Build 11 -- Hotkey triggers

[Aragent]

Just Checked the Dialog box out, Am I correct in assuming (I hate to assume But the jest I got was) this is only a test of the menu and nothing is actually being stored yet from the dialog box.

It definitely appears that we will be ably to have enough combinations to get the job done.

My one question, (since you have stated before you would like to keep the average user out of the mojo directory)
are you planing a way for users to see what Hotkeys have been set in the past, by maybe graying out an established key combination and or give waring if were about to overwrite an existing key combination with one thats already established?

I understand this is very early in the stages of hotkeys
Just trying to get a feel how you planed to handle the storing of the key combinations.

[Ghallo]

Instead of manually choosing the hotkeys, how about having an input box where the user just types in the hotkey and you detect the mods?

[Freddie]

Instead of manually choosing the hotkeys, how about having an input box where the user just types in the hotkey and you detect the mods?

Edit: Let me clarify something just in case it's unclear. You can press keys in this dialog box and the dialog box will record them.

That was the first thing I tried but it doesn't work for at least three reasons..

1. The user may want to enter Shift instead of LShift or RShift, and there is no Shift key. Same for the other modifiers.

2. The user may want to enter mouse buttons, but at least one button can't work that way because at least one button has to be "meta" to the entry field for navigation in the dialog box.

3. The user may want to enter keys that don't exist physically on the keyboard. (There are many dozens of such keys.) This is very useful when making hotkeys that get triggered by other programs or hardware devices.

What I've thought of doing is making two dialog boxes, a simple one that works the way you say and the current one. The simple one would come up by default, and it could contain a button that brings up the second one.

But even if I end up doing that, this first dialog box needs to be tested and improved and debugged.

[TheFallenOne]

That was the first thing I tried but it doesn't work for at least three reasons..

1. The user may want to enter Shift instead of LShift or RShift, and there is no Shift key. Same for the other modifiers.

2. The user may want to enter mouse buttons, but at least one button can't work that way because at least one button has to be "meta" to the entry field for navigation in the dialog box.

3. The user may want to enter keys that don't exist physically on the keyboard. (There are many dozens of such keys.) This is very useful when making hotkeys that get triggered by other programs or hardware devices.

What I've thought of doing is making two dialog boxes, a simple one that works the way you say and the current one. The simple one would come up by default, and it could contain a button that brings up the second one.

But even if I end up doing that, this first dialog box needs to be tested and improved and debugged.

I definitely think you should do this, setup two dialog boxes (manual selection and key press detection). It would definitely make things a lot easier to work with.

Great work so far, let us know if there's anything above and beyond testing you could use help with!

[Freddie]

I definitely think you should do this, setup two dialog boxes (manual selection and key press detection). It would definitely make things a lot easier to work with.

How do you know it would be easier? Have you tried this one?

You can type keys directly into this one. It does see your key presses.

Has anyone here tried this one?

Edit: I'm getting the impression that almost nobody here has tried this dialog box. Are people assuming that because the fields have triangles on them (they are comb box controls), you can't type into them? You can type into them.

[Freddie]

In case my impression is correct, that most people here aren't trying the dialog box, let me describe how it works.

If the hotkey consists of typeable characters, you simply type the hotkey one keystroke at a time and it gets entered. Each time you press a key, the cursor advances to the next field automatically.

But if you need to enter a key or mouse button that can't be typed, you can left click a field with the mouse and select the item from a drop down list.

This dialog combines direct typing with mouse selection. It can be used both ways.

[Flekkie]

Wow I really like this.

In particular, you can set up.. did you call them 'chords'? So basically pressing any combination of keys, like using any key as a modifier. I'm assuming that's where you're going with it?

I'll give it a proper test tomorrow, but wanted to say I like

[TheFallenOne]

How do you know it would be easier? Have you tried this one?

You can type keys directly into this one. It does see your key presses.

Has anyone here tried this one?

Edit: I'm getting the impression that almost nobody here has tried this dialog box. Are people assuming that because the fields have triangles on them (they are comb box controls), you can't type into them? You can type into them.

Of course I tried it.

However, it was not noted anywhere in the dialog that you could press keys to select input. Generally I assume that comboboxes are intended to be mouse-selected (at most they take alphanumeric input to select an item via first letter), and either way, I read this thread first. The post I quoted was implying that there was currently no way to input keys via keystroke, so I didn't attempt it.

[Freddie]

Of course I tried it.

However, it was not noted anywhere in the dialog that you could press keys to select input. Generally I assume that comboboxes are intended to be mouse-selected (at most they take alphanumeric input to select an item via first letter), and either way, I read this thread first. The post I quoted was implying that there was currently no way to input keys via keystroke, so I didn't attempt it.

Well, you asked what else you could do. You could go back and really try it and if you can think of a way to make THIS dialog better, please let me know.

[Freddie]

Just Checked the Dialog box out, Am I correct in assuming (I hate to assume But the jest I got was) this is only a test of the menu and nothing is actually being stored yet from the dialog box.

That's correct.

It definitely appears that we will be ably to have enough combinations to get the job done.

Yes, especially if the user is willing to "sacrifice" some keys to be used as modifiers. In that case the number of triggers is many millions.

My one question, (since you have stated before you would like to keep the average user out of the mojo directory)
are you planing a way for users to see what Hotkeys have been set in the past, by maybe graying out an established key combination and or give waring if were about to overwrite an existing key combination with one thats already established?

Yes, any time the user enters a setting that could inadvertently affect a different setting, the program will issue a warning.

If you try this dialog box and look at the many warning messages it generates, I think you'll see that I'm pretty compulsive about checking the user's input and warning about potential problems.