[Bf-committers] Pupmenu conventions and toolbox navigation

[Martin]

I'd like to moan about this, without suggesting anything better!

Firstly, I'm left handed, so I have the mouse on the left.  Reaching left
hand keys is big stretch - using the Blender (one hand on keyboard, one hand
on mouse), my free hand is near the numeric keypad, not near the QWER
section.

Secondly - French and German keyboards?? I know these have Q, W, A, Z in
different location to the British/American layout.

Thirdly to be REALLY REALLY picky - does anyone use a Dvorak keyboard?

Martin
----- Original Message -----
From: "Luke Wenke" <iljwamh1234567890@hotmail.com>
To: <bf-committers@blender.org>
Sent: Saturday, October 18, 2003 5:56 PM
Subject: [Bf-committers] Pupmenu conventions and toolbox navigation


| Hi,
| I'm subscribed to the bf-funboard mailing list and I was looking at the
| bf-committers archives and noticed the big thread about "Pupmenu
| conventions".
| I'm guessing that it was talking about the menus in Blender 2.29.... and
| involves people being able to press either numbers (corresponding to the
| menu position) or underlined letters in order to select menu items.
| Well firstly, I think the proper place to discuss this kind of thing is at
| the Blender functionality mailing list since it is concerned with
high-level
| user-oriented suggestions...
| http://www.blender.org/mailman/listinfo/bf-funboard/
| Anyway, I'll just still with this mailing list for this topic.
|
| I guess that kind of thing could be included in regular menus, but I'm a
bit
| concerned about the underlined "hotchars" (keys you press to active menu
| items) would be too distracting for users who don't even use them. I mean
| you have to click on the menu with the mouse to open it anyway - it isn't
| that much more trouble to for the person to just move through the menus.
|
| If they're an experienced user that uses a command a lot that doesn't have
a
| hotkey, this is my idea for a method: (I think it would be much quicker
| since you don't need to take your hand off of the mouse, or move your
other
| hand much - assuming it is over the lower-left part of the keyboard (it
| usually is for me).
|
| Anyway, basically you'd first press the spacebar to make the toolbox
appear.
| It would appear in the position where the mouse pointer is (assuming it is
| in the 3D window). Then you can just use the mouse, or use the keys q, w,
e,
| a, s, d. Or space or escape to abort.
| Each level in the toolbox menu would look like one of these: (with the
| corresponding hotkey)
| QWE
| ASD
|
|  WE
| ASD
|
|   W
| ASD
|
| ASD
|
| A D
|
| I chose those hotkeys because they seem to be the easiest to use (I mean I
| think "A" is easier that "Q", assuming you're in the "home row").
|
| A toolbox menu with 6 items would be 3 names wide and 2 high (not in a
| circle).... the 6 hotkeys could be shown as a tiny icon or something (a
tiny
| Q, W, E, etc) near the title of the item.
|
| Anyway, it would mean a much, much more direct link between the key
| positions and the positions of the menu items - compared to having to
| pressing a number (listed horizontally or in a grid on a keyboard)
| corresponding to the vertical position of an item in a menu.... and since
| only three fingers and a thumb are used with a maximum of 1 key distance
| movements, it would be easy to learn how to type it without looking at the
| keyboard, and quick too.
|
| - Luke.
|
| _______________________________________________
| Bf-committers mailing list
| Bf-committers@blender.org
| http://www.blender.org/mailman/listinfo/bf-committers
|


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