Invalid/wrong shortcuts listed in Haiku guide

[psycho_killer]

Have a look at these Tracker shortcuts presented in the Haiku guide: ​file:///boot/system/documentation/userguide/en/gui.html#open-save-shortcuts

ALT + D Takes you to your Desktop.
(no really, this one has always(?) been for making duplicates of the files/folders selected)

ALT + H Takes you to your Home folder.
(not here, I changed Tracker to browsing mode just to test, and it doesn't do anything in this mode either)

These should be corrected, it will be one of the first thing new users read in the documentation.

[psycho_killer]

Seems like I misunderstood what the guide is aiming to explain. These shortcuts are valid only in open/save dialogs of applications. In these dialogs it is of course the Tracker that serves as the backbone.

Here's the part of the guide in question available on the web: ​http://svn.berlios.de/svnroot/repos/haiku/haiku/trunk/docs/userguide/en/gui.html#open-save-panel

The context is the description of open/save panels above the 'Keyboard shortcuts' section I was referring to. This did not occur to me initially. In my defense this page starts out in general (for the very beginners) about the Haiku GUI (Deskbar, the buttons on the windows, etc), and end by describing on replicants, which is not related to open/save panels.

To reduce the risk of people like me misunderstanding:
The heading 'Keyboard shortcuts' could be changed to something like 'Keyboard shortcuts in open/save panels'.
Or the text could repeat something about open/save panels just to give a proper clue where these shortcuts apply.
Or put behind the two descriptions in question: "(this shortcut is only valid in open/save panels)"

Sorry for the fuss. Seems to be a non-issue, really. Although in principle I have to question using the same shortcut (Alt + D) for two completely different actions in a related activity both regarding the tasks being done and the gui (file management, Tracker).

Thanks to kirilla for correcting me.

[humdinger]

So, it's more like a misunderstanding. The "Open/Save panel" is a h1 heading, the "Shortcuts" and "Favorites" are h2 headings. Structurally it's deinfitely a sub-chapter to the open/save panel. I grant you that optically, it's not that obvious, but will you do...

I don't want to repeat the parent heading in every sub-heading. That would be awkward. I think, I'll just change the first sentences to mention the open/save panel explicitely. OK?

WRT Alt+D clashing with the Tracker duplicate command. Sure it's not perfect if shortcuts are shared. OTOH, at least in my mind, there's not that big connection between open/save panels and Tracker. Open/Save panels feel to belong more to their app, than the system. So, then it's maybe not so bad.
Also, since (or as long as) the Desktop folder is a hidden directory, there needs to be a shortcut to take you there. What would be better that ALT+D for that. And just because it's used in the open/save panels, what's a better shortcut than ALT+D in Tracker for duplication of files?

If you come up with a better solution, please suggest it in a new enhancement ticket. It's really another topic than the summary of this one.

[humdinger]

Clarified that the shortcuts and Favorites menu actually refer to the "Open and save panels" subchapter in gui.html with hrev33117.

[jonas.kirilla]

It's not so unthinkable, IMO, to remove the use of Command-D as "Duplicate", if one adjusts Copy-Paste (Command-C, Command-V) to accomplish the same. It doesn't have any effect currently, when copy-pasting in the same folder.

When Command-D is freed from "Duplicate", it could be used as "Show Desktop" in all Tracker windows, in both spatial and single-browser mode.

(Single-shortcut Duplicate could be offered as a Tracker add-on, optional download, for the ones who prefer Command-Option-D over Command-C, Command-V.)

[humdinger]

This would be a very good solution IMO. +1

WRT the not-working copy/paste in Tracker -> #2755 :)

[psycho_killer]

Now it looks better in the guide for sure. But just a little nitpick; the sentence: "Many shortcuts in open and save panels are the same used in Tracker." Is this really good/proper sentence structure?

And, if as you say there is not such a clear connection between these panels and Tracker (I respectfully disagree on that), why then mention Tracker at all in this paragraph? After all the Tracker shortcuts are duly covered later in the guide. Mentioning that "many shortcuts are the same" here can lead to people trying out the shortcuts in Tracker and not having them work, just like me.

Perhaps it would be better to rephrase the first sentence to something like this:
"There are several [keyboard] shortcuts that can be used / you can use [for convenience] in open and save panels. Besides ..."

The change in Favorites section looks spot on btw, I didn't notice that one when I posted my follow-up comment.

[psycho_killer]

Replying to jonas.kirilla:

When Command-D is freed from "Duplicate", it could be used as "Show Desktop" in all Tracker windows, in both spatial and single-browser mode.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "Show Desktop", although by the context I would guess launching a Tracker window showing the Desktop folder content. I don't really agree on that to be honest, specifically when we're talking about Tracker in its default spatial mode. A basic pillar of spatial file management is that a folder can only have one window representation, i.e. if you launch your home folder it will be raised if you already have it open behind other windows -- you don't get two versions of the same folder. As you probably know this concept doesn't play well with workspaces, and BeOS/Haiku has to make a compromise and settle on one window per folder on each workspace. But no Desktop folder shortcut in spatial mode in my opinion. Browsing mode is another matter of course, but having shortcuts that only work in one mode is not ideal either.

If by "Show Desktop" you were talking about a shortcut to hide all windows (of all applications) on the current workspace and, well, show the desktop, then I will agree wholeheartedly with you. But the shortcut should not be Alt+D, but something system wide. Ctrl-Alt-D seems to be available, hmm ...

I would definitely use the desktop a lot more if I easily could access the content behind the windows I have open. It would make replicants more useful as well. And having it as a hidden folder sure has its drawbacks, but I won't get into that here. Sorry for going off-topic here.

[jonas.kirilla]

Replying to psycho_killer:

Replying to jonas.kirilla:

When Command-D is freed from "Duplicate", it could be used as "Show Desktop" in all Tracker windows, in both spatial and single-browser mode.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "Show Desktop"

I mentioned these two modes to hint that I believe "Show Desktop" should work in two different ways depending on what mode Tracker is in. When in classic/spatial mode, "Show Desktop" (Command-D) would hide all windows on the current workspace and reveal the desktop. In single-window browsing mode, the -current- Tracker window would change directory and show the contents of your desktop folder, just like file panels work currently.

I don't disagree with a system-wide shortcut, but also don't see much of a problem with having only a Tracker-local, non-system-wide Command-D shortcut, as there's usually a part of the desktop showing between a maximized window's tab and the Deskbar. It would easy to throw up the mouse pointer, click on the desktop and press Command-D.