KDE4 default shortcut theme

[Jakob Petsovits]

On Thursday, 29. March 2007, Oswald Buddenhagen wrote:
> > Something like:
> >
> > - Ctrl-Alt-* is for desktop management/switching & panel stuff
> > - Alt-* is for internal window management (menu access,
> > closing/minimizing, pane switching, prev/next tab for the main document
> > in mdi/tabbed windows) - Alt-Shift-* for access(ibility) keys
> > - Ctrl-*, Shift-*, and Ctrl-Shift-* only for application-internal stuff
> > - Win-* is not pre-assigned, subject to the user's preferences
> > - F1 is help, F2 is rename, F3 is search next, all other F-Keys (except
> > when used with modifiers other than application-internal ones) are
> > subject to the application itself
>
> yup. two remarks:
> - "reserving" alt-shift might be too much. dunno. otoh, on layouts where
>   some alt-combinations need shift pressed, they are already reserved.

Maybe. I haven't got a whole lot of experience in Alt-Shift-Usage, so I guess 
that one should be left to the, er, "experts".

> - win could/should have the same mappings as alt-ctrl by default - it's
>   definitely friendlier to type when available.

Which kind of defeats the proposed purpose of Win as a known 
to-be-user-defined key. Not something I would fight a war against,
but in principle I'm against this.

> - in a 3-modifier scheme, some exceptions must exist. it's sort of
>   unconceivable not to have alt-tab for window switching.

Definitely. I think I mentioned exceptions for really important shortcuts like 
Alt-Tab, and there could of course be a (minimal) number of those if they 
don't disturb the ranges for application shortcuts.

>   i'd also miss alt-space for the window menu (no idea, how "regular" kde
>   users could live that long without it ;),

As a popular Alt-* thingie, Alt-Space would certainly be subject to a 
potential exception. I didn't know that it's used for the window menu
(which would actually be in line with my proposal), but I know that it's also 
used for Katapult (in Kubuntu - although I guess KRunner will make Katapult 
obsolete and possibly preserve its Alt-F2 shortcut?) and, additionally, 
Alt-Space is also used as a quick invocator key for input methods.

Katapult's shortcut definitely has to be dropped, one of the other ones will 
also need to make room for the remaining one. But let's not dig in this deep 
before the overall scheme is still not done.

>   ctrl-esc for the k-menu, 
>   etc., i.e., often-used system keys must be easier to reach than
>   alt-ctrl (that's why win is such a win ;).

Er? Ctrl-Esc is KSysGuard right now, isn't it? K-Menu is Alt-F1.
At least in KDE 3.x's native shortcut scheme.
KSysGuard could easily be replaced by Alt-Esc, imho.

Seems like the Alt-* range will need quite a few exceptions for desktop-wide 
shortcuts. Nevertheless, I consider this less tragic than using Alt-* as 
application-specific ones. Desktop and window-internal management can take 
care of each other quite easily, while applications are the real things to be 
worried about.