageous?

Firstly, function keys are almost never utilized for application
functions any more. Except for a couple of esoteric shortcuts that
mostly came from the Windows world, like Alt-F4, or special laptop
controls, Fn-{some icon}, they barely get touched. For instance, in my
case, and I am a "computer expert", expect for F1, and F11 in certain
apps, I have no idea what any function key does for any application I
use. No one I know seems to know either --they don't even know about
F1 and F11. The reason for this is probably pretty simple: There is no
intuitive basis for their usage. The functions assigned to them are
mostly haphazard and per-application, if at all. The only reliable
exception being F1 which is usually mapped to `Help`. Yet 999/1000
times I never even think about F1 if I need help. Like most people I
suspect, I open up my browser and use a search engine. (I realize
there will be exceptions. I am sure someone out there has all the
function keys memorized and uses them all the time. But they must know
how unique they are.) So the first clear advantage would be to remedy
the current uselessness of function keys.

The other big advantage is that is provides some useful constraints to
designers. If for instance a menu has over 12 items, then it's an
indication to start thinking about sub-menus. If a menu has over 24
items then it's a big red flag that the menu is too big. Also, because
the function keys select items in numerical order, it encourages
designers to put effort into getting their menus "right" so they do
not change often and users do not have to relearn mappings.

The only disadvantage is that obviously this will come into conflict
with applications currently defining mappings, e.g. F1 and F11. I
would simply encourage developers to change those to Ctrl+F1 and
Ctrl+F11 instead. I do not know if it's possible to automatically
remap those, but that would be the best option if so. This issue
should in no way be considered a show-stopper for the proposal. We
will never progress, if we are constantly nailed down to decades old
dysfunctional designs.

I hope my proposal is received positively. I think it would bring a
small but very polished touch to what it in my opinion, the most
excellent desktop experience available.

Thanks,
        trans