Ph.D. Candidates and Note Anarchy

[Mark Burgess]

At 12:41 AM -0500 12/9/04, Alexandre Enkerli wrote:
>Same here!
>This is one big advantage of OO: keyboard navigation!
>Come to think of it, it's one of the most important aspects of 
>outlining, IMHO. You can "outline" things in any editor (with tabs, 
>etc.) but the very simple fact that you can use keystrokes to move 
>items around in an outliner makes the whole complete total 
>difference. Yes, it's UI. But it's not about being pretty or 
>intuitive. It's about being fast and efficient. Moving items around 
>is something I do hundreds of times while writing. If it takes even 
>two seconds each time, it *really* cramps my style!!!!

I agree, and something that bugs me about the new OO is the keyboard 
shortcuts for these activities. Move Right used to be simple: cmd-r; 
now it's a complex two-handed chord: cmd-ctrl-arrow. Now, I can 
appreciate using cmd-r for Show Ruler -- it's sort of a standard -- 
but otoh I never use that command and could easily live without the 
shortcut.

Similarly, I can imagine using the Utility Drawer quite a bit, 
showing and hiding it as necessary. But why cmd-ctrl-t for the 
shortcut? That's an awkward three-finger chord that requires a tough 
contortion of my left hand. cmd-option-t is so much simpler -- I can 
press cmd and option simultaneously with my thumb.

Reminds me why I stopped fighting OmniGraffle and went back to 
FreeHand and Illustrator for making drawings -- both of the pro-level 
programs have thoughtful keyboard shortcuts that have evolved over 
the years in response to the needs of heavy-duty users. OmniGraffle 
was a constant struggle for me whenever I was trying to work quickly 
and fluidly.

-- 
Mark