[orca-list] Input requested: What is *needed* with respect to choosing an Orca modifier

[Joanmarie Diggs <joanmarie diggs gmail com>]

Hey guys.

I need y'all to chime in on something so we can get it resolved once and
for all: What do you *need* with respect to choosing the Orca modifier?
(Note that this is different from what might be cool.)

We have a bug open for this issue, [1] and well.... You can read the
whole thing in bugzilla if you'd like. I'll just pull out one comment
(from Steve Holmes) with which I largely agree:

(In reply to comment #32)
> After reading this whole thing from top to bottom for the first time, I think I
> rather liked the original combo box with predefined choices.  I personally
> can't think of that many different keys someone would want to use as an Orca
> modifier.  When people began talking about a list with checkable items or a
> list of checkboxes, I began to lose my place so to speak.
>
> No matter what though, I feel the current default for the desktop layout should
> be changed to KP_Insert instead of both Insert keys.  I personally would never
> use the Insert key on the "six pack" as an Orca modifier.  I obviously can't
> speak for anyone else but this is my opinion thus far.  Even on laptops I've
> had any experience with, the insert key was never in a place where I would
> consider using it as an Orca key; I would use the caps lock key instead.

My thoughts:

* A combo box makes a lot of sense to me: I need an Orca modifier; not a
  bunch of them simultaneously working as the modifier.

* A list of checkable items or a group of checkboxes seems unnecessarily
  complex.

* A list of checkable items or a group of checkboxes has the potential
  for user confusion: If I choose both Insert and Super, what's my Orca
  modifier? Insert + Super together, or Insert or Super -- whichever one
  I felt like pressing that time?

* A list of checkable items or a group of checkboxes requires additional
  validation/handling to ensure that at least one item is checked (else
  the user might find him/herself with no modifiers selected and no Orca
  Main Window showing)

My (additional) concerns:

* Not all systems have a Super Key. As I recall, the old thinkpads 
  lacked one. I also have an alternative keyboard suitable for one-
  handed use. It has pretty much all of the keys BUT a Super Key.
  What happens if a user selects the Super key as his/her Orca modifier
  and doesn't have a Super Key?

* Unless Xev is lying to me, the same modifier can claim to be different
  things depending on the system being used. We need to be sure that
  whatever a key is claiming to be, that we can reliably recognize it
  correctly. What if a user with a Super key chooses the Super key, but
  we cannot recognize it as such? Ditto for Alt Gr.

* Users are familiar with both Insert keys working as the modifier for
  the desktop layout. I'm not so sure we should change the default.

* If a user can pick any ol' modifier as the Orca key, are we in danger
  of potential conflicts down the road because we've run out of 
  combinations and now we need, say, the Super key?

Based on all of this, I've got two proposals for your consideration:

Proposal 1: We have a combo box. In it there would be only the following
choices:

   a. Caps Lock (Default choice for the laptop layout)
   b. KP_Insert
   c. Insert
   d. KP_Insert and Insert (Default choice for desktop layout)

Pros: Easy to implement -- and can be done soon, makes it possible to
choose just one Insert key, protects the user from him/herself, <smile>
no unexpected conflicts down the road.

Cons: You cannot choose just any ol' modifier.

Proposal 2: Instead of the combo box, we have a control which can
"capture" a modifier in a fashion similar to how we rebind other keys.

Pro: You'd have more modifiers to choose from without the risk of
selecting something that doesn't exist on your keyboard.

Con: Harder to implement and thus may or may not be done prior to the
GNOME UI and string freezes; have not eliminated potential conflicts
down the road.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance for your input!
--joanie

[1] https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=536827