keyboard shortcuts

[Pat Suwalski]

Kevin Krammer wrote:
> I don't have anything agains cycle, Alt-Tab can do this as well, but what I am 
> missing from Ctrl+Tab is the possibility to switch between two desktops.
> If I have four desktops and have two in use, for example one with some reader 
> in full screen mode and one with an editor, I would have to alternate between 
> 1xCtrl+Tab and 3xCtrl-Tab

I don't intend to make this into a desktop war or anythign like that, 
but this is where the Gnome default binding of Ctrl-Alt-{arrow} works 
well. This is because the layout of virtual desktops is a 
two-dimentional affair, and going "down" a desktop is just as valid as 
going to the desktop to the "right". Here, arrows make sense.

But, based on your analogy, If I switch from desktop 1 to desktop 3, 
next time I hit Ctrl-Tab I should be back at desktop 1.

I find that when I use KDE I usually end up switching desktops when I 
intended to switch tabs. Mozilla follows convention, not all the 
desktops do. I suppose this is why we are having this discussion.

> I think the behaviour of Alt+Tab is widely known and used, so I personally see 
> no reason why Ctrl+Tab should behave so differently, especially as it seems 
> to be meant as an analogous mechanism.

Because Ctrl-Tab has done tabs as we know them since the Windows 3.1 
days. I'm not familiar with a prior implementation of this. It's a 
behaviour meny, many users are familiar with. Users know Ctrl+O opens a 
file, they know Ctrl-Tab switches to the next tab, they may know 
Ctrl-Shift-Tab switchs back a tab. If it's a specification proper we're 
after, why not adopt the accepted standards?

--Pat