unity-design team mailing list archive

[Petko <pditchev@xxxxxxxxx>]

Since the desktop list seems dead ,and similar discussions are held here 
, I'll forward a thread I posted there :

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Shortcut keys F1,F2,F3,F4 and overall
Date: 	Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:42:14 +0200
From: 	Petko <pditchev@xxxxxxxxx>
To: 	ubuntu-desktop@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Hey guys , I recently came to the conclusion that the *Function* keys
,that are most accessible aren't really utilized . Some (a lot of) time
ago , when I was new to computers I saw them as some kind of unusable
appendix . Since then not much has changed (regarding OS defaults ) .
Which of the function keys do you use ( out of combinations , just the
straight up most efficient press of the key) ? I used three until recently :
F2 - rename
F5 - refresh
F11 - fullscreen
(and maaybe F1 - help)

Here's the idea : the first 4 func. keys are very accessible , not used
in writing , and 2 of them have no function what so ever by themselves .
Here's a couple of suggestions from me :

F1 - clearly stays help
F2 - users have learned it's rename , so it should stay rename (though
that's probably not the best function it can have)
F3 - Minimize window - everybody does it constantly , the buttons for
minimize are little , I personally hate compound shortcuts
(alt+ctrl+shift+asdf to minimize (meaning I don't want to touch more
than one button for one of the most used actions) )
F4 - how has no one made F4 default for closing windows just boggles my
mind  - why twist your hand to press alt , when F4 can't possibly have a
better use .

I'm with those settings now and it's much better than the defaults . For
F4 - of course alt+F4 should continue working alongside F4 , because
anyone new would get confused , but that doesn't mean it shouldn't get
implemented .

 Second point of discussion (the "and overall" part of the thread) : I
need some response from developers: If I create a wiki page in Ubuntu
dedicated to discussing default settings (because I think there's much
room for improvement) , would its contents be taken into account . The
idea is that a whiteboard is needed to discuss this topic (there's too
many details for a mailing list in my opinion) , and I'm convinced that
the topic should have a centralized resource (so there's no repeated
discussions , and people can pick up where others left off ) .

And overall - any feedback would be appreciated , I really want to push
the development in that area a bit (default shortcuts/settings) .

Petko

PS: not a proposal for implementation , but a hint for whoever might
like it : F12 for "xset dpms force off" (turn screen off)