Mail Archives: geda-user/2016/03/22/04:47:53
Nicklas Karlsson wrote:
>> Porting gschem to a recent GTK version would mean losing multi-key
>> hotkeys and tear-off menus (as discussed in the past).
> Are there any possibilities to get around this?
I'd say, multi-key hotkeys are a great concept. But the implementation in
gschem does not quite hit the sweet spot. The combos are chosen to match
the menu the action is placed in. This sort of locks the action into its
established menu. As a consequence, many common combinations span the
keyboard. This makes them not as hot as they could. Working with one hand
permanently on the mouse requires awkward jumps across the keyboard.
Digital games can provide ideas how to use the keyboard more efficiently.
In particular Starcraft may be a GUI to look at. This game requires the
player to handle quite a number of units in real time. Professional gamers
use keyboard and mouse at astonishing speeds. Yet, it is not speed alone
but a host of complex actions that make or brake the game.
Starcrafts comes with the ability to customize key bindings to an
astonishing extent. Given the importance of efficient interaction, players
developed a number of approaches which deviate significantly from the
default. One of them is "grid". This keyboard layout uses mainly the four
leftmost columns. So the left had can stay in place. To still be able to
trigger the many different actions of the game, short cuts depend on
circumstances and are heavily over loaded.
Turns out, grid is one of the most popular keyboard layouts in the
competitive scene.
---<)kaimartin(>---
--
Kai-Martin Knaak
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