Re: Unwanted behavior with menu item accelerators

[January Weiner 3 <jweiner1 ix urz uni-heidelberg de>]

> For a blind user, however, 

Well, here I don't have any knowledge, because up untill now I never met a
blind Linux user (anyway, I can imagine that there are greater problems
with Linux then shortcuts in gtk programs, esp. if the program does not
save them automagically upon exit).

> or even anyone used to using the keyboard to

...like me...

> navigate around menus on MS Windows (where you would typically press
> "Alt+F" followed by "O" for File>Open, for example), it's a complete
> nightmare...

Try that with a Mac, my point being is that each system *is* a little
different. Apart from that, I *am* primarily using keyboard navigation when
using any graphical program (apart from those user/&@"!&§$!!!friendly Macs).

> > especially because it lets you -- as a programmer -- easily save the preferences 
> > upon exit and read upon start.
>
> Hmm, interesting definition of "user-friendly"  :o)

Yeah, isn't it cute? :-)

What I mean -- sorry for my pidgin english -- is that without additional
effort you can let the user customize the application freely. When I first
discovered it -- in my own program, btw -- I had the feeling "well this is
exactly what I, as a user, want, what I need in just any application I use,
from Netscape+DNA Star/MacOS to Arka/Linux". Look, I have this problem with
Netscape for example. Netscape lets you switch the windows with apple-`,
which 1) doesn't work with a german keyboard 2) wouldn't be comfortable
even if it worked (it should be ctrl-tab instead or something similar).
Lack of the possibility of switching Netscape windows with a shortcut has
been annoying me each single day for the past three or so years. 

The user should be given the possibility of creating a custom shortcut
without any effort for any menu option/entry he would like to. If he messes
up, so what? He closes my Arka, and Arka asks politely: "I see you have
modified some shortcut keys. Do you want to save this combination? Click
*here* for more information about the shortcut keys". 

I know that the consistence of an interface and its conservativeness
results in generating more intuitive programs, but saying that "we cannot do
it, because it is not intuitive for the Windows/ MacOS user" is a nice way
of creating another Windows or MacOS version, which we already have plenty
of. If that is the case, forget multiple desktops, middle mouse click, cut
& paste by simple clicking, running X aps on another machines and all the
other goodies.

> Anyway, I gather this feature is going to be disabled by default in
> GNOME 2.0, although there will be a way of switching it on for those
> apps/users who want it.

Yeah, which means no programmer will ever bother to use it, unless you can
switch this behaviour on / off somehow independently of what the programmer
did in the code. 

> CALUM BENSON, Usability Engineer       Sun Microsystems Ireland

No. I will *not*, I repeat, I will not do any stupid, mean remarks about
the usability of our SUN workstations here. :-P 

On a more serious note: what reading would you recommend for a [wannabe]
programmer about making the programs userfriendly, apart from the Human
Interface Guide by Apple? 

j.

----)-\//-///-----------------------------------January-Weiner-3-------
Multitasking w MacOS? 
Prosta sprawa, ale potrzeba do tego więcej niż jednego Maka. [ WO ]