[MERGED] Some shortcuts should be verified

[openBrain]

Could all constraints that are 'datum' start with a 'd' and be only 2 keys?

[abdullah]

I think the last (?) thread regarding this topic was quiete fruitful: https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=59082

Maybe we can continue here?

I do not know how I missed that one.

I posted my previous post before reading the several pages of topic in that thread.

I have to digest what is written there.

Meanwhile, I will explain the considerations I have taken into account so far:

I see that there is a strong opinion for having single keystroke for geometric constraints. This is quite a limitation, because it takes away a lot of starting prefixes for other commands. Because English language, as most others I know, have the bad habit of not having the same amount of words starting by each letter, the ones taken by geometric constraints are the best mnemonics for many other tools. This leads to having to get really creative after "single key" shortcuts are assigned, which reduces its mnemonic power. This is why my first idea was to steer away from single key strokes, and setting a "at least two keystrokes policy".

With such policy, it is relatively simple to group by topic the tools, so that a starting letter is easy to remember and representative of the group (C, in the previous list), and the second is generally reasonably good mnemonic.

When there are several modes of a tool, or a several very close tools, I opted for a three letter combination, where the second letter is representative of the modes (so still a reasonable mnemonic). For the third letter alliteration or specific key is possible.

This policy gets away with modifiers, which generally collide with menus and general tools and are not always present in some keyboards.

Of course, I do not mean that this is the way. I need to process the other thread, and I would like to invite you to reflect over these ideas.

[abdullah]

Could all constraints that are 'datum' start with a 'd' and be only 2 keys?

Sure! That is possible too. I would like to have good mnemonics. A two letter D + and G+ as I have seen in the other thread is just as fine. But I think the general mood is not to accept a minimum two letters policy (for reason I also understand). I need to think about it.

[chrisb]

I see that there is a strong opinion for having single keystroke for geometric constraints. This is quite a limitation, because it takes away a lot of starting prefixes for other commands.

I understand your approach that multiletter shortcuts are more versatile when seen in a global context. However, I think they should still be shortcuts used to speed up the editing of a sketch. And there it seems most useful to have just single letter shortcuts for geometric constraints.

[not_very_serious]
Beyond the usability argument this has an educational effect, because it suggests to prefer the one letter geometric constraints over the two letter dimesnionals
[/not_very_serious]

[chennes]

These will still be user-configurable, this discussion is just about coming up with the best defaults, right?

[abdullah]

I see that there is a strong opinion for having single keystroke for geometric constraints. This is quite a limitation, because it takes away a lot of starting prefixes for other commands.

I understand your approach that multiletter shortcuts are more versatile when seen in a global context. However, I think they should still be shortcuts used to speed up the editing of a sketch. And there it seems most useful to have just single letter shortcuts for geometric constraints.

[not_very_serious]
Beyond the usability argument this has an educational effect, because it suggests to prefer the one letter geometric constraints over the two letter dimesnionals
[/not_very_serious]

Yes, I have been reflecting on the other forum thread. I am going to try to accommodate geometrics as single strokes. If then the rest go to more than one stroke, it appears possible to arrive to some acceptable result.

I do not underestimate the suggestive power of single strike to prefer geometric constraints over datums

[abdullah]

These will still be user-configurable, this discussion is just about coming up with the best defaults, right?

Yes. Over all, we need to end that sketcher shortcut madness for the defaults.

But there is generally more than meets the eye.

If the defaults are good much more people will use them, as many people do not customize shortcuts (I don't). This is not only about speed or mere ergonomics. Repetitive use of the mouse can cause over long periods of time severe injuries in shoulders/arms/wrists, such as RSI. So, here health is also an important driving factor to getting things right.

[chrisb]

If it should be 2 key shortcuts - and I will not make cheat proposals with H,H for horizontal and V,V for vertical, although C,C remains - I would propose the following. They can be configured to meet personal preferences anyway.

