Re: [Usability] Using Control-Esc and Windows keys to access the start menu

[Calum Benson <Calum Benson Sun COM>]

On Sun, 2006-08-20 at 17:11 +0200, Steve Fr�naux wrote:
> Lennart Borgman wrote:
> > Sven Herzberg wrote:
> >> On So, 2006-08-20 at 16:00 +0200, Lennart Borgman wrote:
> >>   
> >>> I tried Control-Esc and the Windows keys to access the start menu, but 
> >>> none of them worked. I would really appreciate if they do. Is there any 
> >>> reason that they should not work the same way as on MS Windows? Would 
> >>> not that attract MS Windows users?
> >>>     
> >> Try Alt-F1. Alt is the modifier we often use for global keybindings.
> >> Maybe there's more explanations given in the Gnome HIG.
> >>   
> > Thanks Sven. I have later got that information but it was not there when 
> > I needed it.
> > 
> > What I am looking for is the answer to the questions above. What are the 
> > opinion here about those questions? Why not try to welcome MS Windows 
> > users in this area?
> 
> Alt+Escape is already used for something else. IMHO, Ctrl+Escape 
> wouldn't make sense wrt the current way we define shortcuts. And you are 
> likely to run into http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=165343 if 
> you try to use the super (windows) key (and it's rather annoying to have 
> the menu popping everytime just because you hit the super key by accident)
> 
> But appart from that, nothing is keeping you from defining your own 
> keybindings as you like them ;-)

There's also a recent patch that will let you define multiple
keybindings for the same function, so that distros who are so inclined
can set both Alt+F1 and Ctrl-Esc to pop up the menu and keep everyone
happy.

http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=164831

Cheeri,
Calum.

-- 
CALUM BENSON, Usability Engineer       Sun Microsystems Ireland
mailto:calum benson sun com            Java Desktop System Group
http://ie.sun.com                      +353 1 819 9771

Any opinions are personal and not necessarily those of Sun Microsystems