On 24 Sep 2002 at 20:13, Philip Aker wrote: > On Tuesday, Sep 24, 2002, at 13:32 US/Pacific, Patrick Hubers wrote: > > >> What it boils down to is: > > >> Mac has: Command, Shift, Option, and Control > >> M$ has: Shift, Option, and Control. > > >> Calculating a factorial of the "key with modifier(s)" I come up with: > > >> Mac: !5 = 120 > >> M$: !4 = 24 > > > Hmm, that depends on the keyboard-layout you're using. I use "US > > International" and therefore have 4 (four) modifier keys: > > > Shift, Control, Alt and AltGr (the Alt key on the right) > > Thanks for mentioning "Alt". I only thought about it after the post was > sent. However, if you want to get into left and right modifiers, the > Mac has a switch available (in code) to de-couple all four modifiers. > May I revise the maximum possibilities then? > > Mac: !9 = 362880 > M$: !5 = 120
Windows APIs allow the programmer to distinguish right and left for all the shift keys. You're also leaving out the left and right Windows key and the right- hand properties key. My keyboard has NINE shift keys. Granted, the Windows and Properties keys are implemented in a fashion that doesn't make them completely available, but simply discussing the shift, control and alt keys means that you aren't paying attention to real Windows keyboards. I utilize the Windows key shortcuts more than probably any other (Windows-E, Windows-F, Windows-R and Windows-M are the ones I use quite frequently; the only other ones I'm aware of are Windows-D (minimize current window) and Windows-U (MS narrator on Win2K, which I didn't know existed!)), and can barely work on a keyboard without the Windows key (I can do without the properties key, but do use it frequently in the programming IDE that I use on a daily basis). This is all a ridiculous discussion, as almost all Windows programs (per the MS UI guidelines) have keyboard shortcuts defined for EVERY COMMAND ON EVERY MENU AND IN EVERY DIALOG. They shortcuts may not be logical, but they exist, and you can tell what they are from simply looking at the screen. Three shift keys are more than enough to get the job done. In any event, WordPerfect was so incredibly hard to use precisely because it was built around the concept of overloading the function keys with commands grouped on the function keys according to similarity. It neve worked, though, because the system breaks down. Seems to me that the philosophy that asserts that PageUp and PageDown keys should not move the cursor because one can use the various shift keys on the arrow keys would mean that you wouldn't need Home and End for cursor movement, either. Is Apple consistent in using shift keys on the arrows for moving the cursor to the beginning or end of a line/document? > > The main problem is that many programs don't handle the AltGr as an > > alternate modifier key, > > Same on Macintosh for the left/right implementation but it's totally an > application choice. > > What I would like for shortcut implementation in Finale is the EMACS > (escape) method. . . Now I can understand why you think shifted arrow keys are superior to dedicated keys on the keyboard. Anyone who would hold up the EMACS keyboard interface in whatever dialect as a model shows that they are way to oriented towards modal behavior. The direction of GUI design forever and ever has been to get away from modal behaviors, and move towards consistent behavior in all contexts. > . . . as voiced on the Macintosh in the Alpha editor. There > is a Windows version available as well (called AlphaTk). This is a > traditional unix method of binding keys to functions on a per/mode > basis where the mode may also be user defined. In Finale, this would be > on a per/tool basis. There are no platform issues with this method > because it's already been ported to both Mac and Windows. Just bind the > keys as appropriate per OS (or user). What happens when Coda does the right things and removes tool modality entirely? In case you've missed the last 20 years of UI design, modality is considered a BAD thing. -- David W. Fenton | http://www.bway.net/~dfenton David Fenton Associates | http://www.bway.net/~dfassoc _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
