Re: [Usability] Default key-combination to switch keyboard layout

[Alan Horkan <horkana maths tcd ie>]

On Tue, 31 Aug 2004, Murray Cumming wrote:

> Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2004 09:35:54 +0200 (CEST)
> From: Murray Cumming <murrayc murrayc com>
> To: usability gnome org
> Cc: svu gnome org
> Subject: [Usability] Default key-combination to switch keyboard layout
>
> Sergey is trying to find a suitable keyboard combination for switching the
> keyboard layout. This would take effect when the user adds a second
> keyboard layout, for instance to allow him to input extra characters.

> Your input is probably more valuable than mine:
> http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=137428
> (I suggest starting at comment #14)

Anyone any idea what KDE or Mac OS use?

The bug report mentions that Microsoft Windows uses Alt+Shift.
I can tell you that Alt+Shift is definately bad idea.
It is easier to hit it by accident that you might think.

I am usually for copying Microsoft when it makes sense but this is not one
of those cases, they picked a really bad key combination that we shouldn't
copy.
It took me many years to realise why sometimes while working on the
public access university computers
Shift+2 would no longer give me " but @ instead (US layout)
or why I would get A instead of Q, and Z instead of W (Azerty Layout).

Eventually I discovered was really going on, the univeristy had left the
keyboard switcher on by default and without realising it I had switched
keyboard layout.  (Although microsoft windows provides a Keyboard layout
Icon in the system tray I never noticed it).

Pressing both Shift keys sounds like a much better idea as it is much more
difficult to do it accidentally.  Both Alts also seems reasonable, and
perhaps makes more sense as it is for Alternative keyboard layouts.
Microsoft Windows users are inevitably going to wonder why we didn't copy
the keybinding so if someone could document the reason - we wanted a key
combination that is difficult to hit accidentally - either as a comment in
the code or somewhere relevant in the documentation (or both) that would
be great.

Sincerely

Alan Horkan
http://advogato.org/person/AlanHorkan/
http://advogato.org/proj/OpenClipArt.org/