A bunch of new keyboard shortcuts would make the IDE generally more enjoyable for me. There was a general keyboard shortcut Feedback case from a year or two ago but I can’t find it right now. I’ll be told that I don’t understand the complexity of the IDE internals but it still seems to me that adding more keyboard shortcuts is surely some of the simplest improvements to the IDE, with a large benefit to us developers.
In the case of the FR I filed, though, it is not a matter of changing the shortcut. It simply is not implemented.
I believe the reason is that messages are displayed in an HTMLViewer (read that somewhere on the forum), and it does not have the focus. The focus is on the code editor.
It should be possible to detect when something is selected in the HTMLViewer, and if so, place the focus on the Message pane so the standard system copy applies to it. Then when the user click in the code editor, reinstate the focus onto it.
I don’t want to change shortcuts. Like Michel, I’m looking for new shortcuts, for non-menu items. Random example: opening and closing the various areas at the bottom of the IDE. Positive there’s a case for it, but still can’t find it.
Short cuts without menu equivalents makes them impossible to discover
We’d probably have to rearrange the menus to have all these items in there
For the message log we would probably need to move it away from being an HTML viewer to something like a custom canvas or read only text area that makes it easier to actually use the existing shortcuts AND make it really obvious it has focus so you know what will be copied etc
Fine then, make them menu items, whatever - but we shouldn’t have to reach for the mouse to close the Find area, open/close Errors areas, open/close Messages area, just for a few random examples. I was also referring to lots of keyboard shortcuts such as Command-= to automatically resize a control to fit the text you’ve just typed into it, instead of reaching for the mouse and manually resizing the control like a caveman Or command–double-clicking a control name in code to take you to the actual control, not the containing view. Little things that make the IDE much nicer when you use it hour after hour, all day long.
I know Geoff talked about a redesign or overhaul of the IDE, but honestly, keyboard shortcuts, the forthcoming retinization ™, fixed tabbing and a little more control over the way the Navigator displays its content, and I’d be more than happy with it.
[quote=244145:@Tim Parnell]I have good news for you!
It would be nice to get keyboard shortcuts to open the panes other than Find.[/quote]
Thanks, yes, I shouldn’t have included that one as I already use it I was indeed referring to the other panes.