Re: LYNX-DEV new command: 123 g

[Al Gilman]

  From: Mike Brown <address@hidden>

  > PS: The ability to move to or follow a link by number should be
  > unbundled from keypad key-coding and from the screen display of
  > numbers at links or displaying links unnumbered.  Typing in a
  > number across the top of the QWERTY block should at least [and
  > preferrably] move your cursor to the link of that number in the
  > current document, at all times and without regard to other modes.
  > Display of link numbers, keypad encoding, and the "immediate"
  > (current function) retrieval of URLs by link number should be
  > mode-selectable.
  
  I don't think it is always (ever?) possible to differentiate between the
  number keys across the top of the QWERTY block and the number keys on the
  keypad, and like I was trying to say before, arrow keys, PGUP, PGDN, HOME
  and END codes don't always work and thus the numeric keypad bindings are
  in my opinion essential.  According to Klaus' model, if I understand it
  correctly, these single-keypress bindings would lose their immediacy and
  would necessitate the extra keypress of RETURN to be invoked. 
  
  I almost agree with the mode-selectable idea, but in the unfortunate event 
  that a blind user's arrow keys don't work, navigation becomes more
  difficult, except when traveling between numbered links :)
  
I really need your comments to understand the problem, because in
my mind the PGUP, PGDN, HOME and END keys don't exist and I don't
miss 'em.  I have only been native in LAP-6 (which ran on a
PDP-1), VMS, and MacOS.  I went straight from VT-100 to <double click>
without passing go.

It is interesting that Jeff Doran, who started the lynx-learners list,
always runs with BOTH vi-keys and emacs-keys on and just runs the
program from the QWERTY block without ever touching the keypad, so far
as I can tell (I cc'd him for confirm/deny).  Now that we have control-A
and control-E synonyms for HOME and END as well as 'b' and <SPACE> for
PGUP and PGDN I am not sure there is a residual paging problem.

Note: I myself would simply change the behavior to 
move-cursor-to-link-of-number and suffer the screams as people learn
that now they have to hit <CR><CR> to get to the HREFed resource.

[In my Scientific WAG] It is genuinely better for the
speech-interfaced to be able to select links by number but read
the anchor text before leaving the current page.  There is a lot
of TAB*13 in the hints passed around on lynx-learners.

It is more logical.  It is minimally slower, because your hand is
right there at the <CR> key anyway.

--
Al Gilman

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