GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 259064
RFE: implement proper keyboard navigation
Last modified: 2021-05-19 12:28:21 UTC
Frankly: The keyboard navigation currently quite sucks. Example Mailer: Once selecting a Mail Folder, the user need *8* times the <tab> key to get to the mail list. The Component buttons and the search bar have to be passed first. The 1.4. behavior of automatically forcing the focus to the mail list is deprecated -- the focus should stay at the mail tree. Unfortunetaly, due to this decision, switching between mail tree and mail list is painful. However, the regular usage for most users will be switching between mail list and mail tree. Here is my proposal: Drop the Component buttons and the Search bar from that <tab> altanation. With one single <tab> press the mailer should switch from the mail list to the mail tree, with another <tab> to the mail pane (like it just now is). Similar, <shift>-<tab> schould reverse this alternation. Some thoughts: - The Components buttons are buttons and will most likely be used by mouse only. For anyone using keyboard shortcuts, there is a new Component switcher menu. Shortcuts bypassing the menu should be available, if not already. - The Search bar probably should get its own shortcut. Any average user will not use this on a daily basis, although it is very useful. Power users will love a shortcut. Filing this as Component=UI, as this should be consistent across components. (4 follow up bugs depending and blocking this one would be appropriate.) May the discussion and flame fest start... ;)
Sure, instead of dropping the Component buttons and Searcb bar, the <tab> ordering just needs to be *adjusted*. Please make the mail tree, mail list and mail pane being easily accessible to the user.
<aol>me too</aol> The tab order in the mailer should be: Folder list -> Message list -> Message -> Search drop down -> Search text entry -> Find Now -> Clear -> Compoent buttons
So. This looks like it is basically not possible with the current way ESidebar works. The UI freeze is also today. What should I do here? It is probably ideal to change the way the sidebar stuff works anyway, in which case I should be able to fix the tab ordering in a fairly simple manner.
*** bug 258786 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
So the buttons are hideable now, this should really cut down on the issue.
*** Bug 206930 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
adding dependency
Apologies for any spam... cc'ing usability-maint on all Evolution usability bugs. Filter on EVO-USABILITY-SPAM to ignore.
guenther, solution for comment #1: there's a pretty interesting article at <http://www.redhat.com/magazine/011sep05/features/shortcuts/> stating that e.g. F6 switches focus between folder list, message list and preview pane. generally, i have filed bug 316797 to include some of those shortcuts to the quick reference card and/or user documentation. punting target to 2.5, anyway.
*** Bug 263575 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
*** Bug 244208 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Fixed in head. Just type '/' would focus to the search bar.
Reopening. Please read the original bug report again. If you think this really is fixed, care to drop a short note how it is fixed? Assigning a shortcut to the search bar is nice, but it doesn't fix this issue.
Targetting this for the kill-bonobo branch. Also moving to Mailer.
Not sure what EXACTLY is required to close this report as FIXED. Using F6 works quite well for me.
Sorry for bumping an old bug, but I would like to see this as well. Using Tab to move around is a widespread use paradigm and I fail to understand why it makes sense to jump from the folder tree to the component buttons on tab. The tab key is also much easier to hit than F6 from normal typing position (not to mention some keyboards have changed the F-keys to single-purpose buttons, and require holding a modifier key to use proper F-key function). Additionally, '/' does not (any longer) focus on the search bar. The keyboard navigation in Evolution really needs to be re-evaulated as a whole. I'd go back to Thunderbird if I could for the proper keyboard controls alone, but I can only get Evolution to connect to my work Exchange server.
Maybe I did something wrong, but gtk_container_set_focus_chain() didn't work for me for some reason. And doing a manual focusing on key-press-event looks too hacky.
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