Down on email software - Page 9

11 Feb 2005, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Prognathous
Except that Windows doesn't let you choose the one you want immediately. You have to Alt+Tab->Tab->Tab->Tab->Tab->Tab... until you get there.

The alternative is to Ctrl+(Tab/PgDn)->(Tab/PgDn)->etc. until you get to the right tab?

Prognathous · 11 Feb 2005, 03:58 AM

No, the alternative is a single mouse click on the tab.

Granted, tabs can have scalability problems as well, but they are a lot less common than the mess one has to deal with when using regular windows only.

Prog.

11 Feb 2005, 04:03 AM

I meant a keyboard-based alternative.

Prognathous · 11 Feb 2005, 04:18 AM

There's no keyboard-based alternative that can match the mouse for selecting a specific tab. Lotus Notes Alt->W->Numbers is one step in closing this gap, but it's still not enough (and this is from an avid keyboard-shortcuts enthusiast). Currently, for selecting a tab/window out of many, the mouse in unrivaled.

Prog.

11 Feb 2005, 04:25 AM

Thanks. So far I've found Ctrl+ fast enough (also, it doesn't require me to look for the mouse

).

**Shelded** · 11 Feb 2005, 05:49 AM

What I do is have a corner of the desired window placed so it sticks out from the others. One click and it comes to the foreground. Obviously this is a finite solution but it's a lot more flexible the way I do it than the way I see others do it. I usually don't maximize windows since the monitor is large enough to give me spare room. Finding the window by its physical location is actually faster than locating the name of it in a list on the taskbar. Again, I say I think this is how they intended the interface to be used when they designed it.

kurianja · 11 Feb 2005, 08:47 AM

In Firefox1.0, you can use 'Alt+number' to do this. Eg: 'Alt+3' to reach the third tab. In previous versions, I believe it was Ctrl+Number.

Prognathous · 11 Feb 2005, 05:28 PM

Yeah, I know. I specifically opened bug to remove this last July:

Bug 249764 - Accel+Number shortcuts for accessing specific tabs should be removed (no Ctrl+# or Cmd+# shortcuts in Firefox)

Quote:

Here's my reasoning:

1. There are very few Accel shortcuts available. Creating a cross-platform
shortcut for extensions becomes very difficult. Accel+F# shortcuts don't work on
MacOS, Accel+Shift+A~D and Accel+Shift+0~9 don't work on Unix. Accel+Number
shortcuts, on the other hand, work on all platforms.

2. Accel+Number doesn't scale well - only the first 9 tabs are accessible with it.

3. There is no way to discover the existence of these shortcuts from the UI. The
Go menu doesn't include any reference to them.

4. It is very unlikely that users are actually *counting* tabs in order to use
this shortcut. It is much easier and quicker to use Accel+Tab/Accel+Shift+Tab or
Ctrl+PageUp/Ctrl+PageDown, but don't just take my word for it, do a simple
usability test and you'll see how ineffective Accel+Number is for handling more
than two or three tabs.

Timeless mentioned other reasons why Accel+Number should have a place in the
interface hall of shame, you can read about it here:
http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=139025#c11

Prog.

IRV · 1 May 2005, 05:43 AM

Hey all,

I mentioned the different IMAP clients for Mac OS X in a review on my new Mac blog and concluded that Thunderbird is the best option because of its speed. It's faster than anything else I've tried.

The review is brief, but there are links to all the IMAP clients for Mac OS X. I hope it's useful for you.

1 May 2005, 05:43 AM	#129
IRV Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 9	Brief comparison of Mac IMAP clients Hey all, I mentioned the different IMAP clients for Mac OS X in a review on my new Mac blog and concluded that Thunderbird is the best option because of its speed. It's faster than anything else I've tried. The review is brief, but there are links to all the IMAP clients for Mac OS X. I hope it's useful for you.

11 Feb 2005, 03:58 AM	#122
Prognathous Master of the @ Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Israel Posts: 1,060	No, the alternative is a single mouse click on the tab. Granted, tabs can have scalability problems as well, but they are a lot less common than the mess one has to deal with when using regular windows only. Prog.

11 Feb 2005, 04:03 AM	#123
Daniel S Guest Posts: n/a	I meant a keyboard-based alternative.

11 Feb 2005, 04:18 AM	#124
Prognathous Master of the @ Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Israel Posts: 1,060	There's no keyboard-based alternative that can match the mouse for selecting a specific tab. Lotus Notes Alt->W->Numbers is one step in closing this gap, but it's still not enough (and this is from an avid keyboard-shortcuts enthusiast). Currently, for selecting a tab/window out of many, the mouse in unrivaled. Prog.

11 Feb 2005, 04:25 AM	#125
Daniel S Guest Posts: n/a	Thanks. So far I've found Ctrl+ fast enough (also, it doesn't require me to look for the mouse ).

11 Feb 2005, 05:49 AM	#126
Shelded Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: USA Northwest Posts: 3,849	What I do is have a corner of the desired window placed so it sticks out from the others. One click and it comes to the foreground. Obviously this is a finite solution but it's a lot more flexible the way I do it than the way I see others do it. I usually don't maximize windows since the monitor is large enough to give me spare room. Finding the window by its physical location is actually faster than locating the name of it in a list on the taskbar. Again, I say I think this is how they intended the interface to be used when they designed it.

11 Feb 2005, 08:47 AM	#127
kurianja Master of the @ Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 1,395 Representative of: Fastmail.FM	In Firefox1.0, you can use 'Alt+number' to do this. Eg: 'Alt+3' to reach the third tab. In previous versions, I believe it was Ctrl+Number.