Re: [Usability] Keyboard combos for closing windows

["Philip Ganchev" <phil ganchev gmail com>]

On Thu, Nov 27, 2008 at 8:57 PM, Matthew Paul Thomas <mpt myrealbox com> wrote:
> Mackenzie Morgan wrote on 25/11/08 10:40:
...
> It's a continuing embarrassment for Gnome that some windows close with
> Ctrl W, some with Shift Ctrl W, some with Ctrl Q, and some with Esc, and
> there's no consistency to which is used where.

I agree that apps should be more consistent when possible. But there
is a keyboard shortcut that works in all apps: the window manager
shortcut. And the current shortcut does not interfere with any apps.
We should encourage users to habituate to using it.

[rearranged]
> They're not shortcuts, they're longcuts.

"Alt+Space; C" is very easy and fast to press. You can do it with
three fingers on one hand in a split second. Yes, it's one keystroke
more than Command+W, but this solve the problems you describe.  Those
problems can also be solved by using another modifier key (such as the
Windows key, the Apple key, the Super key, etc). If you have such a
key, you can bind it to a shortcut for closing windows.  But not all
keyboards have such a key.

Another advantage of the current implementation is that the window
menu makes the short cuts discoverable and helps with habituation.
Yes, it is modal, but the mode is usually very short-lived, which
diminishes that problem.

> Alt Space, C is three keys that
> don't even work if pressed simultaneously.

It's not ergonomic to press three keys simultaneously. That's why we
use two at a time, followed by the third. And it's much more ergonomic
than Control+F4 or Control+W. And it does not interfere with other
apps, thanks to being modal.