Re: [Usability] Keyboard prefs, layouts tab

[Matthew Paul Thomas <mpt myrealbox com>]

On Mar 29, 2006, at 7:47 PM, Joachim Noreiko wrote:
> --- Matthew Paul Thomas <mpt myrealbox com> wrote:
> ...
> > Absolutely. What is the list for? Windows has a list labelled
> > "Installed keyboard languages and layouts". I can kind of understand
> > that, though it seems to be to do with disk space rather than 
> > utility. Mac OS X has a list "Select the keyboard layouts,
> > input methods, and palettes that appear in the input menu". I can
> > understand that, though it's a bit wordy. But what is "Selected 
> > layouts" good for?
> ...
> As far as I can tell, the topmost one is the default. The order in the 
> list affects how they cycle

Is it really necessary to determine in which order they cycle? I'm 
trying to imagine a use case where doing that would save you noticable 
time.

I ask because if it isn't necessary, this interface can become both 
simpler and more efficient: instead of having a separate "Choose A[sic] 
Layout" dialog, the list of available layouts can be *this* list in the 
Keyboard Preferences window itself, with a checkbox for each layout 
determining whether it appears in the menu.

> with you press keys defined elswhere.

Where's "elsewhere"? :-) I can't find it anywhere.

> ...
> When you add more than one layout, you have no indication of which is 
> active, unless you know how to add the indicator to the panel 
> yourself. This is a major usability problem, and the maintainer 
> doesn't want to fix it (Pseudobug: Waiting For Godot).
> ...

This bug is also what makes the list nearly impossible to label. If you 
could guarantee that having more than one label selected resulted in 
the keyboard layout menu appearing on the panel, then the list could be 
labelled "Show these layouts in the keyboard menu:". If you could 
guarantee that the keyboard combo for cycling was the same, the list 
could be labelled "Ctrl+Space cycles between these keyboard layouts:", 
though the former would be better following the HIG's advice on modes.

--
Matthew Paul Thomas
http://mpt.net.nz/