Are there ways to reduce the click count on KDE4? I'd be happy if krunner could be used by mouse only, but it looks like it's not possible:

press "<alt><f2>" -> krunner pops up, focus is on the input field.
type "kwr" -> dropdown list apears with kwrite.
try to move selection using cursor-keys down to the line with "kwrite" -> does not work! I need the mouse to select it! (needless to say it worked on KDE 3.5)

press "esc" -> dialog disappears. And focus is lost to nirvana, as focus follows mouse is broken and does not give focus to the window below mouse.

So, is this standard behaviour, intended by design, is ther a way around it?

samhain wrote:try to move selection using cursor-keys down to the line with "kwrite" -> does not work! I need the mouse to select it! (needless to say it worked on KDE 3.5)

You can use tab to to go down the line.

samhain wrote:press "esc" -> dialog disappears. And focus is lost to nirvana, as focus follows mouse is broken and does not give focus to the window below mouse.

I think this looks a lot like this bug https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=210006

Moved to Workspace.

I see, but <tab> is not what I want.

On KDE 4:

press <alt>+<f2>
type "i" -> comletion to "ice" appears in input line, but no dropdown appears.
press <crsr-up> -> completion showes "icew" and dropdown with "icewesel" appears.

now all cursour up/down move in the history of the still editable input field.
when I want some item I see in the now visible dropdown, I have press <tab>, now I can navigate with <crsr up/down> in that list.
If I use <tab> to constantly navigate down the list and i miss the end of the list then the input focus is on "?".

Anyhow I navigate, the contents of the input field stay the same and I cannot change it by simply start typing when I am browsing the list.


Usecase on KDE3.5 was:

<alt><f2> -> krunner
type "i" -> list of previously entered commands showes up
press <crsr-down> till I have "iceweasel" -> input field gets contantly updated till it says "icewasel"
type " http://google.at"+<enter> -> iceweasle starts with google.

Next time in krunner I find a list entry with "iceweasel http://google.at" - which is fast to grab.

Now how do I do that in krunner on KDE4? As far as I've seen neither the input field gets updated when browsing the list, nor can I simply start to type when browsing the list nor does the list learn new entries. The <tab> is quite unexpected behaviour anyhow. Correct me if I'm wrong.

samhain wrote:I see, but <tab> is not what I want.

You could try to use the "Task oriented" user interface, here you can browse the items with up/down and left/right arrow keys.

samhain wrote:Anyhow I navigate, the contents of the input field stay the same and I cannot change it by simply start typing when I am browsing the list.

Same as above...

samhain wrote:type "i" -> list of previously entered commands shows uppress <crsr-down> till I have "iceweasel" -> input field gets contantly updated till it says "icewasel"

I agree, this could still use some love.

samhain wrote:type " http://google.at"+<enter> -> iceweasel starts with google.

This is already possible in kde4, "firefox http://www.kde.org" to launch it with firefox/iceweasel or "http://www.kde.org" to use your standard browser.

samhain wrote:Next time in krunner I find a list entry with "iceweasel http://google.at" - which is fast to grab.

If you type iceweasel + space the site appears greyed out, pres the right arrow key + enter and of you go...

samhain wrote:Now how do I do that in krunner on KDE4? As far as I've seen neither the input field gets updated when browsing the list, nor can I simply start to type when browsing the list nor does the list learn new entries. The <tab> is quite unexpected behaviour anyhow. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Your issue with the input field is correct, the others can be solved by using the "Task oriented" interface.

Hope that helps...

Thanks, "Task oriented" is better in the sense of navigating with the cursour keys, but functionality is limited likewise.

Typing "iceweasel " does not bring up a list of URLs nor a grayed out URL. As the dropdown does not interact with the input field and does not learn new commands - at least on 4.3.2. It's just like adding a command on the console, but far more limited.

Is there maybe a plasmoid around that embeds a small console? I has such a thing on fvwm ages ago.

If you are looking for a widget you can use plasmacon. http://www.kde-look.org/content/show.php/Plasmacon?content=108120Install it using "add widgets", selecting "download new plasma widgets" and searching for it. Or use the instructions on kde-look.org.

Perhaps you might also be interested in yakuake:http://www.kde-apps.org/content/show.php?content=29153I use it daily myself.

I thought i had read that kde 4.4 would have some improvements for the krunner input field, but I cannot find the article right now...

Hey, thanks, that's nice! plasmacon is what I can really get used to I'll give yakuake a try, too.

It feels like kde4 is not keyboard friendly in general. For example in a tree view in kde configuration utility pressing enter does not enter the currently active item. and the same in alt+f1 menu. I'll give "task oriented" interface a try in the evening, but meanwhile I wish kde were a bit more keyboard oriented.

Actually pressing ENTER in the menu works just fine here, same for systemsettings

it does work for the menu, sorry. But not in a tree in a System Settings. And it is also that the leftarrow does not jump level up the tree in the same application using the Oxygen widget style. It does for all other styles, but Enter still does not work.

It is also that I preferred the way classic menu worked in 3.5.10. I mean typing the item letters would succesively go thru corresponding items. Of course shortcuts is also fine, but they can be changed by recently used applications!
On the other hand it works as expected in kicker style, but it can not jump over the separator! and also focus starts in a search field, which is not convenient for keyboard use, and probably should be optionally set.

The System Settings tree not responding to "Enter" keys has been solved in Trunk.

and what about leftarrow behaviour for Oxygen style? It also does not work in other programs, I checked that in dolphin yesterday with directoies tree view (or something like that) option on. I really like the look of Oxygen, but miss some very basic functionality.