I never use the numbers along the top of the keyboard so the suggestion would be good for me.
cheers Roelof Contact information Dr. Roelof K. Brouwer PEng Professor Department of Computing Science School of Advanced Technologies and Mathematics Thompson Rivers University 900 McGill Road, PO Box 3010 Kamloops, BC, Canada,V2C 5N3 skype RoelofBrouwer telephone numbers 1-250 828 5219 work 1-250-374-5874 home 1-250-377-6133 fax home page www.tru.ca/advtech/compsci/faculty/rbrouwer email [EMAIL PROTECTED] -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Brian Schott Sent: May 17, 2007 4:53 AM To: General forum Subject: Re: [Jgeneral] inversion of number key shift Tracy, While I see your recommendation as very insightful, for me, the use of the numerals is almost as frequent as the symbols on the upper, so there is not much gained by your suggestion because I have big hands and can sometimes remember to shift with the opposite pinkie finger to type the symbols. I think I would prefer a similar approach that might keep me from reach for that upper row almost ever, which would harken back almost to the APL keyboard layout I recall, with shift+alpha characters producing symbols, thus forgoing the uppercase letters which I use little except for the few primitives which require them (such as NB. I. and A.). Because of the uppercase letters requiring the shift, my alternative proposal would use the Ctrl+ or Alt+ instead of the Shift+ But in my case I think I would also like to get the numbers put on the right side of the alpha keyboard and the symbols you chose on the left side of the keyboard. My proposal would be oriented toward reducing the incidence of a need to take my fingers off the home keys. I can't say that I am fully recommending my method at all, because I haven't thought it out, but the above gives some of my ideas. Thank you for your ideas. I did not see your final three lines at first, so let me comment regarding them now. First of all my keyboard does NOT have a scroll lock, I think (Mac). But I don't quite understand how those lines work with both a check box and an [on/off] selection, but more importantly I don't see why you need them. Let me guess that the [on/off]'s toggle like the [] boxes toggle, so they give more flexibility. But are they part of the other scheme, or just another independent idea? On Wed, 16 May 2007, Tracy Harms wrote: + I have an unusual idea for a new interface option for + the J windows. I would like to try inverting the + shift-key status for the number keys. (That would + apply only to the top row of the standard keyboard. + The numeric keypad would be unaffected.) + + The special characters on these keys are particularly + valuable when writing in J. I think it may be less + inconvenient to use the shift key to get 3 than to use + it to get #, and so on. + + I routinely prefer entering numerals on the "10-key" + pad, so I would need to use the shift key for numbers + only if I'm throwing in the odd digit or two. + + The change could be specified through the Configure + item of the Edit menu. I envision radio buttons and + check boxes, with some two-item pull-down menus at the + end of some items, so: + + Invert shifting for number keys: + O Never + O Always + O Only when: + [] Caps Lock is [off] + [] Num Lock is [on ] + [] Scroll Lock is [off] + + + I imagine that changing the action of these ten keys + would make for a very nice experience, once familiar. + + + Tracy Harms + + + ____________________________________________________________________________ ________ + Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles. Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. + http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center/ + ---------------------------------------------------------------------- + For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm + (B=) <----------my "sig" Brian Schott Atlanta, GA, USA schott DOT bee are eye eh en AT gee em ae eye el DOT com http://schott.selfip.net/~brian/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
