Re: [Gnumed-devel] SOAP widget navigation

[Jim Busser]

On Jul 15, 2004, at 1:34 PM, Karsten Hilbert wrote:
> > If that indeed is likely, then is it better for the
> > default action of return/enter be to create a new line,
> It already is if one is *within* the text of one soap line.

Well, more often than inserting within a SOAP element, we are usually 
positioned at the end of whatever is the current element, appending new 
lines. It has been sounding like every creation of a new line, when 
already positioned at the end of a SOAP element, will require a press 
of Control-Enter.

It was sounding like Enter would in this situation jump to the next 
element.

IMHO it does not seem like a good design (certainly inconsistent) to 
have the Enter key function one way when the insertion point is within 
the text, and a different way when it is at the end of the text. It 
would be more consistent for it to always create a new line/paragraph 
*unless* it is made visually clear to the user, as would be the case 
with the appearance of a colored or highlighted in-line pop-up tool, or 
a default button that is glowing, that by pressing Enter the user is 
"accepting" a pending action. Maybe to signal a special action of the 
enter key at the end-position of a SOAP element, we could have a "hot" 
position of the same color as the SOAP labels. Then it would be clearer 
to the user who positions (or Control-down arrows) the cursor into this 
area, that something special will happen i.e. a jump to the end of the 
next element. If the user starts to type from this position, the action 
is ignored (as it would be with the in-line popups), the cursor moves 
to the left and inserts text. If instead the user presses Enter, they 
signal their wish to skip past the current element and arrive at the 
corresponding position in the next element. I guess if a user had 
jumped to such a "hotspot" but wished instead to create a new line, 
they may need to press the space bar and insert a space, then when they 
press Enter they will create a new line with the cursor positioned at 
its start.

If there is a desire to jump from *anywhere* inside an element 
(regardless of current insertion point), to the next element, then I 
suggest that although a combination key sounds "kludgy", it is less 
work than first having to navigate to the end of the element (with 
Ctrl-Down arrow) and *then* pressing Enter.