Le 11 mai 07 à 06:25 Matin, Craig A. Finseth a écrit:

>> The matter in question is "when" it is appropriate to use a default
>> key and "if" the end user actually will "naturally" understand the
>> differences between the keys pressed not how fast the user must "type
>> an invoice" or "ship an order" in an application.
>
>    A new user has no reason to think the return key and enter key  
> do the
>    same action. I always wondered why they should make the same  
> action.
>    An "old" user can learn quickly.
>
> A new user has every reason to think that they do the same thing.
> After all, the "1" key on the numeric pad does the same thing
> (normally) as the "1/!" key on the keyboard.

Hmmm... You're almost right.
Just, the numeric pad can be used to control the mouse  
(1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9 to move it, 5 to click, 0 to hold down the mouse  
and . to release it). But I agree a new user won't use that.

> This is even more the case with compact keyboards that don't have a
> separate Enter key (i.e., use FN+key), or separate numeric pad
> keyboards.

I didn't know they exist.

> IMHO, it is us old timers that even call them differently: to most
> people, they are _both_ the "Enter" key.  After all, they do the same
> thing just about all of the time...

It's up to the new user to discover it's not always the case.
When I saw my first dialog with a multiline editfield and a default  
button, I thought:
"Is it possible to add a new line?"
"If no, both enter and return keys click on “Ok”."
"If yes, is it possible to click on “Ok” [with the keyboard]?"
Then I wanted to test what the return key and enter key made.
I was very happy to discover that both actions were possible.

If someone wants to learn keyboard shortcuts, he certainly won't test  
on a critical place. That's how we learn, in my opinion.
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