Geometric constraints - prefix C
C,C - Coincidence
C,O - PointOnObject
C,V - Vertical
C,H - Horizontal
C,P - Parallel
C,N - Normal (Perpendicular)
C,T - Tangent
C,E - Equality
C,S - Symmetry
C,B - Block
C,L - Lock

Dimensional constraints - prefix D
D,H - Horizontal Distance
D,V - Vertical Distance
D,L - Length
D,R - Radius
D,D - Diameter
D,Shift,R dynamic selection of Radius/diameter, other proposals are welcome
D,A - Angle

So much for now, time is out.

[abdullah]

If it should be 2 key shortcuts - and I will not make cheat proposals with H,H for horizontal and V,V for vertical, although C,C remains - I would propose the following.

Thanks for being so cooperative. But I think your original stance makes a lot of sense: to have most used constraints, mostly geometric ones, as single stroke.

I have been giving it a try with the following simple rules:
1) Some constraints may be single stroke based on frequency of use, the rest have a common starting letter, K, for two+ stroke combinations.
2) Some geometries could have a single stroke based on frequency of use, the rest have a common starting letter, G, for two+ stroke combinations.
3) Some tools could have a single stroke based on frequency of use, the rest have a common starting letter, Z, for two+ stroke combinations.
4) Some View commands could have a single stroke based on frequency of use, the rest have a common starting letter, Q, for two+ stroke combinations.
5) Dangerous commands will have no shortcut.
6) Negligible use commands will have no short cut.
7) "Comp buttons" ( the leading selected icon in a toolbar, which is a placeholder for the last used command from the drop list) will have no shortcut.

Rationale:
- "K" is selected to avoid the distinction Geometric/Datum, and not taking the "C" which is preferable for "Coincidence". This allows to flexibly downgrade one constraint from single stroke to double stroke or upgrade it, without breaking the logic of the "Konstraint".
- "G" is a natural fit.
- "Z" and "Q" are selected to minimize interference with "Single strokes".
- I pursue mnemonics in English as much as I can.

With this in mind, restricting 2-4 to "two+ strokes" and allowing most geometric constraints as single stroke, I have come to this:

Screenshot_20211014_112536.png (27.76 KiB) Viewed 2287 times

Second stroke is a natural choice for views.

Screenshot_20211014_112747.png (41.5 KiB) Viewed 2287 times

Second stroke is a natural choice for all, save for Snell's Law, who gets the ugly shortcut, as it is not widely used.

Diameter gets "O" because of the resemblance of the diameter symbol with the Nordic vowel "O" with stroke.

The tool for automatic selection of radius/diameter gets an "S" from "Smart".

X from eXchange. Z from "put to sleep Zzzzz".

Screenshot_20211014_113228.png (69.87 KiB) Viewed 2287 times

I chose 3 strokes for conics and regular polygons. There are not much used, still now they is a way.

There is some "cheating" as per ChrisB definition. I think this is justified, but we could try to find a second/third letter that is not a repetition.

Polyline gets the "G, M" from Multi-tool.

Screenshot_20211014_113308.png (45.18 KiB) Viewed 2287 times

Apart from what is shown, there is also the "Z, C, P" for select partially redundant, the "Z, C, M" for select malformed. (This will need to be added to the menu, I forgot to do it at the time).

Connect edges goes with "Join".

Copy is the one exception, as it gets CTRL+C, everybody uses that.

"Remove Axes Alignment" gets the "R" from "Rotate" or making it "Rotatable".


This is an example in the works. Please:
1. Let me know if there is something wrong/improbable with this scheme in general.
2. Your general feedback on how useful or unuseful you see this.

[openBrain]

This is an example in the works. Please:
1. Let me know if there is something wrong/improbable with this scheme in general.
2. Your general feedback on how useful or unuseful you see this.

At a glance :
* Looks great overall
* 'Copy' function of Sketcher is IMO different from what you can expect in a standard 'Copy-Paste' process, so it doesn't have to use 'Ctrl+C' command. IMO it even should not use this, as it can lead to weird things if your focus isn't in the 3D view. Better use a "Z, Something" command.
* When using digits, we have to pay attention that on a variety of locale keyboards, it actually requires the user to press "Shift+digit key" -- if no numpad -- which isn't very comfortable. User may eventually circumvent this by caps locking when sketching. A last concern about digits is that I'm afraid it can sadly interfere with global shortcuts that change the view orientation (but I didn't test)